CHARLES Z FISHʼS PRE-WAR GIBSON BANJOS

I have had several goals in mind as I put together these descriptions of Charles Z Fishʼs Gibson banjos. I want to have the collection appraised, and, hopefully, these illustrated and annotated depictions of the instruments will allow an appraiser to do that. I also want to catalogue the collection so that I and others will have a single document describing the entire collection.

I have gathered a few facts about the banjos, their construction and the history of the Gibson company, and I introduce these facts as I describe the instruments, mainly for my own interest. Gibson banjos from the two decades before World War II, “pre-war Gibsons,” include some of the best sounding banjos for bluegrass music ever built. I was captivated by the sound of the bluegrass banjo at the age of 15 and remain so.

No doubt there are some inaccuracies here. Much of the information is from a 1981 article in Frets Magazine by Roger Siminoff, Greg Earnestʼs website (www.earnestbanjo.com), and several books: Gibson Guitars by Walter Carter, Gruhnʼs Guide to Vintage Guitars by George Gruhn and Walter Carter, and Spannʼs Guide to Gibson by Joseph Spann.

For information on banjo construction, Charles Z Fish relied on Roger Siminoffʼs book, Constructing a 5-String Banjo.

This volume is dedicated to the memory of Larry Gray (1936-1985), creator of the original incarnation of Charles Z Fish.

BANJOS

RB-00 (1935-1942)

RB-1 (1938)

TB-11 (1931-1943)

TB-2 (1929) WITH 5-STRING NECK

TB-2 (1931)

MB-3 (1926)

RB-3 (1926)

RB-75 (1939)

RB-4 (1926)

STUDIO KING (1932) WITH 5-STRING NECK

GRANADA (1929) WITH 5-STRING NECK

TB-5 (1928) WITH 5-STRING NECK

RECORDING KING (1932) WITH 5-STRING NECK

TB-6 (1929) WITH 5-STRING NECK

ROYAL P-T (1929)

RB-7 (1940-1945)

RB-12 (1933)

BELLA VOCE (1927) WITH 5-STRING NECK

FLORENTINE (1927) WITH 5-STRING NECK

RB-00 (1935-1942)

RB-00

The Gibson Company introduced its first banjo, a plain tenor model, in 1918. Gibson banjos were designated with letters to correspond to the type of instrument. Tenor banjos were designated TB, plectrum banjos PB, guitar banjos GB, mandolin banjos MB, and regular, or 5-string banjos RB. Banjos with a string scale length halfway between that of a tenor and a plectrum were made for a brief period in the late 1920's and were called plectrum tenors, or PT. Ukelele banjos were designated UB and cello banjos CB.

The letters were followed by a number corresponding to the grade or quality of the instrument. Style 00 was at the bottom of the line. Style 0 was next, then 1. Style 11 (double one) was a later, inexpensive model. Style 2 had fancier inlays and extra binding. Style 3 had more of the same. Style 4 was fancier yet, and style 5 had gold plating, elaborate inlays and other appointments. The Granada was a simpler gold-plated instrument, introduced in 1925. Style 5 was the fanciest model until 1927, when the Bella Voce and Florentine were added to the Gibson line, followed by the introduction of the elaborate style 6 in 1928. The most elaborate banjo of all, with a three-dimensional carved eagle on the peghead and painted scenes depicting  American history on the fingerboard, was named the All-American and was introduced in 1930.

The RB-00 was the lowest-priced resonator banjo in the pre-World War II era. This is a regular (5-string) banjo and was manufactured between 1935 and 1942. Serial numbers were stamped on the back of the peghead from 1938-1940 only. Factory order numbers were usually not applied, but were sometimes found written on the heel in penceil.This banjo has no serial number and cannot be dated, but was presumably made between 1935 and 1937, or in 1941-1942. The list price in the Gibson catalogues was $30.00.

RB-00

The banjo has a maple neck and resonator. It is finished with nitro-cellulose lacquer with no stain and a black lacquer sunburst. The

resonator is "single-bound," with white celluloid binding on the back edge only.

The peghead shape is unique to style 00 and tapers to a point. It has a dark shaded walnut finish. The Gibson logo is silkscreened in white

rather than being inlaid in mother of pearl. The plastic cover between the first and fourth strings is used to access an adjustable trust rod in

the neck, a feature designed by Thaddeus J. “Ted” McHugh in 1921.

RB-00The fingerboard, or fretboard, is made of Brazilian rosewood and has

one-dot inlay at frets 5, 7 and 10, and a two-dot inlay at fret 12.

The "pot" has a cast white metal, one-piece flange. Three threaded thumbscrews pass through brackets attached to the flange and seat

in wall lugs set in the resonator.

RB-00

Grover “two-tab” tuners and the tailpiece are original. The nickel plating shows wear.

The tension hoop, or stretcher band, is of a type seen on the least expensive Gibson banjos. After 1926, the tension hoops on most

Gibsons were notched and accommodated rounded brackets. This hoop lacks the notching of most other banjos of the period and accommodates flat-type rather than rounded brackets. It is solid brass and is stamped “E2” on the inside. It is grooved somewhat differently from earlier models, such as the MB-3 on these pages.

