Gibson: Earl Scruggs Standard

Submitted by kubota on 7/1/2014

Where Purchased: Gryphon Stringed Instruments

Year Purchased: 1988
Price Paid: 1,800 ($US)

Sound

I have been playing Bluegrass for over 40 years. At the time the Gibson factory just did enough setup to have it make a sound. After buying the ESS I tightened the skin as to almost bursting it. After tightening the skin, it came alive. Loud and crystal clear from top to bottom. I have always wondered how a banjo made in 1988 could have the prewar sound. I was wondering if the wood rim may have been a left over from the 1930's. Having Earls autograph makes this Gibson something real special.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

The day I bought it the Gibson sounded real tubby. But after tighting down everthing and putting on a new bridge. It now sounds as close to a prewar Gibson banjo like the ones that I bought from Jim Mills.

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

In the 30 some years of owning my Gibson ESS. It is holding up vary well. The big problem I noted after buying it was that I could not slide my hand down the neck without having it drag and catch. If I rubbed the neck with my thumb real hard I noticed the finish moving. Well I got a razor blade and started scraping the finish off ever so lightely. Well I hit about 5 pitch pockets of un-dryed finish. Someone at the factory must have fallen a sleep with the spray gun. It had sags and runs under about 50 coats of finish. So I proceded to scrape the neck and the wood rim. To much finish will make a vary dull sounding banjo. After doing that job the banjo jumped up 100% in sound.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

After fixing the finish problem I did something that I don't think anyone else has ever done. I read an artical in Bluegrass Unlimited some years back. Jerry Douglas put a sound wall for a Dobro into the microwave for a few seconds every day to dry out the wood and age it. Well I was so interested in this that I tore my Gibson ESS down to the nuts and bolts and also put my wood rim in the microwave for a few seconds twice a day for 4 months. When I finished doing this job I put it all back together once more. Was I surprised, I must have aged that rim over 50 years drying out the moisture and crystalizing the glue. I was talking to Jim Mills and he said why not! He did this for banjo bridges and was happy with the results.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

The Gibson had no problem that I could not fix myself so there was no need to contact Gibson. The warranty is forever to the original owner. Warranty is for life to me only.

Customer Service: not rated

Components

The original Keith tuners did not work so I asked Gryphon to give me another set and the new set worked fine. That was not Gibsons fault. Some customer not knowing nothing must have turned them way past the stops. Nothing cheap with this banjo.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

I swear there must be a prewar rim in this banjo. From the day I first played it there was a sound that was so good. Earl spotted the sound in Don's banjo. Earl tweaked his banjo for years and it only sounded better year after year. That's what I did, and I have heard other Gibson ESS and mine has that sound and the tweaking has only made it better. I would never buy another Gibson ESS as now there to high in price and all the Gibson ESS owners could never get any better. Only if Jim Mills can find you some prewar Gibson's like he did for me. I  think in a couple years my Gibson ESS will be 5k when I finally sell it. TKS....

Overall Rating: 10