Gibson TB-4 Tenor Banjo (1922)
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Item # 5813
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Gibson TB-4 Model Tenor Banjo (1922), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 11620-2, sunburst varnish finish, maple neck and rim, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The Gibson TB-4 banjo from this era is a lovely instrument, though not the banjo design the company would eventually be remembered for. These early 1920's Gibson banjos have the feel of having been designed by and for the mandolin player - as indeed they were. While never particularly popular among tenor banjo players, they are beautifully built instruments with an attractive nouveau aesthetic all their own.
The narrow short scale neck is a 3-way flame maple/ebony laminate with a dot-inlayed ebony fingerboard bound in grained ivoroid. The single-bound "moccasin" headstock is veneered with ebony and inlayed with a slanted "The Gibson" logo and slotted diamond and fleur-de-lis designs. The heel and rim are also ivoroid bound. The neck heel is finished in a sunburst effect and the back of the head is black with a point faired into the neck's ebony stripe. The tuners are nickel two-on-a-plate with amber celluloid buttons. The nut is pearl, an unusual but very attractive characteristic of top-line Gibsons of this era. The rim is cherry-stained maple capped with ebony.
The tube hook/nut bearing used on this banjo would become half of the "tube and plate" flange system when the "plate" flange was added. This banjo is one of the earliest to feature Gibson's new single co-coordinator rod, mounted here below the traditional wooden dowel and marked "Patent Applied for".
The rim of this early style TB is built to an elaborate honeycomb pattern with internal air chambers but no tone ring-Lloyd Loar's "ball bearing" ring would be introduced not long after this one was built. This banjo also just pre-dates the "trap door" resonator system that would appear later in 1922.
Inside the rim is a gold "Gibson Guarantee" label and impressed serial number. This was an expensive ($150) instrument in its day, equivalent to the F-4 mandolin and L-4 guitar and indeed was top of the banjo line until the Style 5 Master Model was introduced. A fine playable piece of 1920's Gibson history for the enthusiast or collector, and a cool instrument in its own right.
Overall length is 30 3/4 in. (78.1 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/4 in. (7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 21 in. (533 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.). Very nice overall with typical minor wear; all original except for one tension nut, set with a plastic head and recent Grover Non-tip bridge. A very good player and cool example of an early TB-4, complete with the green-lined OHSC. Excellent - Condition.
The Gibson TB-4 banjo from this era is a lovely instrument, though not the banjo design the company would eventually be remembered for. These early 1920's Gibson banjos have the feel of having been designed by and for the mandolin player - as indeed they were. While never particularly popular among tenor banjo players, they are beautifully built instruments with an attractive nouveau aesthetic all their own.
The narrow short scale neck is a 3-way flame maple/ebony laminate with a dot-inlayed ebony fingerboard bound in grained ivoroid. The single-bound "moccasin" headstock is veneered with ebony and inlayed with a slanted "The Gibson" logo and slotted diamond and fleur-de-lis designs. The heel and rim are also ivoroid bound. The neck heel is finished in a sunburst effect and the back of the head is black with a point faired into the neck's ebony stripe. The tuners are nickel two-on-a-plate with amber celluloid buttons. The nut is pearl, an unusual but very attractive characteristic of top-line Gibsons of this era. The rim is cherry-stained maple capped with ebony.
The tube hook/nut bearing used on this banjo would become half of the "tube and plate" flange system when the "plate" flange was added. This banjo is one of the earliest to feature Gibson's new single co-coordinator rod, mounted here below the traditional wooden dowel and marked "Patent Applied for".
The rim of this early style TB is built to an elaborate honeycomb pattern with internal air chambers but no tone ring-Lloyd Loar's "ball bearing" ring would be introduced not long after this one was built. This banjo also just pre-dates the "trap door" resonator system that would appear later in 1922.
Inside the rim is a gold "Gibson Guarantee" label and impressed serial number. This was an expensive ($150) instrument in its day, equivalent to the F-4 mandolin and L-4 guitar and indeed was top of the banjo line until the Style 5 Master Model was introduced. A fine playable piece of 1920's Gibson history for the enthusiast or collector, and a cool instrument in its own right.
Overall length is 30 3/4 in. (78.1 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/4 in. (7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 21 in. (533 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.). Very nice overall with typical minor wear; all original except for one tension nut, set with a plastic head and recent Grover Non-tip bridge. A very good player and cool example of an early TB-4, complete with the green-lined OHSC. Excellent - Condition.