I own a Gibson RB-4 reissue, serial number 4-9005-16.
Not wanting to hi-jack but I would like some more information and history about the one I have.
I was told Curtis McPeake owned it and sold to my cousin.

Check out this link.

banjohangout.org/archive/216280

https://www.hangoutstorage.com/banjohangout.org/storage/photos/small/83/8318-11935101182026.jpg

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to find. Your 1990 RB-4 is especially interesting because it may help us understand how these early RB-4s were produced. The possible Curtis McPeake connection is fascinating as well.

I found another old thread here on the Hangout that made me even more curious about my RB-4.

In that thread, Doug Hutchens was able to confirm that RB-3 #3-9206-51, also made in June 1992, was assembled on June 19, 1992 and left the factory with tone ring #188.

My RB-4 is #4-9206-05, so it was apparently made during the same month.

This makes me wonder whether similar assembly records might still exist for my banjo. Does anyone know if it would be possible to find the actual assembly date and original tone-ring number for #4-9206-05?

One additional detail that may be helpful: I bought this banjo new. The frets, nut, and bridge have been replaced over the years, but the neck and pot assembly are original. The tone ring and flange have never been replaced, and both are stamped “Gibson USA.”

I assume the original tone ring was probably a Kulesh, since I understand Gibson-marked Kulesh rings were used during this period, but I would be very interested to know what the actual factory or assembly records say, if they still exist.

It would also be fascinating to know whether #4-9206-05 and #3-9206-51 might have been assembled around the same time, since both date from June 1992.

Here is the old thread I’m referring to:
banjohangout.org/archive/300866

Thanks again for all the information. I’m really enjoying learning more about the history of these early RB-4 reissues.

banjohangout.org/forum/attachm...ID=321216

This might be of interest. For the past months I've been noting down every serial number I see for non-Scruggs banjos from the 90s into the 2000s.

Even though the list isn't comprehensive yet, it gives an insight into how many of particular models were made in certain years.

My own banjo is the first RB-4 made in 1997 (purchased from Japan last year)

Thank you so much! This is fascinating information and exactly what I was looking for. I was especially excited to see the 1991 RB-4 on your list. I really appreciate you sharing your research!

Thanks to the information shared here and in some older BHO threads, I’ve started putting together a simple timeline of the RB-4 reissues. This is obviously not a complete list, but I thought it might be useful to share what we have so far.

Known / reported Gibson RB-4 reissue serial numbers

Year Serial Number Date indicated by serial Sequence No.
1990 4-9005-16          May 1990                              16
1990 4-9006-25          June 1990                             25
1990 4-9009-44          September 1990                   44
1991 4-9104-17          April 1991                             17
1992 4-9206-05          June 1992                              5
1993 4-9307-29          July 1993                              29
1993 4-9310-39*         October 1993                       39
1994 4-9404-30          April 1994                             30
1994 4-9407-43          July 1994                              43
1997 4-9701-01          January 1997                         1
1997 4-9708-30          August 1997                        30
2002 4-0202-05          February 2002                       5
2003 4-0303-08          March 2003                           8
2005 4-0508-05          August 2005                          5

*The 4-9310-39 banjo was discussed in an older BHO thread and there were questions about some of its features, so I’ve marked it separately for now.

What I find especially interesting is how much the sequence numbers seem to vary from year to year. By September 1990 the numbering had reached at least 44, while my June 1992 RB-4 is only #5 for that year. By July 1993 it had reached at least 29, and by July 1994 at least 43.

This seems consistent with the idea that the RB-4 may have been produced in relatively small or irregular batches rather than at a steady rate throughout its production life.

Of course, these numbers only show the highest serial numbers we have found so far — they do not necessarily represent the final production totals for those years.

If anyone has an RB-4 with a serial number that could fill in the gaps, especially from 1990–1994, I’d be very interested to add it to the list.

It would be particularly interesting to find the highest RB-4 sequence number for each year. That might eventually give us a much better idea of how many RB-4 reissues Gibson actually produced.

I can add 4-9104-13 to the list. 

@Herringboned
Is 9006-16 a typo in your list?? because I have 4-9005-16 it seems there would not be two RB4's with the last numbers being 16 in the same year.

I was hoping that Doug Hutchens might chime in on some of these. I am very interested in what music store or persons 4-9005-16 was originally sent/sold to. I'm thinking 1990 was the first year of the RB4 reissues. Not sure of that though.

