I am posting this ad for a very close friend. He does not currently have computer access. His name and number are listed below. You can contact me through the hang-out or contact the seller directly. I am more than happy to vouch for the seller's statement. More photos are available directly from the seller.
Following is the information on the banjo he provided:
Serial # 9265-5
In 1976 an older friend of mine showed me a picture taken in the mid 1930's of a man who my friend said was playing three-finger style banjo before anyone in Missouri ever heard of Earl.
In the picture I could tell the banjo was a Gibson. The man in the photo was Jack (Zach) Taylor and had died in the mid 1950's. I found out that his wife was alive and well in Northern Iowa. I called her and found that she still had the banjo and she invited me to come and see it.
I was sitting in her drive when the sun came up the next morning. She told me they found the banjo in a California pawn shop in 1931. It had a 5-string neck and no case.
On the way back to Missouri they were in a car crash and the neck was broken at the peghead. Zach repaired it with glue and screws. He was also allergic to the metal in the armrest and replaced it with a section of bull horn he cut that fit the curve of the pot. He drilled two holes through the rim to attach the horn. Luckily, the holes are hidden by the leg of the replacement armrest and can't be seen.
The armrest and brackets have been replaced. The rest of the pot is original, including the 1929 chrome plating and finish on the resonator.
This is a two-piece flange, 40-hole archtop. I had Ed Fuchs build a 5-string neck in the fall of 1976. It is a double-cut peghead with a wreath pattern.
The neck looks and plays great. Back of the neck has wear from the first to the fifth fret. Frets have been professionally dressed and it notes "on". I played the banjo for 30 years with the Missouri band "Possum Trot" and recorded with it on 6 or 7 projects.
The banjo has more mids and lows than most archtops I've played and sounded great when I had a Paul Hopkins conversion flathead ring in it.
This is a BEAUTIFUL pre-war banjo.
I don't have access to e-mail. Please feel free to call me with any questions.
Ed Long
901-237-3092
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