Posted By: Karl Smakula (+13) | Rate Member
$4,250 USD
Most of us don’t want to get caught up in a pyramid scheme, but hear me out on this one. Rather than “being your own boss” while trying to coerce high school acquaintances into buying knives or essential oils from you, this pyramid (tonering) situation is just a somewhat rare and very well mannered Gibson banjo that has a nice “growl” associated with a good prewar Gibson banjo without nearly as much weight.
There’s only a few hundred examples of these pyramid tonering equipped TB-2s, and this particular example has been very well loved though not abused. On the rim assembly, there is substantial wear on the resonator and armrest, but no major modifications unless you count where a previous owner wrote his social security number on top of the rim right below the tonering.
The tailpiece is a four string Kershner that has been thoughtfully modified to accommodate a fifth string. I believe this Kershner to be original to the instrument though I certainly can’t prove it.
While this banjo is equipped with a new Remo frosted plastic head, an interesting detail about this instrument is that it includes the original calf skin banjo head. Many, if not all the owners of this instrument since 1937 have written their name and town of residence on this original head.
The modern five string neck is a fantastically crafted and playing example of workmanship from the Huber Banjos shop circa approximately 2004 or 2005. The gentleman I acquired this banjo from purchased the instrument from Huber around then and proceeded to have a lot of fun with it until a stoke prevented him from playing it anymore. He had warn through the frets at the first position so I had them all replaced a few months ago. His years of playing this banjo hard left some divots in the rosewood fingerboard and wore the finish off the side of the neck in spots. This neck is every bit as functional as the day it was made but has honest character well beyond its years.
This neck is made of straight maple, has a 1-1/4” nut width, and a 26-1/2” scale length on its rosewood fingerboard. The tuners are Gotoh on the peg head and the fifth is a Scahller. This neck is a faithful five string interpretation of the original tenor neck, which is included in the sale.
The banjo comes in a hard shell case. The original tenor case is included in the sale, which is why the shipping quote is higher than I usually would charge.
Thanks for looking and please reach out with any questions.
Location:
United States, Nashville, TN, 37206
Shipping:
150
Payment Methods:
Check/Money Order, Cash (in person), Paypal
Payment Option Notes:
Venmo Accepted
Return Policy:
Returns accepted. Buyer must contact seller within 2 days to arrange return. Refund will be given as Money Back. Buyer pays return shipping.
Condition of Item(s):
Used - Very Good Condition
Category:
Make:
Gibson
Ad Status:
Sold
Listing No:
97635
Page Views:
814
