BHO Newbie gets a Gibson PB3

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Gibson Ballbearing Owners Group

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All those who own or would like to own one of these wonderful instruments are invited to join.

119 Members, Created 1/26/2011 -

Administrators: Couchie (owner)

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From Paulie W on 9/9/2012 1:24:55 AM

Just purchased from the Great-grandaughter of the original owner-1926 Gibson Mastertone plectrum PB-3 factory order number 8318-1 stamped into rim and written twice on inside of the resonator. Thanks to BHO (and a few other on-line sites) I was able to do as much research as possible to verify the authenticity of this instrument. As I am no expert, and I know that pre-war Gibson Mastertones have been frequently counterfeited, there were no "red flags" that I could find. Everything conforms to original spec's as far as I can determine.The over-all condition is pretty good. It has some wear of the finish on the back of the neck and some minor wear to the fingerboard and frets in the first position, but it is not excessive for an 86 year old instrument. The only other issue is some missing binding on both sides of the neck by the higher frets towards the end of the fingerboard.This is more a cosmetic issue than one interfering with playability.The head (probably original) was kind of funky with some tape on it, so I just replaced it with a Remo Renaissance 11" high collar. Upon removal of the old head, I found all the ball bearings,springs,and washers to be in place under the 60 hole arched-top tone ring. I gave it a new Farquhar bridge and GHS strings. I'm now very pleased with the tone and action. It has the original (probably Geib) hardshell case. The seller was asking $2500 (which was to my thinking higher than the current market value). I offered considerably less and it was accepted. I believe that I did well. Sorry, I am not able to post pictures. Paulie W.

3 Comments
	dgill says: 9/9/2012 7:19:24 AM Congrats Paulie. Sounds like a wonderful find and one that you will either love or not. Ball Bearing banjos have a unique sound quality and wonderful tone, but not everyone can appreciate it's beauty. Enjoy it and if you can, share some sound tracks with us all.
	banjerman says: 9/9/2012 5:58:31 PM Thats a great find Paulie. Heres hoping its a real good one!
Paulie W says: 9/9/2012 10:06:10 PM dgill and banjerman-Thanks for the comment-While I am not an amatuer musician, I am as far as playing the banjo goes. I have been recognized as a specialist in the world of vintage steel guitars and pre WW-II Dobro and National resophonics. I've played pedal and non-pedal steel for close to 40 years. I have done business with some celebrity players in the past who would be well recognized here and played pedal steel in bands who have opened shows for some well-known artists. The Gibson PB-3 is quite happy now in my collection with my other Gibson instruments. And for the record-unlike many of my brothers at The Steel Guitar Forum, I DO NOT share the distain that many steel players do for banjos and I have posted there that I see no need for "Banjo Bashing" among fellow string musicians. I love vintage string instruments of mostly all kinds! Thanks-Paulie W.
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