This RB-800 came to me a few years ago in pretty poor shape, and has been sitting in the workshop quite a while. Parts had been refinished or oversprayed, the fingerboard was rough, the flange was quite lifted, and the neck fit was iffy. Investigating, I found that the banjo had been converted to a one-piece flange profile by replacing the rim, building out the heel profile, and of course adding a one piece flange. Though the rim has remnants of a Gibson label, I presume it is not original. The rim construction, however, is quite good.
Though a bit homely and disheveled when it came to me, the native sound of the instrument was very nice.
I've just finished refurbishing it--I cleaned up the heel profile's fit, replaced the flange with a new one, refinished and/or touched up parts of the neck including the peghead, did some fingerboard and fret work, took some scratches out of the resonator, adjusted the tonering fit, reassembled, and am very happy with the result. I describe the condition above, conservatively, as "very good." It's not perfect—I didn't attempt to hide the heel buildout, I did not refinish the rim, there are still minor dings and imperfections, and there is plating wear on the armrest, on some of the hooks and back of the tailpiece cover--but overall it looks quite good, as the pics show. The modified wreath inlay pattern and engraved gold furnishings are quite attractive.
The playability is now excellent, and the sound is impressive--typical maple brightness complemented by the ebony fingerboard. The tonering is not one of the lightweight models from the seventies, but weighs in at 3 pounds, 8 ounces--a solid, heavy ring which is likely one of the GBB (Gibson Bell Bronze) models.
If you fancy one of these cherry sunburst models from that period and are attracted by the heavier tonering and the conversion to the one-piece flange design, this may be a nice banjo for you. If you're looking for one of these models that's all-original, you might want to consider Paul Ebbe's very nice example also for sale here: http://www.banjohangout.org/classified/27711
Includes non-original hard shell case in very good condition.
Interesting trades in banjos and guitars always considered.
Thanks for looking!
John
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