Questions about conversions

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Gibson Conversion Conversationalists Unltd.

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The purpose of this group is neither to condemn or condone the conversion banjos of Gibson manufacture but share them to all!

180 Members, Created 1/26/2011 -

Administrators: plunka5 (owner) , Arthur Hatfield , banjodr , Bill-in-NC , bryantde , flatthead , revellfa

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From sehatfield on 12/17/2015 7:23:11 AM

I hope y'all don't mind me picking your brain. I'll be in the market for a banjo hopefully very soon. I'm fascinated by Gibson conversions as a way of at least approaching the old Gibson sound. What would some of the key features be in what makes a solid conversion banjo, and what might I try to avoid? Hope I asked that right. Thank you very much

Steve

3 Comments
	JohnWaters says: 12/17/2015 7:59:17 AM Caveat: These are just my opinions from tinkering a lot with conversions. I currently have (2) 1928 conversions. One is a TB-4 archtop with the original ring. I love it. The other is a TB-1 with a modern flattop ring. It sounds great, too. The archtop was great from the start. The TB-1 took some experimenting with rings. I settled on Tim Davis' Memphis Belle. Also, I recommend that you avoid "clubby" conversion necks. A heavy neck dulls the sound too much.
	Bob Murphy says: 12/17/2015 12:02:19 PM As John above said, my opinion only, for what it's worth: I have three conversions. I bought a TB1 conversion from Jim Mills, a 1931, one piece flange, with a Frank Neat neck and Huber ring. I was able to play a bunch of prewars, including his original 5 strings, as well as many of his conversions. The TB1, while not as fantastic as his original 5's, had that sound I wanted, and was a fraction of the cost of a one piece flange master tone conversion or original 5. I converted a 1927 TB 3 myself, with a no hole tone ring. It also sounds great, and has that old sound, but I prefer the flathead, one piece flange sound. If I were to convert another banjo, I would look for a TB 1, have it cut for a tone ring and have a neck made. I've heard them referred to as unfinished master tones. There are many on this site that would NOT recommended cutting the rim for a tone ring, but I look at it this way: it's my banjo, and I can do what I want with it!!! Good luck. Hope this information helps.
	sehatfield says: 12/17/2015 2:31:46 PM Let me clarify a little. BTW I'm loving the advice. I'm not looking to do a conversion. I guess what I'm sayin is, I see lots of conversions listed in the classified in the 2K and under range. I'm looking for info on how what questions to ask to ensure I'm gettin a good conversion banjo. I'm a little unsure because I see others here talk about 4K banjos. If I can't get a respectable one in the 2K range I may be out of luck.
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