I have decided to list my 1978 Goldstar GF100-FE for sale. This is an absolute powerhouse of a banjo. I was fortunate enough to stumble across this unique banjo about a year ago. I purchased it from one of our strap dealers (I own Lakota Leathers strap company). Here's the story:
The banjo was sold originally through a dealer of ours in San Francisco in 1978. After the shop sold it, they gave a few lessons to the original owner. He had a 5th string capo installed and after a few lessons, gave up playing. The banjo sat under the bed until about a year ago. The original owner brought it back to the store in San Francisco and offered it up for sale. This is when I acquired the instrument. Upon my receiving it, I brought it to Ronnie Bales who removed the 5th string capo and installed spikes. Unfortunately, the holes where the 5th string capo was installed are still visible. They have been filled expertly, but you can still see them. He also cut a couple of new notches in the nut because the two D strings were too close to the edge of the fretboard for my personal taste. The original nut is still on the banjo, but it has a couple of extra notches. Finally, the case that the banjo was shipped to me in is not the original Goldstar case. I don't know what happened to the original, but I acquired one here on the hangout and purchased it so that the banjo would be as close to original as possible. The case I got is not in the best shape, but it's an original Goldy, so I thought I should get it. Other than that, this banjo is in mint condition.
NOW< for the interesting part. After I received the banjo, I did some research and found that this banjo is actually the THIRD Goldstar flathead to ever enter into the United States. I verified this at last years IBMA show when I showed it to Richard Keldson (founder of Goldstar). He confirmed that is indeed from the very first batch of Goldstar flatheads to ever enter into the us.
As for the tone/playability of this unique instrument, all I can say is that this banjo flat out has it. It's been my main banjo for the past year and I absolutely love it. It has volume, tone, punch, sustain, and all the power you would expect from a banjo costing 3 times what I will take for this banjo. The first time I took this banjo to a jam I was asked how much it would take to purchase it. I informed the gentleman that I wasn't prepared to sell it. He said "No, really, how much." I informed him that if he gave me $4000, I'd be hard pressed to find an instrument to replace it, so why would I want to sell it?">>> that pretty much was the end of that discussion.
SO, why I am I selling it? Well, that's easy. I have stumbled onto one of my dream banjos, so at this point, I don't have a need for it. I am at the point in my life where I only want to have one banjo around, and the other one is going to be it --- for a while anyhow--LOL... I am still in Nashville recouperating from the SPBGMA show but should have pics up around Tuesday of this week. In the meantime, feel free to shoot me an email with any questions you may have.
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