jimt - Posted - 04/18/2016:  15:14:37

A fellow brought in an early one. Factory order number is 7022-1. 

1925 Style 5	1925 Style 5	1925 Style 5	1925 Style 5
1925 Style 5

BanjoSB - Posted - 04/18/2016:  15:27:50

Nice !! very nice ! Love the shot gun skirt - I thought only the 25s had that but I picked up a nice 26 Granada and when I got it home it had a shot gun skirt - Nice surprise -
Thanks for posting! Shane

RioStat - Posted - 04/18/2016:  16:52:37

Beautiful !  

My favorite style of Gibson banjo.

BTuno - Posted - 04/18/2016:  17:12:53

Beautiful condition!   But, what surprises me most is the FON.   Could you please post a better picture of it?    There are only two 4-digit FON banjos in the 7xxx series (itself unusual) on Banjophiles.  IIRC those were left over from the old Biggs B list.   There are no 7XXX banjos in Spann until the 1940, mostly guitars.   So, its surprising to see a 1925-looking style 5 with that number.    I've not seen any discussion of these strange 7xxx banjos from 1925.   Anyone have any info?    Its impossible to email Mr. Spann, his PM option on BHO is locked.    But perhaps he will see this thread and chime in. 

jhko - Posted - 04/18/2016:  17:44:29

Very cool banjo!

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/18/2016:  19:02:44

I can't ever remember seeing a 7000 series FON in a Mastertone! Cool!

dhergert - Posted - 04/18/2016:  19:33:27

Very very nice.  This probably also has the scalloped tonering-flange.  What a beautiful banjo. 

And yes, the 7000 series is very rare.  I have to wonder if they were actually completed before Lloyd Loar left at around Christmas of 1924, produced for sale (or for other distribution) in very early 1925.  But beyond these musings, the 7000 series seems to be a black hole.

One of the problems with the early Gibson FONs is that there is very little or no documentation for them in the 1925-1926 Ballbearing years.  Joe mentions this specifically in his book, and states that the FONs he provides for that vintage are from observed banjos, not from documentation.  And, from specific banjos that I'm aware of from having contributed their information to Tom, banjos that are also included in Joe's lists for the Ballbearing years, the FON batches that Joe provides between 1925 and 1926 are actually from the Biggs/Banjophiles list.

Thanks for posting the pics here, what a wonderful find!

-- Don

Edited by - dhergert on 04/18/2016 19:44:25

jimt - Posted - 04/19/2016:  10:26:42

I will post a better picture when I can get him to bring it back into the shop. I apologize for not checking the picture quality while I had it here. It is absolutely 7022-1. The banjo is correct in every way and all the pieces are there. I configured it back into a tenor and took pics, then the Bill Sullivan neck went back on and it became a 5-string again. I did not realize the serial number was unclear until I posted yesterday and looked at the pictures finally. I emailed Greg Earnest using the email of his site and never heard back. The two listings in Spann are odd. One is listed as a cutaway (!) F.O. 7002-1. I cannot imagine how a cutaway works with a head, I'd like to see a picture. The other listing is a trap door F.O. 7013-6. By reckoning, this guy has one of the very first Mastertones known to date. I thought Greg Earnest would be interested but after reading the replies to other posts, his email is possibly inactive so he may not even know I tried to contact him.

southerndrifter - Posted - 04/19/2016:  11:58:12

quote:

---

Originally posted by jimt

 

I will post a better picture when I can get him to bring it back into the shop. I apologize for not checking the picture quality while I had it here. It is absolutely 7022-1. The banjo is correct in every way and all the pieces are there. I configured it back into a tenor and took pics, then the Bill Sullivan neck went back on and it became a 5-string again. I did not realize the serial number was unclear until I posted yesterday and looked at the pictures finally. I emailed Greg Earnest using the email of his site and never heard back. The two listings in Spann are odd. One is listed as a cutaway (!) F.O. 7002-1. I cannot imagine how a cutaway works with a head, I'd like to see a picture. The other listing is a trap door F.O. 7013-6. By reckoning, this guy has one of the very first Mastertones known to date. I thought Greg Earnest would be interested but after reading the replies to other posts, his email is possibly inactive so he may not even know I tried to contact him.

---

There was a photo of this banjo posted somewhere recently. Both the flange and resonator was cutaway! For some reason, my mind seems to remember it being a GB, but it may have been a PB. Gibson did pretty much whatever the customer wanted back in the "good ol' days"!  

RioStat - Posted - 04/19/2016:  13:12:32

Cut-away banjo....

guitars.com/inventory/ja6451-1...4-cutaway

Also, Greg Earnest just posted on the Hangout a couple days ago.......

Edited by - RioStat on 04/19/2016 13:15:24

BTuno - Posted - 04/19/2016:  14:45:33

Thanks for the link Scott, cool to see that one.   I'd often wondered what it was; a 12" rim no less.....  The other one posted on banjophiles is a 14" rim GB-4.  

Back to the Style 5, the tailpiece is a clamshell (maybe added later?), and most other 1925 5s' had Kershners.  Don tells us that there are no actual shipping records for these instruments, so the chronology seems uncertain, but at least by 1926 according to the Gruhn ad.    Such mystery!

Fud - Posted - 04/19/2016:  15:59:52

Visually, and exact match at Intermountain Guitar and Banjo: guitarandbanjo.com/inventory/O..._page=All

They give the serial number #8105-5. Oettinger tailpiece. Beautiful!

Larry

RioStat - Posted - 04/19/2016:  17:47:35

Live link..........

guitarandbanjo.com/inventory/o...nor-banjo

Tailpiece is different....I'm pretty sure that the Oettinger-style tailpiece on this one isn't original.

But, other than that, yes, the two banjos are pretty much identical.

That place has some decent prices on a couple of those old TB-00's and TB 1 & 2's

Edited by - RioStat on 04/19/2016 17:54:23

frailin - Posted - 04/27/2016:  16:28:57

Some guys have all the luck.  

Nothing like that ever walks into my life and says "hello big boy."  

otd86866 - Posted - 04/27/2016:  22:48:36

This is one fine looking banjo and I have always liked the style 5 a lot. Take good care of it, it is a keeper for sure.

gospelman97 - Posted - 04/28/2016:  03:52:38

quote:

---

Originally posted by otd86866

 

This is one fine looking banjo and I have always liked the style 5 a lot. Take good care of it, it is a keeper for sure.

---

Here's my favorite style 5.  It should look familiar to you, Bob.  It has a tone that sticks with you!

One of a Kind RB-5 circa 1930

otd86866 - Posted - 04/28/2016:  22:25:42

Thanks Bryan

---

Originally posted by gospelman97

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by otd86866

 

This is one fine looking banjo and I have always liked the style 5 a lot. Take good care of it, it is a keeper for sure.

---

Here's my favorite style 5.  It should look familiar to you, Bob.  It has a tone that sticks with you!

 

---

Greg Earnest - Posted - 04/29/2016:  04:52:06

I was in regular communication with Joe Spann throughout the time that he was researching and writing his book and I can tell you first-hand that he is as meticulous a researcher as you will ever find and that one of the things that made his book such a breakthrough was his examination of a wide variety of sources which had never before been studied by a trained historian.  The suggestion that he lifted material from others (without attribution, no less) is way off base.

quote:

---

Originally posted by dhergert

 

Very very nice.  This probably also has the scalloped tonering-flange.  What a beautiful banjo. 

And yes, the 7000 series is very rare.  I have to wonder if they were actually completed before Lloyd Loar left at around Christmas of 1924, produced for sale (or for other distribution) in very early 1925.  But beyond these musings, the 7000 series seems to be a black hole.

One of the problems with the early Gibson FONs is that there is very little or no documentation for them in the 1925-1926 Ballbearing years.  Joe mentions this specifically in his book, and states that the FONs he provides for that vintage are from observed banjos, not from documentation.  And, from specific banjos that I'm aware of from having contributed their information to Tom, banjos that are also included in Joe's lists for the Ballbearing years, the FON batches that Joe provides between 1925 and 1926 are actually from the Biggs/Banjophiles list.

Thanks for posting the pics here, what a wonderful find!

-- Don

 

---

Edited by - Greg Earnest on 04/29/2016 04:52:42

Greg Earnest - Posted - 04/29/2016:  04:58:20

banjohangout.org/global/ckedit.../icon.png) center no-repeat #ff0000;cursor:pointer;top:-8px;-webkit-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px" title="Insert paragraph here">↵

This

is an interesting banjo indeed and I would like to see some higher-resolution photos.  Please forgive my late response. . . I did receive your e-mail but things have really piled up on me lately and I am way further behind in answering people than I would like to be.  I am also far behind schedule in updating my site for the same reason.  

The cutaway banjo mentioned elsewhere in this thread was a ball-bearing RB-4 owned by Gibson endorser Alex Magee, who is pictured with it in some prewar Gibson catalogs.  

He obviously liked playing high up the neck as his banjo had a fingerboard extension over the head as well as a cutaway resonator and flange to faciliate

access to the upper frets.  

quote

:

---

Originally posted by jimt

 

I will post a better picture when I can get him to bring it back into the shop. I apologize for not checking the picture quality while I had it here. It is absolutely 7022-1. The banjo is correct in every way and all the pieces are there. I configured it back into a tenor and took pics, then the Bill Sullivan neck went back on and it became a 5-string again. I did not realize the serial number was unclear until I posted yesterday and looked at the pictures finally. I emailed Greg Earnest using the email of his site and never heard back. The two listings in Spann are odd. One is listed as a cutaway (!) F.O. 7002-1. I cannot imagine how a cutaway works with a head, I'd like to see a picture. The other listing is a trap door F.O. 7013-6. By reckoning, this guy has one of the very first Mastertones known to date. I thought Greg Earnest would be interested but after reading the replies to other posts, his email is possibly inactive so he may not even know I tried to contact him.

---

Edited by - Greg Earnest on 04/29/2016 04:59:15

jimt - Posted - 05/05/2016:  11:32:30

The owner was out of the country and has sent photos of the F.O.N. I selected the attached example as the best of the bunch. I cannot tell if it is going to be legible enough as an attachment to the post before trying it. Here goes. 7022-1. I swear it.

1925 Style 5 FON

dhergert - Posted - 05/05/2016:  13:52:23

Interesting, the inner tone ring is also gold plated.  That's been seen before sometimes, but not often.  More often with the gold plated Ballbearings the inner tone ring is nickle plated.

Beautiful banjo!

-- Don