A local music shop has a Gibson tenor banjo
on consignment, from the 1930’s. They want
around $1100. That sounded kind of cheap to
me. Where can I research the year/model to
see what I’m dealing with? Anything I should
specifically look for if I decide to buy it? I
haven’t even played it yet, it’s missing the 1st
string, so I’ll have to run home and get a spare
just to try the darn thing out (good grief).
EDIT: Now that I think of it, it might be a
plectrum. I need to go back in and count the
frets.
Oh, wait, they have a pic online of the banjo.
Definitely a tenor.
Aren’t you at home now then?
No, work. It’s only 3pm in NC.
I saw it when I dropped by the music shop at lunch.
It’s expensive having a music shop nearby. Are you a bit of a whizz on the banjo then?
Just started, but I’m getting better. I’ve been
able to stick with practicing the banjo better
than I have with most instruments I’ve tried
because it’s so darn much fun to play. I like
the one I have, but it’s hard to pass up a
vintage Gibson if it comes along.
It’s definitely a happy instrument. My hubby loves it. He says you can’t be unhappy when you are playing it. He is into bluegrass though.
Now do you need the Gibson or just want it? 
Steve Martin tried to sing a sad song once
while playing banjo. Fail. Can’t be done.
Now do you need the Gibson or just want it? >
Exactly. And so runs my internal monologue.
My current banjo had some tuning issues that
are mostly dealt with. If the Gibson is perfectly
in tune, that would be ideal. I could trade my
current banjo in and they’ll probably knock off
1/3 of the price. I have a feeling this Gibson
may be something someone just rescued from
a 20-year stint in the attic, though.
PRO: Seems like a good price for a vintage Gibson.
CON: It would be the most expensive instrument I own.
PRO: Economy sucks. I might never see such a price.
CON: Economy sucks. I might need to hang on to money.
PRO: Gibson!!!
CON: Wife!!!
I must say from the picture it looks like the attic job and boy is there a difference in temperature in the loft and boy can it play havoc with wood
but if they will set it up for you and it plays great, think of the investment (PRO Mrs fearfaoin)
Yeah, and they say it’s got “spider cracks throughout the finish”
so I’m thinking that’s going to be the case.
but if they will set it up for you and it plays great, think of the investment
They don’t know squat about banjos. I will definitely have to take it
to the local luthier for setup and any repair to get it up to snuff. And
that’s probably another $200 or more. Yeah, I might be able to pass
on it. If it’s still there in a week, I’ll go in with a string and try it out
just for laughs. If it’s a great player, I think I’ll reassess then.
Plus I just noticed:
“* Top two tuners are bent.”
Ugh. Probably more trouble than it’s worth.
Thanks for your help, Pammy!
Very glad to be of assistance
If you give them a deposit, maybe they’ll let you take it to a luthier before you buy it to get an expert opinion. Kinda like taking a used car to your mechanic for a once over. You may have a diamond in the rough. Offhand, Gibsons command a high price, be they guitars, ukes, mandolins, etc. If you buy it and decide later that you need the money, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could sell the banjo for at least what you paid, maybe more.
Interesting thought. I didn’t know music stores would agree to such.
Offhand, Gibsons command a high price, be they guitars, ukes, mandolins, etc. If you buy it and decide later that you need the money, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could sell the banjo for at least what you paid, maybe more.
How far could I go with restoration before it loses its vintage…ocity?
(vintageness?) A fret dress is no biggie, but what about changing out
the tuners? Could the finish be addressed without resulting in a future
descendant’s sad face on Antiques Road Show 2100?
These tend to get bought up for conversion to a five-string by bluegrassers, if they have the right kind of tone-ring.
Frank Ford’s website has a photo essay on un-bending a vintage tuner shaft. Www.frets.com if I’m remembering correctly. I also have a spare set of vintage grover planetary tuners, the same kind that used to come on a Gibson. I’d trade them for a decent pair of mando tuners, not necessarily vintage.
Because of the bluegrass Gibson banjo cult, if you do opt for restoration, you will have little trouble finding replacement parts; there’s a repro market for any part you could wish for.
All that said, I wouldn’t pay $1200 for a vintage TB that needs much work. As far as I can tell, ‘Irish’ TB players don’t share the bluegrass Gibson fetish*, and bluegrassers don’t really respect any banjo but a five string. If you buy it as a project and put some more money into it, when you go to sell, the buyer you’re most likely to find will be a bluegrass banjoist, who’s also going to see it as a project and won’t value the work & money you put in.
*Although that’s not true for vintage Gibson Mandolins. Everyone but classical bowl-backers cherishes these.
Fearfaoin, please give heed to what Simon just said. That is a lot to pay for a '30s banjo, even with the G-word on the headstock. And getting the work done can easily cost more than you expect, even with all the reproduction parts available. Although better than nearly any entry-level banjo you’ll find today, the TB-0 wasn’t Gibson’s top-of-the-line offering when it was new, and I don’t believe it’s the one the Bluegrass converters drool over. The Antiques Roadshow people would politely examine it, but it’s not the one they’d get exicted about.
What is wrong with your current banjo? You mention something about not playing in tune. Do you mean it goes out of tune easily, has flawed intonation along the neck, or is it a case of sounding a bit off in Irish GDAE tuning? Or maybe something else? If you’ve got a decent, mechanically sound banjo already, you can make TONS of improvements for a lot less than $1200! Remember that the banjo is the tinkerer’s instrument. You can make any decent banjo sound any way you want it to by making relatively inexpensive changes. It’s not in the nature of a banjo to improve with age the way other stringed instruments do. They tend to dilapidate.
Late to the party, but here goes:
These are not great Irish tenors. The only Gibsons I’ve ever heard making sounds that approach the kind of sound that the best Irish players aspire to are the archtop Mastertone models, and they’re another class of a banjo from the one you’re considering. Check out the silkscreened logo; this is a cheap instrument, despite being made by Gibson. It resembles a Kalamazoo, Recording King, or Oriole, all off-brand lines that Gibson produced during the dark years of the 30’s. Cheers,
Rob
Thanks for the insights, folks.
Here’s the thread about it.
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/tenor-banjo-bridge-placement/62065/1
It’s a lot closer to in-tune now, but I’m constantly
fussing with the bridge to get the 2nd fret right,
especially on the D string. I have to press that
string right at the fret to keep it from going way
sharp. Also, there’s a cant to the neck that makes
the E string very close to the edge of the neck.
I’m probably going to get around to having that
fixed, but it would mean being without my banjo
for a while and that would not be cool at all.
Hey man, did you know that I’m a banjo mechanic? PM me. Cheers,
Rob