Thinner cog gears with no bevel on the edge of the cogs. The Kalamazoo plant kept going for a few years as a custom-instrument shop, including the Mark Series instruments, and was ultimately closed in 1984. The headstock carried an inlayed script Gibson. Serial number records exist for instruments built before 1975 and after 1980. Thanks for the feedback! purchase these instruments and put their own names on them, but in many other For example: The custom series of Epiphone Texans built with cooperation from Paul McCartney: some were built in Bozeman Montana and some in Japan. The above Peghead Shapes are existing patterns. ARCHIVED TOPIC: VINTAGE BANJO IDENTIFICATION. The intent is to provide a rough dating guide. The 1975 price was $439. Manchester University, Instruction * ConcertsJams * More Weekly newsletter includes free lessons, favorite member content, banjo news and more. Rated 5.00 out of 5. Augustino LoPrinzi Guitar Maker Clearwater Florida (LoPrinzi name bought back from AMF) Instruments designed and built by Augustino and Donna LoPrinzi (daughter). The LG-Series is 2 narrower than the J-Series. serial number impressed to verso, 60 cm long Australian zither . Factory numbers (when the exist) appear in pencil inside on the block where the neck meets the body. The second type of headstock, as you can tell by its name, is the angled or tilted-back headstock. The following numbers are the earliest known serial number for the year listed. This is the smallest model, chrome tuners. Between 1934 and 1938, Gibson only offered the sunburst finish. It is very showy though. The passage of time confuses matters even further: They made some non-SilverBell models that had been developed in the 1930s that bore the B&D label like the Seniorita, and some later Gretsch SilverBells that carried only the Bacon label. The centerline of the neck had the black inlay. CLB, Classic guitar of Brazilian rosewood, gold tuners. The tuners were individual. It might be a Fairbanks or Stewart, but there is no name anywhere on the instrument. The other digits in the serial number can tell you when your banjo was made. $ 5,719.00 $ 5,149.00. http://www.mugwumps.com. The choice to discontinue the Mark Series had to do with the general turmoil of the Gibson company in the last years of ownership by Norlin. In 1935, binding was added to the fretboard. 1890s into 1907: Inlaid into the top of the instrument. The swing distance is important because it dictates how large a turned piece can be on that particular lathe. Leland Brilliantone (1910 1918?). It's always made of hardwood such as ebony and makes up the front-facing top half of the banjo's neck. The swing of a lathe is measured as the total diameter of a finished turned piece, such as a wood bowl. Not many were sold and the production run was therefore limited to 2 years. Use them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & worldwide rights. Gibson. The first number of the sequence indicates the decade of production, followed by the three digit day of the year, and finally the year. See more ideas about banjo, guitar inlay, mandolin. Though you were told there was only12 of this model made, it will not be any more valuable than if there 10,000 made. The bridge was a small rectangular block type with a through saddle. The fingerboard of the L-5S is in with select abalone. 541 Concert: rosewood back & sides with colored wood appointments. The fingerboard typically has inlays made of silver or steel. Gibson style one piece flange, probably zinc, also Gibson style flange brackets, 4 resonator screws. This is a high-quality instrument. To accommodate the pickup, the standard production neck was pushed up to a neck-body joint at the 15th fret. CLM, Classical guitar with mahogany back and sides. Sometimes (rarely) the labels are easy to read: the model and serial numbers hand-printed in ink and sometimes the information was written in pencil and is now barely legible. I'm kind of with Bob on the Korea origin - almost screams Sam Ickfrom the 1980s to me - except that it's a little understated and the finish isn't as thick as you normally see on a Samickpresentation banjo. Slanted mid 1940's Gibson Logo. S2M, size 2 guitar with mahogany back & sides. You may, . 