1920s Gibson UB-3 Banjo Ukulele




A good customer/acquaintance of mine sent this cute little thing in for consignment. It's a 20s UB-3 which puts it right up the food chain of Gibson banjo ukes. In this case that specs-out to an 8" rim, full 13 7/8" scale length, and flatback resonator. Most of the hardware is original, though the tailpiece and two hooks/nuts are unoriginal.

I did a light setup on it which included making a new (more attractive) nut, reseating a couple of frets just slightly, adjusting the bridge, head, and coordinator rod, and cleaning it up. It plays spot-on with a new set of Martin fluorocarbon strings and sounds... vaudeville! It's got a big, projecting sound that's awesome for those closed-position 20s/30s chord changes. I can imagine doing triplets all night long and fading into slack-jawed joy.


The skin head has one tiny pinhole in it that's not causing any trouble (and won't).


The pearl-inlaid Gibson script and fleur-de-lis are classic "Gibson cool."


The fretboard looks like "ebonized" pearwood or maple. It's certainly not rosewood -- and this is pretty common on Gibson banjos I've had through the shop from the same time. Can't argue with binding and pearl all over, though.


The bridge is a modded, lightweight 5-string bridge that came with the uke, but it does supply a good tone so I didn't replace it.


Sunburst! The resonator's edge is bound, too.



The tuners are spring-loaded old Waverlies. Nice stuff.






I added a couple replacement hooks from my parts bin and also a replacement nut for the tailpiece hanger. Note how I've loaded the strings -- knotted "ball ends" that slip into the "tongs" and then wrap in through the holes.



Here's the coordinator rod which can help to adjust neck-angle and keeps the instrument rigid and true. I love me that simply Gibson contraption!



The uke comes with a nicely-fitted newer (import?) hard case. It's an arched-top model and works perfectly for it. When this came out of the shipping box I said, "dang, that's nice!" There's something about banjo uke cases that make me smile.

Comments

Blackrock said…
Beautiful instrument. How much is the gap between the resonator and the bottom of the pot.
Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge. Guy in Canada.