It sounds like you have a high end trap door banjo that has 17 or 22 frets (the latter is a plectrum banjo) while the new Mastertone banjos had 19 or 22 frets. I have a 1924 TB-3 that is a great little banjo for ITM. The older banjos had serial numbers that wer greater than four numbers and had an 'A' in them usually. #162 Gibson RB 250 Mastertone. ORIGINAL 5 String Neck. Serial #127175. Beautiful Condition! MORE PICTURES. This Vega Little Wonder tenor banjo probably dates to 1920's, according to the serial number of 63191 (printed both on the dowelstick and the inside of the rim). This is a 17-fret 4-string tenor banjo.This banjo has a natural skin head, probably of relatively recent age as it's in great condition. Index to Vintage Gibson Banjo Serial Number Information. Here you will find the Pre-War serial numbers divided into 3 groups, starting with serial number 8000 in 1925. Note: Date ranges listed here are approximate, as the batch numbers were many times used out of sequence. You can tell a lot by noting the actual ship-dates where they are. Feb 13, 2008.
Gibson serial numbers 1952 to 1961, solidbody model.
A number stamped with ink on the back of the headstock.
Gibson's solid bodys were released in 1952. Gibson did not use serial numbers at that time but started in 1953.
The first digit of the series number is the last digit of the year. If the stamped number consists of 5 digits, there is a space between the first and second digit (a separation between the last digit of the year and the actual serial number).
If it concerns a 6-digit serial number, there is no space, because the highest 4-digit number (9999) has been exceeded and the space therefore fills up. This was the case in the years 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960.
In 1955, Gibson forgot to reset the series of serial numbers to 0001.
So they had only set the year from 4 to 5. For this reason the series of 4 digit serial numbers was exceeded after 9999.
Hence 5 digits and no space between the year (5) and the serial number. (after 5 9999 came 510 000)
Apparently the production was high in 1956 because 6 9999 is exceeded. Also in 1959 and 1960 there was a high production, 9 9999 is exceeded to 932 000 or higher.
Thus, from the production in 1959, a 1, 2 or 3 may be the second digit.
Gibson stopped the stamped serial numbers at the end of 1960, although a few instruments were made in 1961 with a 1 as a prefix. Some lap steels and Les Paul's from 1961 have such a serial number.
Another exception to the above rules is in the fall of 1958, where some Les Paul Juniors and Specials had a four-digit serial number.
Gibson's solid bodys were released in 1952. Gibson did not use serial numbers at that time but started in 1953.
The first digit of the series number is the last digit of the year. If the stamped number consists of 5 digits, there is a space between the first and second digit (a separation between the last digit of the year and the actual serial number).
If it concerns a 6-digit serial number, there is no space, because the highest 4-digit number (9999) has been exceeded and the space therefore fills up. This was the case in the years 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960.
In 1955, Gibson forgot to reset the series of serial numbers to 0001.
So they had only set the year from 4 to 5. For this reason the series of 4 digit serial numbers was exceeded after 9999.
Hence 5 digits and no space between the year (5) and the serial number. (after 5 9999 came 510 000)
Apparently the production was high in 1956 because 6 9999 is exceeded. Also in 1959 and 1960 there was a high production, 9 9999 is exceeded to 932 000 or higher.
Thus, from the production in 1959, a 1, 2 or 3 may be the second digit.
Gibson stopped the stamped serial numbers at the end of 1960, although a few instruments were made in 1961 with a 1 as a prefix. Some lap steels and Les Paul's from 1961 have such a serial number.
Another exception to the above rules is in the fall of 1958, where some Les Paul Juniors and Specials had a four-digit serial number.
1st digit | PRODUCTION YEAR |
None | 1952 |
3 | 1953 |
4 | 1954 |
5 | 1955 |
6 | 1956 |
7 | 1957 |
8 At the end of 1958, a number of LP Juniors/Specials had a four-digit serial number without a prior annual digit | 1958 |
9 | 1959 |
0 | 1960 |
1 (rare) | 1961 |
Gibson Tenor Banjo Serial Numbers Diagram
Gibson serial numbers, early to mid seventies.
From 1970 to 1975 the 6 digit serial numbers were randomly created.
Numbers were stamped on the back of the headstock in a random order. For some instruments preceded by a letter.
From 1970 to 1975 the 6 digit serial numbers were randomly created.
Numbers were stamped on the back of the headstock in a random order. For some instruments preceded by a letter.
From 1970 'MADE IN USA' was also stamped on the back of the headstock. Some instruments from the fifties also had such a stamp.
![Numbers Numbers](https://www.bfstrings.com/uploads/1/1/7/5/117588670/s614787906982961980_p137_i4_w762.jpeg)
Gibson Mastertone Banjo Serial Numbers
Gibson serial numbers, 1970-1975.
Ptv drama chakar e azam. After production continued by Gibson's new company Norlin (1969-1986), the same confusing six-digit serial system from the 1960s continued until 1975. (see: Norlin)
This means that instruments with the same serial number were produced either in the 1960s or 1970s.
Guitars got six digits in random order, and in some cases they were preceded by a letter that did not seem to have meaning.
Note that the serial numbers between 1970 and 1975 may be a repeat of the serial numbers from 1964 and 1965. In 1970 some 6 digit serial numbers had the letter A as a suffix.
The table below shows the years to which the numbers can relate.
Ptv drama chakar e azam. After production continued by Gibson's new company Norlin (1969-1986), the same confusing six-digit serial system from the 1960s continued until 1975. (see: Norlin)
This means that instruments with the same serial number were produced either in the 1960s or 1970s.
Guitars got six digits in random order, and in some cases they were preceded by a letter that did not seem to have meaning.
