well for the ones familiar with mike hedrick you know he is one of the best banjos builders out there! and this is just one fine example of his work,not only is this a gorgeous piece of art but is also a phenominal playing and sounding banjo!..mike is the one whom supplied first quality music with the wood for the old growth rims!this banjo was built for travis tritt for a show he was going to be doing involvolving the use of this banjo in that show ,but by a streak of bad luck the banjo was stolen right after its completion and before being delivered to travis...after years of eluding the public the banjo was finaly recovered and returned to mike,....this banjo is truly a work of art and was built using first quality parts...it is gold plated with the kings crown engraving pattern...you can visit raymerstudio.com to see some of the old first quality engraving patterns also featuring this pattern "kings crown" ...the banjo has hand inlayed resonator screws w/pearl & abaloni inlays! (very expensive)...the rim is a old growth rim from sullivan....the ring is a first quality cryogenic ring...the neck and reso are maple with multiple coats of white/clear laquer...it has the "legends" inlayed at the 21rst fret symbolizing the bluegrass greats the show was about...other than an area of finish checking on the bottom edge of the resonator (shown in last picture) miraculously the banjo survided its uninvited journey and after a good cleaning and set-up is ready for pickin... ..the calton case is a rare reverse opening model built for first quality music ..it is a little scuffed up and the handle is a little worn but is still travel ready...trade value for this banjo is $4000.00..I would consider interesting trades on maybe yates rs distressed ... a nechville xxv,nechville phantom galaxy,Gibson style 6 checkerboard or top tension..a nice great lakes top tension. or maybe something else in an upper line banjo.and also might consider an upper end f style mandolin such as Gibson/ellis/daley/etc.?..I would also consider a trade on a quality dread such as lucas...Henderson..etc....so if you have anything of interest just shoot me a message,thanks.
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