I'm selling this banjo as-bought. Overall, it is in playable shape as-is but will take a little TLC. Has the distinctive Langstile tone ring & metal tubes through the thick, wooden pot, arch-top, top-tensioned head, 22 frets. Very nice wooden marquetry on pot and resonator. Geared, "Page" tuners.
FLAWS: Normal scuffing for an old banjo. Neck finish is in fair-to-good condition, pot & resonator finish in good condition. Metal is tarnished but not corroded. Metal "hot dog" armest is heavily worn.
This banjo has been played quite a bit. I've never seen string rutting quite like this..... the rutting is up to approx. 2 mm deep above the 1st fret, and all the inter-fret spaces are rutted up to about the 16th fret. The frets are only moderately worn, so I assume that the player either had a very light touch or else the frets have been replaced. A plug for a microphone cord was set in the resonator, see picture. A small piece of binding is missing on the treble side at the heel.
The Langstile Deluxe inlay doesn't look quite right to me. The lettering looks non-professional, and I suspect that the original inlay may have fallen out and was replaced. Someone scratched "HD" into the inlay directly below the "Langstile Deluxe" top inlay.
Hole in the dowel @ the "Lange-Made" stamp, about 1/8" by 3/8" deep (doesn't pass all the way through the dowel). Neck looks 100% true. Straightedge shows about 1mm gap @ middle of fingerboard, which I think is due to fret wear.
This is a very well-made banjo, with very nice marquetry and overall high-quality workmanship as you would expect from Lange. Some TLC needed, but this should make a very nice player.
↧