Note that the serial numbers between 1970 and 1975 may be a repeat of the serial numbers from 1964 and 1965. In 1970 some 6 digit serial numbers had the letter A as a suffix.
The table below shows the years to which the numbers can relate.
Seral number range | PRODUCTION YEAR |
000000 - 099999 | 1973 |
100000 - 199999 | 1970 - 1975 |
200000 - 299999 | 1973 - 1975 |
300000 - 399999 | 1974 - 1975 |
400000 - 499999 | 1974 - 1975 |
500000 - 599999 | 1974 - 1975 |
600000 - 699999 | 1970 - 1972 and 1974 - 1975 |
Serials since 1977.
Gibson's most sustainable numbering system was launched in 1977, an eight-digit number. The first and fifth digits represented the year of manufacture. The three intervening digits, the day of that year.
The digits six to eight indicated the sequence number.
Example: 80923015
80923015 is: 1983, day 092 (day 92 of 1983 is 2 April), production number 015.
After the opening of the new factory in Nashville, production was also included in the serial numbers. 001 to 499 appeared on instruments built in Kalamazoo, 500 to 999 built in Nashville.
Descargar xboxhdm iso. Even after the Kalamazoo plant closed in 1984, this process continued until 1989 in Nashville.
The system was updated in 2005 when 1 digit was inserted at the end of the batch number. The sequence numbers ranged from 500 to 699, after which the batch number was increased by 1, and the sequence number went back to 500.
Gibson's most sustainable numbering system was launched in 1977, an eight-digit number. The first and fifth digits represented the year of manufacture. The three intervening digits, the day of that year.
The digits six to eight indicated the sequence number.
Example: 80923015
80923015 is: 1983, day 092 (day 92 of 1983 is 2 April), production number 015.
After the opening of the new factory in Nashville, production was also included in the serial numbers. 001 to 499 appeared on instruments built in Kalamazoo, 500 to 999 built in Nashville.
Descargar xboxhdm iso. Even after the Kalamazoo plant closed in 1984, this process continued until 1989 in Nashville.
The system was updated in 2005 when 1 digit was inserted at the end of the batch number. The sequence numbers ranged from 500 to 699, after which the batch number was increased by 1, and the sequence number went back to 500.
Gibson closed the Memphis plant in April 2019.
The production of 'USA made' solid body guitars is now only produced in Nashville. Apa 6th edition software, free download.
The production of 'USA made' solid body guitars is now only produced in Nashville. Apa 6th edition software, free download.
Gibson RB-7 (1938) banjo and Gibson RB-4 (1929) 'floor sweep' banjo at the American Banjo Museum
Prewar Gibsonbanjos were made in the years before World War 2. They are differentiated from later Gibson banjos by their scarcity. Banjo sales plummeted during the Great Depression, for lack of buyers, and metal parts became scarce into the 1940s as factories shifted to support the war. As parts became scarce, non-standard versions came out, made from a variety of leftover parts, called floor sweep models.[1]
Terminology[edit]
Modern reproductions of RB-75 and RB-250. Original Gibson RB-11 banjo from 1938.
Gibson RB-1 (1933), RB-00 (1940), PB-3 (1929) banjos at the American Banjo Museum
Although this term normally refers to World War II, when used to describe Gibson banjos, the term prewar operationally refers to banjos made prior to 1947. Production of metal banjo parts was suspended during World War II. However, small numbers of Gibson banjos continued to be constructed and shipped during the war years using stocks of metal parts remaining in factory bins. For that reason, Gibson banjos produced between 1940 and 1945 often reflect the creativity of shop personnel rather than standard catalogue descriptions.[2] Production of metal banjo parts resumed in the Fall of 1946; however, it is commonly believed that the metal composition of foundry products delivered to Gibson after World War II was inferior to that of parts produced prior to 1940. On April 12, 1947, the Gibson Instrument Company changed their corporate logo from script lettering to the use of block letters, and this change occurred sufficiently close to resumption of banjo output to allow easy identification of prewar and postwar Gibson instruments.
Identifying a prewar Gibson banjo[edit]
Determining the authenticity of a prewar Gibson banjo can be a real challenge for a variety of reasons:
- The Gibson company produced a fairly wide variety of styles.
- Prewar Gibson banjos frequently failed to conform to the standard catalogue specifications, by dint of cost-saving measures to diminish inventories of excess or less-than-desirable components, thus casting doubt on the deviant banjo's authenticity.
- The actual number of authentic banjos is relatively small, so the experience of examining and playing them is limited to comparatively few individuals.
- Demand for these instruments is high, which has led to significant efforts toward reproducing them, with varying degrees of success.
- The majority of these banjos have been modified in some way by their owners over the years, due to the adjustability of the components, changes in playing style, etc.
![Gibson Tenor Banjo Serial Numbers Gibson Tenor Banjo Serial Numbers](https://www.12fret.com/wp-content/gallery/gibson-florentine-banjo-1927-white-cons/gibson-florentine-banjo-1927-white-cons-front.jpg)
References[edit]
- ^Gibson RB-4 - 1929 (Plaque beneath museum exhibit). Oklahoma City, OK: American Banjo Museum.
banjo differs from typical Gibson production in 1929 and was completed in 1930s from parts found around the Gibson factory - a 'floor sweep' model
- ^'Banjo Newsletter'. Banjonews.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
External links[edit]
- Greg Earnest's site contains an overview of the various Gibson banjo styles, with many detailed photographs of vintage Gibson banjos.
- Dan Foy's site has an extensive reference list of pre-war Gibson banjo serial numbers.
- Spann's Guide to Gibson 1902-1941 is a, 'detailed look at the inner workings of the famous musical instrument manufacturer of Kalamazoo, Michigan before World War II.' (back of cover)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prewar_Gibson_banjo&oldid=954820784'