Vintage - VDGB50 'Eagle' Natural Maple Banjo

The rock maple construction and heavy cast 18 hole flat-head tone ring on this banjo gives you a loud, bright and clear tone that echoes many higher value USA instruments. We set up each banjo with a precise action. An excellent bluegrass or all-round banjo that sits well in session or stage situations. It has a design and build quality that has stood the test of time.

(Gibson introduced and have been building their Mastertone design banjos since 1924) The Pot Assembly… The rim is built from solid rock maple blocks that are then turned on a lathe to a diameter of 279.40mm (11”) and a thickness of 19.05mm (3/4”). The heavy 1.58kg (31/2 lb) 11” Mastertone-style, flat-top tone ring is fitted to the rim. The tone ring is drilled out with eighteen small diameter holes on the inner circumference in the ‘Gibson-style’.

A separate pre-war ‘Gibson style’ tube and flange is fitted with 24 bracket hooks to give firm and even tension on the tension hoop. A double bracketed, engraved armrest is fitted. The tailpiece is the ‘Gibson-style’ Clamshell type. All metal work is heavily chrome plated to a very high standard. A clear 11” diameter Remo ‘weatherking’ plastic head is fitted, An ebony tipped 15.87mm (5/8”) maple bridge is fitted.

Four chrome-plated resonator thumbscrews are provided to attach the resonator. The resonator is constructed from tiger maple with an attractive ‘Eagle’ inlay in the centre. It has a convex back inlaid on the outer with ivory/black rings and pearloid binding. The ‘Eagle’ is inlaid on the back inside of the resonator and can be seen through the clear head. The natural tiger maple is clear lacquered and highly polished.

The Neck Assembly… The neck is attached to the pot assembly with double ‘Gibson-style’ lag bolts and two coordinating rim rods which give you the facility to alter the ‘action’ of banjo to suit your particular style of playing relative to the strings of your choice. The neck is constructed from solid maple with a central hardwood strip, it is also fitted with an internal adjustable steel truss rod.

The rosewood 22 fret fingerboard is fully bound in pearloid to match the resonator and is inlaid with intricate vintage style abalone pearl inlays and small black side dot position markers at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th & 21st frets. The geared 5th string tuner is located adjacent the 5th fret. The nickel silver fretwork is perfectly positioned, rounded and polished for smooth playing. The nut is precisely cut and filed for a comfortable string action at the first position. The peg head (headstock) is faced in ebony veneer and inlaid with abalone/pearl in a traditional design. ‘Vintage’ is inlaid in pearl script.

A white edged black plastic ‘bell’ shape truss rod cover is fitted. A set of high quality ‘vintage style’ planetary-geared tuners are fitted to give positive and trouble free tuning. The tuners are chrome plated to match the hardware of the pot assembly. The neck is natural finished, clear lacquered and highly polished to match the resonator and body.

Scale length: 670mm (26.370”)
Width at nut: 31.50mm (1.240”)
Weight Approx: 5.4kg (11.9lbs)