1960s Ridgeland (Harmony-made) Reso-Tone 5-String Banjo

I get at least a couple Harmony Reso-Tone banjos like this one through the shop for setups each year. They're neat instruments, with molded rims and resonators and steel-reinforced poplar necks that usually manage to stay dead-straight as they age.

This one's a trade-in and wasn't playing well at all when it showed-up, but after the usual work it's now playing spot-on, has a tall-as-heck bridge, and that classic, plunky, simple Harmony tone.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, double-bolt neck joint reinforcement (replacing a missing neck brace design that never works anyway), new bridge, cleaning, and setup.

Setup notes: it plays perfectly with 1/16" action at the 12th fret overall, a straight neck, and it's strung with 9s. The bridge is a 3/4" height one that I've compensated.

Scale length: 26 5/8"

Nut width: 1 1/8"

String spacing at nut: 7/8"

String spacing at bridge: 1 3/4"

Head diameter: 11"

Resonator diameter: 13"

Side depth: 3" overall

Fretboard: ebonized maple or similar

Bridge: maple/ebony, comp'd

Neck feel: medium C/D shape, flat board

Neck wood: poplar

Condition notes: it's worn-in a bit all over and has chipped-out finish along the side of the fretboard past the 7th fret. One has to be careful how much tension is applied to the resonator-mounting screw in the rear. The more you tighten it, the more it flexes the rim and thus raises action, so "just tight enough" is the perfect tension on it.