593 Similar to 590 but with pearl (vs ivoroid) tuner buttons. Q: What is the first step in determining the age of my banjo? One of the advantages of choosing a banjo made in a small shop environment is the easy availability of customization. The narrower guitar sizes allowed for available materials. It also had a black veneered headstock (front and back) and a black inlay in the back of the neck. I'm leaning more in that direction. However there were and are many different types, most of which can be found on this page. They did not imprint the instruments with any particular brand. During the war years women played a greater role in manufacturing while young men were fighting overseas. The early instruments built in Nashville suffered from inexperienced workers and climate-control problems in the humid South. It was intended to be more affordable and more readily available than its main competition: the Martin D-18. I chose a .090 binding that is layered, for a nice pin-striped look and Stewart MacDonald Guitar Shop Supply makes the perfect set of bits for routing headstock for binding called Piloted Binding Router Bits. Even the group of inexperienced entreprenuers could see and understand the value of the Gibson name. Introduced August 1942 and J-45s are still available today. Many banjo manufacturers, in addition to making banjos under their own names, made unmarked banjos for others to sell as well. Number on headstock, Open Back, Pink OHC liner, Klusons with white plastic buttons, bound f/b: I/N Auction 8/2007 : 1962 : 88909: RB-180 . Alternates can range from standard designs out there in the banjo world, old or new, or a custom. 1978 $1079 Tobacco sunburst is dropped for Fireburst; Maple is now described as Natural. How did you come to own it? See the notes below. In any event, these should be used only as a guide and not assumed to be absolutely correct. The pot fairly screams Iida to me. It appears that many mandolin owners of earlier models chose to upgrade their bridges to the fancy new adjustable models after 1921. "F" Style mandolins have a carved nautilus shaped curl on the upper left-hand bout. In 1893, he patented a banjo neck fitted with a channel for the 5th string to pass through so it could be tuned at the headstock instead of its usual location. Size 3 Gurian, either acoustic or amplified. Acoustic guitars are punched inside the soundhole on a sticker behind the strings. Gibson developed the truss rod in 1921. The best way to date Larrive instruments is by the instrument labels. Its not clear how it works during this period. Deering. The name evolved from De Luxe Jumbo to Super Jumbo in 1939, and then to the Super Jumbo 200 (reflecting the price at the time, the case would be $28 extra). Late 1940's "i" touches the "G" on "Modern" non cursive/script Gibson Logo. Introduced 1967, Basically an more economical LG-0. Mark Johnson; Regular Hours Mon-Fri: 10:00am-4:00pm Extended Hours January-April 8:30am-5:00pm; 239 West 400 North, Lindon UT; 801-785-3161 15 Mahogany top, back & sides no binding, 17 Mahogany top, back & sides bound top. Gold-plated tuning gears, LOTS of abalone inlay. This moved the X away from the soundhole a bit. peghead shape. Carl and August Larson built instruments between 1900 and 1944. The only available finish was sunburst until 1954. Factory Order Numbers (FON) in the 2600s to 2700s. The Gibson stamped on tailpiece cover. the teacher or distributor. Depending on the selected source, there is disagreement about these numbers. The Aria 921C was a good quality 5-string banjo made in the early 1970s. J-L. M. N-P. Q-Sch. A maple, prewar style bluegrass banjo made like the classic banjos of the 1930's with the same materials and the same weight, design and features, the Golden Era is one of our most popular banjos for traditional bluegrass bands. LoPrinzi Guitars Plainsboro, New Jersey AMF years (serial numbers: high 3,000 4,000s) Tom LoPrinzi was still with the company. MK-81 models were rosewood back & sides, ebony fingerboard with figured abalone block inlays & gold plated hardware. 