1997 Gibson Banjos Serial Year
RB-4 9006-16 1990 ????

quote:

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Originally posted by gp753

@Herringboned
Is 9006-16 a typo in your list?? because I have 4-9005-16 it seems there would not be two RB4's with the last numbers being 16 in the same year.

 

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Yes, a typo. Apologies!

Thanks for adding 4-9104-13! It’s great to have another 1991 RB-4 to add to the list. I really appreciate everyone sharing their information. This is getting very interesting!

@Herringboned
Thanks for confirming!

Updated RB-4 Reissue Serial Number Timeline

Thanks to everyone who has contributed information. Here is the updated list of RB-4 reissue serial numbers we have collected so far.

Year      Serial Number      Date indicated by serial      Sequence No.
1990      4-9005-16             May 1990                               16
1990      4-9006-25             June 1990                               25
1990      4-9009-44             September 1990                   44
1991      4-9104-13             April 1991                              13
1991      4-9104-17             April 1991                              17
1992      4-9206-05             June 1992                                5
1993      4-9307-29             July 1993                               29
1993      4-9310-39*            October 1993                      39
1994      4-9404-30             April 1994                             30
1994      4-9407-43             July 1994                               43
1997      4-9701-01             January 1997                          1
1997      4-9708-30             August 1997                        30
2002      4-0202-05             February 2002                       5
2003      4-0303-08             March 2003                            8
2005      4-0508-05             August 2005                           5

*4-9310-39 has been discussed in an older BHO thread where questions were raised about some of its features, so I am keeping it on the list with a note for now.

The previously listed 9006-16 has now been confirmed as a typo and corrected to 4-9005-16.

The newest addition is 4-9104-13, giving us two RB-4s from April 1991: 4-9104-13 and 4-9104-17.

This is obviously still far from a complete list, and the highest sequence number we have found for a particular year should not be assumed to be the total production for that year.

If anyone has another RB-4 serial number, especially one that helps fill the gaps or gives us a later sequence number for a particular year, please add it. It would be great to see how much of the RB-4 production history we can reconstruct together.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed!

Will try to upload some catalogue pages showing pricing. First 1991, Mandolin Bros. List price $2412. Cash price $2050

1996 Mandolin Bros. Price $2899. And a dealer pricelist from 1997.

quote:

---

Originally posted by gp753

I own a Gibson RB-4 reissue, serial number 4-9005-16.
Not wanting to hi-jack but I would like some more information and history about the one I have.
I was told Curtis McPeake owned it and sold to my cousin.

Check out this link.

banjohangout.org/archive/216280

https://www.hangoutstorage.com/banjohangout.org/storage/photos/small/83/8318-11935101182026.jpg

 

---

I checked out that archived link. What a crazy bunch of posts! People talking about getting their reissue RB-4s replated in chrome by random plating companies to make them more authentic. I was relieved when Greg Rich finally showed up on the thread and told them to pull their heads in!  

I found some very interesting information in Doug Hutchens’ own notes on the Greg Rich era Gibson banjos.

According to Doug’s list:

4-9002-1 — February 22, 1990
First RB-4 — tone ring K1009
Doug also notes: “7 prototypes Perkins/Sullivan”

4-9003-1 — March 12, 1990
First regular-line RB-4

This seems to confirm that 1990 was the first year of the RB-4 reissue, and it also gives us a starting point for the regular production run.

So our 1990 RB-4 timeline can now be expanded to:

4-9002-1 — Feb. 22, 1990 — First RB-4; tone ring K1009; prototype
4-9003-1 — Mar. 12, 1990 — First regular-line RB-4
4-9005-16 — May 1990 — Sequence #16
4-9006-25 — June 1990 — Sequence #25
4-9009-44 — Sept. 1990 — Sequence #44

I find this especially interesting because we can now see the progression from the beginning of regular RB-4 production in March to at least #44 by September 1990.

Doug’s notes are also interesting because he records the tone-ring number (K1009) for the first RB-4. This makes me wonder again whether the same records might contain the assembly date and tone-ring number for my 4-9206-05.

Here is Doug Hutchens’ blog:

doughutchens.blogspot.com/2018...-and.html

Thanks again to everyone contributing serial numbers and information. We’re gradually putting together a much clearer picture of the early RB-4 reissues.