1923 Gibson MB-3 Banjo-Mandolin

It's hard to argue with an old Gibson! This guy is a '22 or '23 MB-3 and has the cool "squiggly" headstock shape, sunburst finish, ball-bearing/holed-tonering rim design, dual coordinator rods, and trap-door resonator rear. Can we also mention the fact that it has the super-cool ivoroid pickguard, too?

This one was just in for a level/dress of the frets and setup. The bridge was a "parts-binner" of mine -- a walnut, compensated one off an old Levin -- and it was perfect for this guy. A wide, mandolin-style bridge makes it easier to keep a skin-headded banjo-mandolin in tune and reliable. I mean -- any "damping" effect from the weight is easily made-up-for by the fact that banjo-mandolins are painfully loud in the first place. We win!

Sound is "horse-cloppy" like a lot of banjo-mandos but with a quick, even, "snap" that's focused all in the upper-mids. It sits right in a pocket.