I've been a very involved fan of bluegrass music since 1963 and have played
banjo, guitar, and most recently mandolin, with much enthusiasm and varying levels of proficiency since
that time. I'm especially taken with banjos and have had a few over the
years.
I'm proud to say that Gibson Mastertone banjos have been my only choice of
instrument, though my first banjo, back in 1963, was a Vega Folk Wonder 5.
In 1964, I ordered a new Gibson RB-250; the 6-month wait for delivery was worth
it. Here I am, 18 years old, with my first Mastertone. I'm quite
proud - can you tell?
A
few years later, I bought a pre-war Gibson TB-3 archtop banjo from a New York
City pawnshop. I traded the RB-250 for a 5-string neck from Roger Sprung
thus beginning my pre-war Gibson mania. Here we are in 1966.
I moved to the Boston area in 1975 and soon got to know Mike Allison of
Providence Guitar & Banjo. I was very impressed with his work and had
him build a fancy custom 5-string neck for the old Style 3. Another long
wait for delivery - and again worth the wait. The neck inlays are the
traditional wreath pattern but the peghead inlay design is Mike's.
I
bought a 1930 TB-3 flathead banjo from Mandolin Brothers of Staten Island a few
years later. Mike Allison built a 5-string neck in the original style.
This had been my "main" banjo until September of 2002 when I sold it
in order to have the cash to buy a new Gibson F5 Master Model mandolin.
Now I play the 1999 Gibson RB-12 Top Tension banjo with Huber tonering.
During the late 70's, I bought a converted 1925 TB-5 from The Music Emporium
in Massachusetts. I really loved this banjo - to this day I don't know why
I sold it! For years afterwards, I searched for another of these
first
Gibson Mastertones with the ball-bearing tone ring design. A few years
ago, I bought a 1926 Gibson Granada tenor banjo from Mandolin Brothers and had
Janet Davis Music build a reproduction 5-string neck. The new neck was a
masterpiece. Soon afterwards, Jim Bollman from The Music Emporium called
to tell me he had a 1925 TB-5 for sale. Full circle, so to speak. I
bought the TB-5, had Mandolin Brothers sell the Granada on consignment, and
ordered another neck from Janet Davis Music. Again, a long, long, long
wait but worth it.
So, where
do all the tenor necks go after conversion to
5-string? Neckville, I assume. Here are the necks from my first 2
TB-3's and the most recent pre-war acquisition, the TB-5.
Follow this RB5 Project link for some before and after pictures.....
Some "vintage" pictures:
first "band" - 1966
Richie Brown, me, Dave Marks
Northern Lights - Cape Cod, 1976
me, Taylor Armerding, Marty Sachs, Bob Emery
Vintage, not
with RB-12 reissue - 1999
Where did those 35 years go from the first picture to here?
July 3, 2000 - mandolin and fiddle friends
