1926/1970s Gibson (Liberty Neck) RB-4 Mastertone 5-String Resonator Banjo Conversion

This banjo is a thoroughbred instrument, for sure. At its heart is an all-original 1926 Gibson "ball bearing" archtop-tonering rim and its associated hardware. It probably came off of a TB-2 or TB-3 tenor banjo considering its trim level. To this is mated a Liberty Banjo Company (Winston Bish, made in Connecticut) 5-string neck from the '80s or '90s which copies an RB-4-style inlay pattern. It's got the retro feel and style down pat but also adds a little radius to the fretboard which gives it a slightly modern touch that feels excellent.

The result is a loud, proud, cutting, bluegrass machine with the classic Gibson archtop sound -- clean and sparkly and choppy and clear -- and a fast, easy, modern feel. It's responsive, looks gorgeous, and sounds just how you'd want it. I feel bad that my skills in the demo video do not do the instrument justice but you get a sense of its sound, at any rate.

I worked on this back in 2018 for its owner but it came back just now in 2023 as part of his efforts to downsize his instrument collection. He has a lot of fancy banjos of similar style to choose from, so I understand! Back then I gave it a level/dress of the frets and minor setup work and this time around it got a little fresh fret polishing and a bunch of cleaning and very minor setup adjustments.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, cleaning, and setup work.

Weight: 9 lbs 15 oz

Scale length: 26 3/8"

Nut width: 1 5/16"

Neck shape: medium-full soft V

Board radius: 14"

Head diameter: 11”

Resonator diameter: 13 1/2"

Depth overall at rim: 3 1/4"

Rim wood: ply maple

Tonering: ball-bearing archtop w/holes

Bridge: maple/ebony (compensated)

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 9s

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Condition notes: the rim and all of its hardware appear original. The head is, of course, a replacement and the tailpiece has been drilled to take a 5th string, I think, rather than cut that way to begin-with. The tailpiece itself has a small hairline crack repair on one side of it (hidden under its rear) but it's holding-pat just fine. The downpressure adjuster screw is too short for use but there's plenty of downpressure on the strings at the moment anyhow. The pearl truss rod cover is engraved "MATT" but flips over to a blank side -- which it's currently set to -- I just forgot to set it that way when putting the cover back on. The rim has its original finish intact but it has been oversprayed and has some wear and tear (buckle rash or strap rash?) on the back. Also, clearly, the neck is not original -- it copies the RB-4 looks and it's likely that the rim came from a TB-2 or TB-3 considering its trim level.

It comes with: a good, high-quality, TKL hard case.