I have owned a 1923 Gibson TB-3 and an earlier TB-4 but I had never heard of a TB-5 until now....
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/156738#156738
Holy mother of toilet seat Batman! :disbelief:
NFI
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I have owned a 1923 Gibson TB-3 and an earlier TB-4 but I had never heard of a TB-5 until now....
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/156738#156738
Holy mother of toilet seat Batman! :disbelief:
NFI
I met and hung out with John Pearse a few times in the 1980s (yes that guy whose name is on the strings etc.) he was a phenomenal guitarist and I heard him play some hot ragtime tunes on his GB-5 trapdoor guitar banjo. Lots of glitz.
Well I've got a 1923 MB-5! All silver plated, Loar engraved pearl button tuners ,and the silver tailpiece cover with "The Gibson" engraved on the bottom just like the Loar F-5's! I had it posted awhile back and may try to sell again? I don't know its very nice!
William, any way you can post a photo? I would love to see it.
Sure here are some.Attachment 187028
Attachment 187029
Attachment 187030 Attachment 187031
Some say its an MB-4 but David Harvey said its for sure an MB-5 and David knows his stuff! Its all silver plated, Loar tuners and Loar tailpiece engraving! Also original case, MB-4's are bigger bodied, this is 9 inches!
Wow, very cool! Finding a tailpiece cover for a regular trap door is almost impossible, you might own the only known one of those. :grin:
Yes and its about the same engraving as the Loar F-5 tailpiece covers! David Harvey never seen one like it! Another strange thing the inside where the Gibson label is its worn strangely! David H. said that back in the day guys put lights in their banjos and such so it would show up on stage while in their tux! Pretty neat if it could tell stories huh
Actually the banjo lights were not for stage use but were used to dry out the skin heads they used back then. They didn’t have plastic heads in the twenties. I have seen the armatures which would clamp on the dowel stick. They would usually use Christmas tree lights. I doubt some of these vaudeville performers would want to be plugged in back then.
This TB-5 has the same tailpiece cover as Williams...
https://www.sylvanmusic.com/store/p2...nor_Banjo.html
Bottom photo.
Mike, I think you're generally right, but I'm pretty sure some of the banjoists "lit up" their instruments during performances. My long-time musical partner Bob bought a '20's Gibson Grenada tenor "pot" to convert to a five-string, and glued to the inside of the head was a thin black-carboard silhouette of a fully-rigged ship. It was only visible when lit from behind. So evidence suggests that the incandescent bulb(s) not only kept the skin head tight, but provided a visual accent during performances.
It would have been cool if a sound-activated switch could have been installed, so that the light flashed in synch with strumming! Whatever the electrical set-up was, it was taken out of the Grenada shell before Bob bought it, so we don't know.
Here is a shot of my tailpiece,
This is not working for some reason.
Thanks pheff not sure why I can't find it, The number in the photo's is not the one that came up. Can't seem to change it so good for a laugh.
A friend of mine had a Vegaphone Professional tenor banjo with the Elton lights in it. Here's a photo. Yes, it is possible that some folks did use them on stage but with the electrical systems in those days it would have been pretty scary, I would think. My friend with the Vegaphone said he was afraid to plug it in but it did work.
Attachment 187066 Attachment 187067
Then, there is this....
:grin: