Letter of Authenticity

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Posted by Pepper Laing on Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I just recieved my letter of authenticity from Jim Mills for my Pre War banjo I purchased from him. I know this is nowhere near the holy grail original 5-string Mastrtones but my 1st venture into the Pre War world feels just as exciting to me. Jim states as follows: This circa: 1933, Gibson TB-1, five string conversion banjo, serial number 9597-49, is guaranteed to be 100% original, concerning it`s metal plating and parts, as well as all it`s wood finish. This banjo has been fitted with a modern Huber 20 Hole Flathead tonering, a Presto tailpiece, as well as an older, approximately 35-40 year old, mahogany 5 string neck by an unknown maker. The neck was very well made at that time, and features the "Hearts and Flowers" inlay pattern, set in a very nice Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, like the originals, with original 1930`s Grover tuners and buttons. The Pearl inlay appears to have come from an original Pre War tenor neck of some sort perhaps, as this was the common custom of that period. There were no outlets for modern cut pearl and things such as that until the mid 1960`s. This necks wood is very seasoned and light weight, and in my opinion ads greatly to this banjos wonderful tone. The original tenor style 1 neck did not come with this banjo, as was common in those days, and was more than likely discarded a long time ago. The original metal plating is somewhat pitted, as is common on most original Gibson banjos found from this period, and the original one piece flange has a few small hairline fractures by the heel, but appears to be very stable, at the time of this sale. The wood finish shows quite a bit of wear as well....and it seems this banjo was well played for a long time, and there again....may have a lot to do with it`s very powerful tone today. The frets are worn and need replacing, and after that, this should make a really awesome banjo! This is a very fine sounding 1930`s Pre War Gibson style 1 conversion banjo that any good banjo player should be proud to own. These Original 1930`s one piece flange style 1 banjos are becoming increasingly harder to locate in all original condition like this banjo, and are of great interest to both serious players and collectors alike. Signed Jim Mills dated 3-3-10 How cool is that! Just wanted to share.

4 comments on “Letter of Authenticity”

Banjov1 Says:
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 @9:38:01 AM

Very Cool!! You're not just getting a pre-war banjo, it's really an added plus to get it from Jim Mills. On top of being an outstanding banjo player, he's become quite the authority on Gibson pre-war banjos.

Is that tone ring that it comes with the new HR 30?
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