Anyone Help Me Identify This

[BluegrassNative]

My father has an old Gibson "Bandolin" that he got from his grandfather. The story is that it is a 1939 Gibson mandolin with a banjo neck and is one of the last ones Gibson ever made by hand. Bluegrass is rich in my families heritage since my father's family is from Eastern Kentucky and the Osborne Brothers were first cousins of my grandfather.

I couldn't find any manufacturer markings on the instrument, but it has a reddish wood tent to the wood and the face is made of metal, it has 8 strings and as I said has the neck of a banjo. The top of the neck reads "The Gibson" instead of just gibson.

Is there anyone here who could help identify it or tell me where I could look to get it identified?

[allenhopkins]

Looks like a Gibson MB-3 to me, other than the diamond-shaped holes in the resonator flange, which I haven't seen before. However, here's (http://www.earnestbanjo.com/gibson_banjo_MB-3_8336-34.htm) a set of pix of an MB-3 with the same flange, and the "diamonds & squares" inlay associated with Gibson's "3" series banjos.

It's a mandolin-banjo, as the "MB" designation indicates, and Gibson had a whole series of these instruments pre-WWII. Don't know what is meant by "one of the last ones Gibson ever made by hand"; Gibson's production methods for banjo-family instruments didn't (and haven't) change(d) drastically during this period. There might well be a serial number or factory order number marked inside the banjo shell, if you remove the resonator by loosening the screws in the flange. That number would help to date the instrument more exactly. My initial reaction is that it's earlier than 1939, but a serial number would be the final evidence.

[BluegrassNative]

Thanks for the information! I'm just going off what my dad says, it's been in the family for quite a while and some stories have followed about who all has played it but no proof we can find of any of this. My father said he had it appraised about 20 years ago and that it was valued at $10,000. Do you think that is an accurate estimate or were they yanking his chain? I may take it to the local music shop to have them get the serial number, I'm not comfortable in really messing with anything on it myself.

[Schlegel]

According to Siminoff, the diamond shaped cutouts were introduced in 1925, so that gives you a earliest possible date. As far as value goes, I've never heard of a banjo-mandolin going for that much. The highest prices I've seen for the most desirable models were less than 2 grand.

[MikeEdgerton]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your mandolin banjo might be worth $400.00 or $500.00 at best on a good day, if you find someone that really wants it. They really aren't sought after. Some of these are desirable because the banjo crowd wants them for conversion to a 5-string with a new neck. Yours isn't that model. These are available fairly regularly on eBay.

[allenhopkins]

...My father said he had it appraised about 20 years ago and that it was valued at $10,000. Do you think that is an accurate estimate or were they yanking his chain?...

Yanking, and yanking pretty hard. Prices for Gibson MB's seem to run $400-1,200 from what I can see. Highest asking price I've seen is under $2K. You have a nice one there; Gibson "3" banjos (RB-3, TB-3, GB-3, MB-3 etc.) were part of their "Mastertone" series, and were high-end products for their day. But if I could get $2K for it I'd consider myself fortunate.

[MikeEdgerton]

This one has the wrong flange to be part of that world. This flange predates the more desirable flange that has the more oval shaped holes. There's no way he'll be anywhere near those numbers. Even Gruhn wouldn't appraise it that high.

[Joe Spann]

Mike and Allen are correct in their identification of this model. It is a Gibson MB-3 or "mandolin-banjo, style 3."

This particular instrument is most likely to date from 1926 or 1927, because in 1925 this model had the "ribbon" flange and after 1927 they were of Mastertone construction with a "tube & plate" flange.

It's also HIGHLY probable that this is a 10.5" rim with shoe & bracket construction, making it the least desirable of all pre-war Gibson banjos for the bluegrass crowd. Celtic players have shown some interest in these instruments in recent years, but even in mint condition I'm thinking less than $1,000.

Joe

[f5loar]

Sounds to me like you father got bad advise on what it was, when it was made and what it's worth. And I can't imagine any reputable vintage dealer giving him a $10,000 figure 20 years ago. Did he get that in written form? I'd like to know who it was that did that. Now if you had the rare MB-5 it might go over $1000 but since it is the mid-20's MB-3 less than $1000 is in the ball park for today and 20 years ago. He should have just shown the mando-banjo to cousin Sonny. Sonny would have set him staight.