I've been on this form about a banjo I purchased from the family of a friend of mine who passed last year. The banjo in reference is a 1989 Gibson Granada (Greg Rich era ) 8908-111banjo. With that being said here are a few things that I wanted to know about to make this banjo which is already a great sounding banjo look the part as a original 1989 Gibson. I have heard that Gibson parts were used from old stock and although new they were not all equipped with the same era parts. For instance this banjo has a clamshell tailpiece and most of the ones I have pics of have a presto tailpiece with Granada engraving on it. It has a 5 star head on it and most have a remo frosted head. not trying to sell this but want to get the banjo period correct with original parts. Thanks for any advice!
post pictures please and people will be able to help.
No 1989 gibson banjos were shipped using old parts, there is a lot of mythology around gibson floor sweep banjos, and in the 1940s they were shipping banjos with a mismatch of parts for a very short time, but this didnt continue past ww2. Your banjo left the factory with all new parts. That said banjos are like car parts, with many innerchangable replacable parts and banjo players love to swap them them out, so its quite possible your banjo has been changed from the factory original parts. It could have been swapped with old parts, or newer parts. Pictures are then only way people will be able to help you.
The Presto tailpiece, gold plated with some "matte" finish gold, with "Granada" engraved diagonally across the cover, was original standard equipment for 1989. Remo head would be original too.
The pre-war Granadas never had Presto tailpieces from the factory. Early in the ball bearing years they often had Kerschner tailpieces. Later models usually had Grover clamshell tailpieces. Both were engraved "Granada" in different ways. On the Grover it was engraved horizontally near the hinge of the cover, not on the diagonal. Huber offers his version of Granada with this Grover type tailpiece. Earl and Sonny swapped their Grovers for Prestos because it's MUCH easier to change a broken string on a Presto. The Grover is a pure D bi-otch to change unless you have 2 boys and bull dog to hold that spring loaded cover open all the way.
Edited by - The Old Timer on 12/02/2024 12:54:15
Sorry about the passing of your friend. It must be comforting to his family that you own his banjo. It must remind you of him whenever you play it.
Knowing banjo players the way I do, I would be greatly surprised if your friend had not changed the head sometime in the 34 years between 1989 and 2023. And the change from original equipment Remo to Five Star (no longer made) was a common swap for people looking for different sounds. Maybe the original head failed and needed to be changed. Some people change heads because they don't like the look of wear or dirt (that would be me). So the presence of a Five Star on a 34-year-old banjo that shipped with Remo is of no consequence.
I believe heads, bridges and tailpieces are probably the three most commonly replaced parts in the search for sound. So it is highly likely your friend changed out the original engraved Presto for the clamshell. The bridge might also not be original. I think they said Gibson for a while.
I agree with the opinion that your banjo left the factory with all the standard parts for its time and the changes were by owner(s).
If you'd like to return the banjo to original specs, you can buy an unprinted top-frosted Remo from Stew-Mac. You might also check if Bob Smakula sells them logo-less. For the tailpiece, I see two options: Ask your friend's family if he had a stash of parts. If he was the original owner or a later owner who replaced the tailpiece, the original Presto might still be in his music supplies. If not, or if you don't want to pursue this option, then wait for one to appear in the Hangout Classifieds, on eBay, or somewhere else. Or buy a replacement from Greg Boyd for $200. These are made by Prucha, who I was believe was making Gibson hardware late in the post-Rich-Era period, so this might be considered the exact same thing as a genuine Gibson replacement part. (See below)
Good luck.
Edited by - Old Hickory on 12/02/2024 15:04:55
Nothing to add but found it was neat I just bought #8908-110
Edited by - Nick-C on 12/28/2024 11:30:04
