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Great sounding banjo. While it's tough to disagree with what works, I would have removed all that masking tape and replaced it with a couple inches of maple veneer on either side of the upper lag bolt hole. With the right thickness between the rim and tone ring skirt, this is enough to hold the tone ring in place and not be pushed back by the neck, which can affect action. I've done this on two different banjos. The ring stays put and is free to vibrate. I've also experimented with placing additional pieces of veneer at the three other equidistant spots around the rim to create a little snugness all around. But the veneer immediately behind the tone ring skirt at the upper lag does the job. I trim the veneer to the same height as the rim area behind the skirt. I use a dab of glue stick to hold it in place. My maple veneer is business card-size tags I bought on Etsy. About .025 thick. I also have some .01 and .02 fiber veneer sheets I bought from LMII.
Eli, 3-33 dates to about 1932.; it was a style 1 tenor originally, i-piece flange with a brass rod tone hoop. The rim has been cut for a tone ring and the masking tape is to correct for a slight over-cut; it is wood, and does not harm the sound. A friend of mine has one from the same batch. This one sounds primo! I have a Blalock conversion ring in my 1929 PB4 which is my backup banjo should the style 75 ever need repair. Bill does a fine job! Also, IMO, you might wish to try stainless steel frets if you replace those. They last a long time! Oh, and long-live "lollipop" Prestos! That is an original 5-string one, which is highly sought-after!
@@EliGilbertBanjo you seem to have already known most of it, but always delighted to chat with you, Eli! Bill Evans and Greg Cahill turned me into a banjo nerd, of sorts. Before I met them, I only knew useful stuff!!!! Hahahaha!
I love to take banjos apart and refit them back together! Hey, nice banjo Eli and one more thing, what is the name of the tune at the beginning of this vid? I love it. I'd like to learn that one.
Congrats on what is, as far as I''m concerned, a great-sounding Pre War Style One!! One thing I would love to know the answer to...How long did Gibson use left-over prewar rims into the 40s and 50s? Because I have a Frankenstein Gibson with what appears to be a mid-50s rm and it definitely has that prewar sound.
Nice banjo! Hey could you please do a lesson on Jim Mills banjo part on the song 1st Corinthians 1:18 on the the Ricky Skaggs album? That would be awesome! Thanks
How does it feel when you play it......prewar banjo's are about the Pot......the good ones really have the kick you in the gut feel......that's hard to convey in a recording......almost forgot.....how does it smell.....that's really important...first thing I do when I open the case on an old banjo is smell it......all you banjo players tell me I'm lying....