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1930 Vega Soloist 19 fret tenor banjo, made in Boston, Mass. SN 92773. Flamed shaded maple 3 piece neck, piecrust resonator with cream ivoroid side binding. The soloist model is the next one down from the Artist and features all of Vega’s high-grade construction features and fairly fancy decoration, including gold-plated metal parts and elaborate engraved pearl inlay on the headstock, fingerboard, and heelcap. The pearl headplate inlay is Vega’s fanciest floral pattern and the headstock is fitted with original Grover geared tuners, all holding tune perfectly. The flange is made up of 4 sections rather than the individual 28 x plates, I prefer this personally as the individual plates can be difficult to line up evenly when tightening the head. Fitted with a tubaphone tone ring which gives these banjos great power and sustain. Comes with original camel hump clamshell tail piece and Vega patented arm rest.

They are arguably the best-sounding instruments of their type ever made and a favourite with many Trad players. Overall length is 33 1/2 in. (85.1 cm.), 10 15/16 in. (27.8 cm.) diameter head, and 3 in. (7.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 23 in. (584 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/8 in. (29 mm).

The frets look original and have plenty of life still in them. The engraving are still crisp with very little wear on the fingerboard and the overall gold plating has been polished and metal lacquer applied to retain a shine. Overall I have given it a full velour and service including some refinishing to the neck, new Remo white smooth top head & new strings. Its had a life on the Jazz circuit and now its time for the Trad scene!! Comes with vintage case

For Sale £1595

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It’s got to be one of the finest sounding tenor banjos used for the Irish Trad scene. This TB3 banjo came from it’s original owner in the California area and is all original apart from the mylar head which I recently fitted (original calf skin head comes with it. See some details below from the Gibson manufacturers description.

The tone ring and flange designs changed at least three times during the TB 3’s production. Initial 1925 and early 1926 models used a classic ball-bearing tone ring, then for later 1926-1928 a solid archtop tone ring, and finally the flathead tone ring for 1929. The flange for the 1925-1928 models is two piece, with the one piece flange appearing in 1929.

At this point, Gibson often did not use serial numbers. On this banjo, the FON or Factory Order Number is 9478-159; the 9478 indicates a particular lot of instruments, and the 159 is the position of this instrument in that lot. With those numbers and the characteristics of the tone ring and flange, this banjo dates to the 1927 or 1928 period.   It was naturally built at the historic Gibson Parsons Street plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  

For Sale… Please email for details