RB-00

As is the case for other pre-war, non-Mastertone models, the neck is attached to the pot with a fastening nut and a single coordinator rod, for which Gibson had been granted a patent in 1922. The design has been attributed to Gibson engineers Thaddeus J. "Ted" McHugh and Delmont C. Mafit. This allowed adjustment of the angle of the neck of the banjo to the pot. (According to Joseph Spann, McHugh worked for Gibson from 1907 to 1945. In 1915, he was the highest paid employee in the company and earned $24 per week.)

RB-00

The rim has an 11 inch outside diameter. It is rolled and laminated maple, 3 plies of 1/4 inch each, machined down to 5/8 inch at the top and 1/2 inch at the bottom, over which the flange slips. There is no

tone ring. There is a turned bead in the wood at the outside top edge, upon which the head rests.

BANJOS

RB-1 (1938)

RB-1This RB-1 is from a line of style 1 banjos made between 1929 and

1940. 200 style 1 banjos were made with 5-string necks. The neck and resonator are straight-grained maple. The finish is a nitro-cellulose

lacquer over a Sheraton brown stain.

RB-1This is a later model. The serial number is FA-5088 and is stamped on the back of the peghead. No factory order numbers were used on this

model.

The serial number is also written in chalk inside the resonator, which has a poplar core mounted with three wall lugs to accommodate

thumbscrews that attach it to the rim.

RB-1Mastertones of this era had switched to a double-cut peghead shape, but the style 1 retained the fiddle-shaped peghead. A minor modification is the absence of the two small indentations along the sides of the peghead below the first and fourth string tuners. The peghead is inlaid in mother of pearl with the Gibson logo and an “inverted bud.” The banjo has an adjustable trust rod in the neck.

In 1937, Gibson inlaid the fingerboard of the RB-1, which is rosewood, with a simple dot pattern.

RB-1Earlier RB-1’s, from approximately 1931-1936, featured a fingerboard

with a fleur-de-lis pattern that is shown in this TB-1 neck. These inlays are also referred to as “bats,” “gulls,” or “flying birds.”

Like the Mastertones of the 1930’s, this banjo has a 3-ply maple rim and a white, or “pot-metal,” die-cast, one-piece flange. The die-cast tension hoop is notched, and the brackets are rounded. The tuners

and Grover tailpiece on this instrument are original. The hardware is nickel plated.

RB-1

The resonator has a straight-grained maple veneer. Both edges of the resonator and the neck have a cream-colored ivoroid binding.

This banjo has a single coordinator rod and a neck fastening nut. There is an oval “The Gibson” label inside the rim.

RB-1Style 1 banjos are a non-Mastertone model and do not have a true

tone ring, only a small diameter, brass hoop on top of the rim.

BANJOS

TB-11 (1931-43)

TB-11

TB-11In the 1930’s, presumably in response to the hard financial times of the Depression, Gibson produced lower priced banjos under the brand names of other companies, such as SS Stewart. It also had an in-house budget brand called the Kel Kroydon. Neither the SS Stewart nor the Kel Kroydon had adjustable trust rods in the neck. In 1931, Gibson introduced under its name the style 11 (double one), which is modeled after the Kel Kroydon.

The neck, as well as the rim and the veneered sides of the resonator, are finished with a dark blue nitro-cellulose lacquer. Hence, these

instruments have been referred to as the “blue banjos.”

TB-11The back of the resonator is covered in celluloid and is decorated with red and black, silkscreened designs with a floral motif. It is

oversprayed with a transparent, brown lacquer sunburst.

Other Style 11’s (and the SS Stewart below) have a blue sunburst stain.

TB-11

The resonator has three mounting lugs to accommodate the thumbscrews that attach it to the rim. The core is poplar, and the

sides are straight-grained laminated maple, with the blue finish. The top and bottom edges have a cream-colored ivoroid binding.

The peghead is also covered with a celluloid, or “pearloid” veneer, which has been referred to as mother of toilet seat (MOT.) It is

silkscreened with a floral design and has a brown sunburst. It has a truss rod cover but otherwise closely resembles the Kel Kroydon.

TB-11These are the original “two-tab” Grover tuners.

The tailpiece is the original Waverly.

TB-11The fingerboard is veneered with MOT, and has red and black,

silkscreened, floral-pattern position markers.

The instrument has a die-cast, one-piece flange, and the notched stretcher band accommodates rounded brackets. All the metal parts

are nickel plated.

TB-11The TB-11 is a non-Mastertone model, without a bona fide tone

chamber. There is a brass hoop between the rim and the head. It bears an oval “The Gibson” label inside the rim, similar to but distinct

from the Mastertone label.

It has a single coordinator rod and neck fastening nut. The multi-ply maple rim is painted blue. It has an 11” outside diameter and is

machined to 0.58” thickness below the flange.

Earl Scruggs was playing an RB-11 when he joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys in 1945.

BANJOS