The second best sounding mahogany banjos I have ever owned, and believe me I've owned a bunch. Rich, powerful and deep tone. Liberty banjo company came out of Bridgeport Conneticut, a ship building town. That's why the flange punch outs are "whale tails". Beautiful 3 ply rim, superior workmanship throughout. 100% original including the revered Liberty tone ring. I think it surpasses the quality of the best Gibsons, Hubers, Chiefs etc, and I've had them all and had them all apart at one time. Inlays and flange punch out are a work of art. A rare and wonderful banjo.
This is one of those banjos that sound good no matter what you do to it (different bridges, tone rings, tailpieces etc). Nothing however sounded better than the original ring, tail piece etc that is on the banjo.
The one constant when you tinker w/a banjo is usually the rim. The Liberty tone ring fit was really, really tight, it took a lot of effort and finesse to get it off. It took me so much time to shave off alittle to give it a "snug" fit, my fingers/hands were toast when I finished. I have never had to put so much elbow grease to shave off so little wood. This rim gives new meaning to the term "hard" maple, the hardest I've ever come across. Maybe this is the reason you can't kill this banjos tone.
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