A great banjo

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Gibson BlackJack Owners Group

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This group is for all Blackjack owners to come together and share all about one of the last Banjo models Gibson had come out

18 Members, Created 10/6/2013 -

Administrators: momo (owner)

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From Bob Murphy on 10/8/2013 8:39:03 AM

I purchased my blackjack in 2007 after reading about it in a review article in BNL. It was shipped directly from Nashville to boulevard music in California, the only authorized gibson dealer left in the state. It was beautifully finished, but one of the L brackets was loose. Fortunately, the late, great Larry brown was the luthier at the shop. He was well known as a banjo set up guy in the Los Angeles area, and was able to repair it. I asked him to set it up to sound and play its best. He told me that he didn't have to do very much, and told me it was a great sounding banjo.

It has been played a lot over the years. The only thing that I have done was to tighten the head. The presto tailpiece developed a crack several years ago, and I had to replace it, but was able to keep the engraved cover. The gold plating has aged well, but nothing has turned green!

This banjo has a great growling 4tth string, but not as much volume as some of my other banjos. It also records better than my other instruments. I find the neck very comfortable and fast.

I still have the original snuffy bridge on it, use GHS JD Crowe 10's, and haven't changer the action, which is fairly low. Despite the many hours of playing, the frets haven't needed any work, and there is no buzzing anywhere.

The bottom line is,that I really like this banjo and will never sell it.

If anyone on the list knows a way to make the gold on my new presto match the gold on the rest of the banjo, I would greatly appreciate it. I do have the original presto body, and have wondered it it could be soldered. Any ideas?

Happy picking!

Bob

2 Comments
momo says: 10/9/2013 2:57:44 PM Ask Eric Sullivan.. he was asked in a interview about the Gold "aging process" he said it was a proprietary technique. This model is not being made anymore, so ask him he might tell you how to do it.. remember if he does please post it here.
	Pickin furry paws says: 10/13/2013 8:12:25 AM The "proprietary technique" was steel wool and a couple of other things. Seriously, when I got mine in 2007, I called around and had a long conversation with Gibson and others. The armrest was getting in pretty bad shape, and now the whole banjo just looks ugly. IMHO, the BJ gold was a poor marketing scheme. There are other banjos with shiny gold that last much longer, mainly due to the sheen on the parts resisting corrosion better.
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