In my opinion, this does not appear to be a Gibson product.
Nothing really Gibson about it, except the word Gibson on the counterfeit sticker and the head stock inlay.
Most likely a project from a competent home luthier.
All the same, if it was built well, it probaly plays as well as it was built.
I can tell at a glance that the rim and resonator were not made by Gibson. The neck might be original since it's a tenor, but we would have to see better pictures of it to determine that. The truss rod cover is not original. I can't speak for the tone ring.
here is some more info on how to spot a fake gibson label like the one featured here: http://earnestbanjo.com/wp/mastertone-labels-real-vs-fake/
Another clue that its not real is the block rim contruction, compare to pictures of real gibson rims and you can see how differently yours is contruted. a real gibson rim is made from usually three ply wood construction turned and gluded together, sometimes more for the late 60s and 70s models and. few examples of only 2 plys for the 00 models. This is block rim construction pictured here, you can see how your rim was made with different blocks of wood. Gibson didnt make mastertone banjos with block rims.
I cant see enough of the neck to tell if its original gibson or not, but it doesnt matter much as gibson tenor necks are not sought after.
Rim and reso have never seen the inside of any Gibson factory, be it Kalamazoo or Nashville. The flange could be authentic but impossible to tell from these images.
The neck could also be authentic but we need more pictures, seeing more of the binding thickness and fret wire would help.
Nobody is faking Gibson tenor necks.
To explain just a bit further, for those who might not know.
The resonator has at least two "tells" that it's not Gibson. Looking at the back, those widely spaced concentric rings are TOO widely spaced. Gibson resonators have them only 3/4" from the outside edge and 3/4" apart. Second, the veneer in the back is two pieces with an obvious seam/join up the center. All Gibson resonators I'm aware of have a ONE PIECE veneer on the back. This resonator absolutely looks Asian manufacture -- why they can't do a better job copying the Gibson design astounds me.
The neck might be a refinished pre-war Gibson TB 3 neck pre-1930. This was Gibson's most commonly made/sold banjo in those days, roughly twice as many TB-3s as all other models combined. And a ton of those old tenor banjos have been converted to 5 string by bolting on a well made modern copy of a Gibson 5 string neck. This leaves many an orphaned original Tenor neck adrift on a sea of loneliness. It's actually not a bad idea to repurpose the neck by bolting it to home-assembled pot to get another tenor banjo. All the parts for pots are available, new and used. The color of this tenor neck is not quite dark "purple" enough to be a typical 1920s TB 3 neck. So perhaps it was refinished to a little warmer brown stain. Who knows? Could be. Close inspection of the neck might reveal "tells" that it's an old Gibson. For instance, fingerboard thickness, heel cut, truss rod channel carpentry, binding quality, fret size, etc.
Edited by - The Old Timer on 09/19/2024 12:18:09