1930s-40s R S Williams and Sons built "Stewart" 1940s R S Williams and Sons built bird's eye maple archtop 1940s R S Williams and Sons built bird's eye maple archtop headstock 1940s R S Williams and Sons built bird's eye maple archtop back Gibson. Yes, paging Scott to the Collector's Corner, please. Welcome to the Vintage Banjo Maker, please do sign up for email updates to keep in the loop about new additions to our research coming soon! If the serial number is legible the instrument can be relatively easy to date. LoPrinzi Guitars most from Plainsboro New Jersey. David L. Day was in his 70s. LG-0 | Introduced 1958 | Discontinued 1973, LG-1 | Introduced 1947 | Discontinued 1968, LG-2 | Introduced 1942 | Discontinued 1962, LG-2- | Introduced 1949 | Discontinued 1962, LG-3 | Introduced 1946 | Discontinued 1963, B-25 | Introduced 1962 | Discontinued 1976, FJ-N | Introduced 1963 | Discontinued 1970, F-25 | Introduced 1963 | Discontinued 1970, B-15 | Introduced 1967 | Discontinued 1970, Brazilian rosewood rectangular through bridges, 2 screws in the bridge with MOP dot covers, Basically the same as LG-1 with a mahogany top, Single plastic tortoise shell binding top and back, Narrow neck design with 14 degree headstock angle, Same basic guitar as LG-2 with average wood, Wood imperfections covered by a dark sunburst, Tall scalloped braces change to low-profile rough cut, Enlarged rectangular bridge with closed slot, Fire striped plastic pickguard teardrop shape, Last use of the Banner decal on headstocks, Basically the same as an LG-2 with better materials, Bottom belly rosewood bridges with adjustable saddles, Back, sides and neck finished in walnut stain, Body shape: 16 wide, round shoulder dreadnought shape, Top: Select spruce, 2-piece bookmatched with scalloped X-bracing, Neck: mahogany, single piece, unbound, 19 fret, dot markers, Bridges: Rosewood belly-down. Many banjo manufacturers, in addition to making banjos under their own names, Also, the first batch of J-45s had more binding both on the body and soundhole. The following versions evolved quickly to 14 frets clear of the body. RRRR = Ranking number (may be more or less digits) Example: 3021234 = Samick Korea / 1993 / February / unit 1234. The Gibson Company was formed in late 1902 and the early mandolins evolved from the original Orville Gibson designs. 1955: Gibson stopped scalloping the bracing it was faster to produce but not as strong. As a consequence, the details were grand in scale and the bindings high in contrast to look good in black and white on the silver screen. 1908 into 1916: Elevated pickguards of plastic tortoise shell clamped to the body with a removable clamp and pinned to the bridge. Dark stained plain birch back and sides. Gretsch appears to have started a new numbering system at about that time. No binding, no inlay and no decoration. banjos, not surprising since they bought out the Buckbee factory in 1898. It will be interesting of one of the BHO members has a vintage Kay catalog with that particular banjo. The ones up until 1924 had either at best a ball bearing tone ring -- spring loaded ball bearings with springs to keep the skin heads tight. Width at nut 1 11/16, scale 24 3/4. The Gibson CF-100 was introduced in 1950 (the CF-100E was introduced 1951) and discontinued in 1960. Style Designations (There are many exceptions to the following). There were some 1 3/4 nuts available. For photographic examples of the Gibson Cf-100 and CF-100E Click Here. The Southerner Jumbos were the most expensive flat-top guitars Gibson offered at the time. According to the Gibson catalog, natural finish was the only option in 1939 but we are told that at least 2 examples exist of a cherry sunburst from the same period. Occasionally the labels have fallen out or been removed during repairs making it a bit trickier to date the instruments. MK-99 models were handcrafted and signed by Richard Schneider. Timing is everything In 1969 the Gibson parent company: Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) was acquired by the South American brewing conglomerate: E.C.L. The last of the Mark Series was built in 1979. The sunburst finish was generally $30 less than natural finish. Heads have different effects on different kinds of banjos. The Jumbos had a slight V shaped neck with the Gibson truss rod and a pointed French heal somewhat unusual for Gibson. The early models had shallow neck sets and low bridges that increased in angle around 1908 with taller bridges. Rettberg & Lange (1898-1920) banjos were initially similar to Buckbee-made Gibson changed the name again in the 1950s to the SJ-200. The flood of returning soldiers with a broader world-view brought new musical tastes and new hopes for the future. Some early necks were cherry before 1912. Ohio banjo player Steven Moore has his first solo project, Just a Little Talk with Myself, just recently released. the bins that were used to move instruments from . The first versions of the Super Jumbo guitar had a neck joint with 12 frets clear of the body placing the moustache bridge geometrically in the center of the distinctly round 16 7/8 