1925 Gibson TB-5 Ball-Bearing Resonator Tenor Banjo

Overview: I took photos of this back in 2023 when we first saw this banjo, but since then the owner upgraded even further to a fancier Gibson banjo, and so this one is now up for sale. It's the real deal and quite the stunner. If I were playing tenor banjo gigs on the daily, I would be scrimping and saving and slobbering all over this fella. I'm going to borrow my earlier posting on it for the description, now...

It's hard not to be bowled-over by a high-end Gibson banjo of any sort. This TB-5 is drop-dead gorgeous (and restrained) in its trim, has all the right features, is early in the game date-wise, plays bang-on, and has oodles of volume and projection. It's like having an amp sitting in your lap when you're playing it.

It has an archtop-style (holed) tonering, gold-plated (and engraved) hardware throughout, rainbow-style celluloid binding at the rim and resonator, and multicolored purfling/binding at the neck and resonator as well. The pearl inlay in the neck is spiffy but not over-the-top and it has the late-1925 Mastertone "block" inlay down towards the bottom of the fretboard rather than Mastertone at the headstock.

We all wondered who's represented on the truss rod cover -- Joe Oley? Joe Clay? -- if any of you know more, let me know. There are census records from 1940 for a pair of Joe Oleys, both in the midwest, and one of them would have been around 40 when this was made and lived close-enough to Kalamazoo that he might have had it ordered special and picked it up.

Repairs included: We previously gave it a level/dress of the frets and setup work. It's still playing just as it left and is sporting a set of Thomastik flatwound strings to boot. It plays spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz
• Scale length: 22 3/4"
• Nut width: 1 1/8"
• Neck shape: slim C
• Board radius: flat
• Depth at first fret: 3/4"
• Depth at seventh fret: 49/64"
• Head diameter: 11”
• Resonator diameter: 13 1/2"
• Depth overall at rim: 3 1/4"
• Rim wood: ply maple
• Tonering: ball-bearing archtop
• Bridge: maple/ebony
• Fretboard: ebony
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 34w-10
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: low/narrow

Condition notes: It's in fantastic shape! It's all-original save the head, bridge, nut (I believe), and possibly the tailpiece (though I've seen them on other TB-5s). There's light wear and tear in the finish throughout but its looks gorgeous.

It comes with: It has its original hard case.

Consignor tag: MBUO