1970s Cortez Resonator 5-String Archtop Banjo

Overview: This appears to be a rather ho-hum '70s Japanese banjo, but the Cortez branding belies the fact that it's actually a nicer-grade Iida model with different appointments and branding and under the hood it has an all-aluminum, archtop-style rim design. That gives it the "bluegrass archtop" sound with a hair more warmth and focus and a ton less weight. This thing is only 6 1/2 lbs as compared to your average 10-12 lb bluegrass banjo and it punches-out well and sounds good doing it.

The best part, however, is that this banjo was bought from Dan Tyminski's ex-wife and she mentioned to the last owner that it was a banjo of his when he was younger. How about that? Needless to say, this thing was "already sold" to my pal Owen the moment he needed a banjo and heard the story. He's been patiently waiting for me to get around to finishing the work on it...

Repairs included: Max gave it a level/dress of the frets and I gave it a going-over, teardown/buildup, cleaning, and setup work.

• Weight: 6 lbs 8 oz
• Scale length: 26 3/8"
• Nut width: 1 3/16"
• Neck shape: medium C oval
• Board radius: flat
• Depth at first fret: 7/8"
• Depth at seventh fret: 15/16"
• Head diameter: 11”
• Resonator diameter: 13 5/8"
• Depth overall at rim: 3 1/2"
• Rim & tonering: aluminum, one-piece, archtop construction
• Bridge: ebony/maple
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 10s
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium-lower

Condition notes: It has some light scratches and scuffs here and there but is overall nice and clean. I replaced the original 5th peg with a geared Gotoh one. The head is original (or close to it) and has a tiny little hot-point hole in it (that's stable). I added a neck-stabilisation bolt through the interior of the rim and into the bottom of the heel to lock its position.

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: JW