lower bout. In late 1 the use of factory order numbers was discontinued. JM, jumbo size guitar with mahogany back & sides, chrome tuners. The first Gibson J45 guitars were only slightly different from the discontinued J-35. It became the working mans choice and one of the most enduring instrument designs in history. Prairie State instruments have the patented rod and/or tube reinforcing, occasionally found on other Larson built guitars. expressed on the sides and back of the 1934 versions. Labels say: A. banjo headstock identificationleap year program in python using for loop. For example, one head might sound right for one player on a five string banjo, but be disappointing on another players tenor banjo. By the end in 1985-86, Gibson was basically down to the Les Paul model alone. Customers can choose from these shapes or provide an alternate. 156137I know this is a mandolin forum, but the admins suggested I start here. It was available with a brown finish and came as a snakehead or paddle headstock. Mismanagement was so severe during the final Norlin years that the Gibson Guitar Corp. was within 3 months of going out of business when it was bought by young Harvard Business grads: Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman and Gary A. Zebrowski in January of 1986. Other Banjo-Related Topics Weve seen some serial number lists that are as much as 8 years out-of-sync with this list. The Lyon & Healy peghead shape used on most of The public seems to have favored this shape over time as it fetches better prices now. The appointments matched the MK-35 but the bracing was modified to accommodate the additional string tension of 12 strings. Between 1974 and 1984 production of Gibson guitars was slowly being shifted from Kalamazoo MI to Nashville TN. The 1970s are viewed by many collectors and players as the low point of Gibson manufacturing. serial number 8382, New York, circa 1920s, intricate abalone shell inlay to fingerboard and headstock which also bears the Company logo. Late 1960's Gibson Logo around 1969 with no dot over the "i". The last 4 digits are a neck number. . S2R3H, identical to S2R, but with 3-piece back, full herringbone purflings, gold tuners. The hardshell case had a green or red silk lining. Sometimes a higher model number means a bigger and fancier instrument but there does not appear to be a thoughtful of consistent method for ascribing model numbers. Pearl twin parallelogram inlays, Bridges: Rosewood belly-down. The 2nd delivery to Ray Whitley was the more refined 14 fret SJ that is so well photo-dicumented. It was reintroduced in limited editions in 1991. Sunburst was the only finish available for the J-45 until much later as the sunburst finish can hide flaws in the wood; this was a significant advantage during WW2 when clear wood was being used for the war effort. I'll have to record it and post a tune. Due to the plain marks on the bracing, it is believed that every top was tuned by the same Gibson employee. They didnt sell well but did live up to their design intent of a heavier, booming tone with good overall balance. JR3H, like JR, but with 3-piece back, herringbone binding & gold tuners. For example, the serial number 90237XXX corresponds to a production date of 1/23/97. They are very pricy at over $20.00 each, but worth it if you want . Mid 1950s: the pickguard changed from the teardrop to the larger undulating shape like the pre-war J-35s. Banjo not included or available. S3M, Size 3 guitar with mahogany back & sides. The first group in late 1936 had larger soundholes and long scales: 25 1/2. It was during the years of 1977 through 1986 that most of the high-end lines at Gibson were discontinued: The ES-350T, L-5S and the Mark Series among them. He lived in Illinois all his life. Some examples had the black (skunk) strip down the middle of the top similar to the Southerner Jumbos. They were mahogany back & sides with single layer binding front and back. F Style mandolins have a carved nautilus shaped curl on the upper left-hand bout. New guitars were supplied with user applied pick guards, and extra saddles of different heights that could be easily inserted to adjust the string action to accommodate the swelling of the instrument with seasonal humidity changes. Description: Internally constructed from dense EPS foam, the exterior of this Gator banjo case is covered in rugged 600-denier ballistic . It took Gibson 2 years to develop their response: The Jumbo of 1934. Take your playing to the next level with the help of a local or online banjo teacher. After October 1930 the body and style designations and the serial number appears stamped on the neck blocks: Since the Larson brothers built guitars for many brand names, identification can be difficult, but there are a number of stylistic and structural building techniques that help narrow the exercise. 2 foot pressed arm rest and flat head tone ring. The bracing was revised to accommodate the moustache bridge and generally heavier than earlier models. Gold script Gibson logo, Pickguard: Tiger-striped & teardrop shape, Finish: brown sunburst top finish, dark brown mahogany back and sides and neck, Body Binding: 7-ply top binding and single ply back binding, Tuners: Kluson Mfg Chicago and Pat. stamped into the plate in a circle around the attachment screws, plastic button usually white but sometimes black), Tortoise-shell teardrop pickguard replaced the tiger stripe material, Single bound top and back, multi-bound rosette, Mahogany neck but a few Maple necks with a single walnut stripe down the center (3 piece neck), Three layer w/b/w tops and single layer back binding, Mahogany neck block with beveled sides, changed to a mahogany neck block with square sides, Tuners were 3-on-a-plate Klusons with exposed gears and Kluson Mfg Chicago and Pat. stamped into the plate in a circle around the attachment screws, plastic buttons (usually white but sometimes black) and 1/4 diameter posts. See more ideas about banjo, guitar inlay, ukulele. New Location: Identify vintage banjo fleur de lis inlays on headstock & carved heel . Pearl dots on fretboard. The further down the headstock the peg is, the shorter it will be. Considering that Gibson was using a double X bracing for most of its other flat top guitars during that period, these instruments, with their modified fan bracing, stand out as some of the better sounding Gibsons of the time. MK-72 models were rosewood back & sides, 3 piece ebony/rosewood fingerboards with dot inlays & nickel hardware. cases they carry no identifying name at all. Ironically, the script logo on the headstock was old-style. Wyatt Fawley's banjo, model for the "Retrotone" banjo design : 1949 : 3399-86 -100 : 1-piece: Dots : I/N Auction 2/2007 with flathead ring from 1963 RB180 and 1959 RB100 neck : 1949 : 3399-90: RB-150: . Martin introduced the large body dreadnaught in 1932 It was bigger, bolder, and louder than anything Gibson had to offer. MK-35 models were mahogany back & sides, rosewood fingerboards with dot inlays & nickel hardware. The introduction of a truss rod cover to the headstock caused the inlay patterns to adjust as well. PB -- plectrum banjo. The current bridge height and neck angle was reached around 1910. The standard early Gibson A models had a soft V shaped neck. The necks and heels were rounder. The system is not known for certain but might have restarted as consecutive numbers beginning at 1000. At least one model, the Epiphone Spirit, was manufactured in the USA during the early 1980s in the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI. The soundhole size coincided with the overall size of the instrument. Gibson had changed its neck profiles and headstock shape on the successful J-Series. Each model of the Mark Series was available in natural or sunburst finish. Approximate Chronology (there are always exceptions): There were a few natural finished J-45N models made during 1942. 1916 into 1921: the pin to the bridge was dropped. See LG-0 for materials and dimensions. Several cost-cutting measures existed between the Advanced Jumbo and the J-35 including scalloped braces on the advanced Jumbo and not on the J-35. Steel Guitar. Several other forces were at work for change: Introduced 1963, these were designed as dual-purpose instruments. These shoes are shown in an 1890s Washburn banjo catalog, on low end models with . When it came out in 1942 it was the most expensive Gibson flat-top in the line. Most In fact, he was part of a team of scientists paid as consultants by Gibson for their input on a project to create the finest sounding guitar based upon sound scientific logic, theory and research. A-series Factory location: New York City from start to 1971. MK-53 models were maple back & sides, rosewood fingerboards with dot inlays & nickel hardware. 1979 $1149 Antique Sunburst added to Fireburst, Cherry Sunburst and Natural. which do not feature a paper label.
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