This banjo was heavier, larger, had a full “dish” resonator on the back that projected sound forward. So, in early 1925 Gibson did two things: first, they introduced the “Mastertone” series of banjo, whose entry level model was the TB-3. Originally, this tone ring was used on smaller model banjos that had a “trap door” back cover, with smaller diameter heads, but this did not prove popular.

In March 1923 Gibson introduced a new design rim with a “ball bearing” tone ring – a hollow tube upon which the skin now resided, which rested on a series of single ball bearings that rested in a trough. The original design is called a “hollow rim with wood spacers.”

They were initially open back instruments without a “tone ring” – this means that the skin rested directly on the wooden rim with no metal buffer between them whose purpose was to expand the sound and give it the brassy distinctive tone associated with professional instruments. These earliest examples were much simpler in design than the models that followed starting from the mid-1920s. Thinking back to our youth, we remember that the Gibson Company began making banjos in September of 1918. Once you positively identify the model, you can look around on ebay and the web, in general, to find out what people are paying for them.#803119, in very good plus condition with a period hard shell (worn) case. If those links do not help and if you can locate what should be a 4-digit serial number either stamped into an internal brace or chalked onto the inside of the resonator, you could try the following website, which catalogs Gibson prewar banjos by serial number:īesides being a beautiful and very playable instrument, the banjo may have significant collector value, which is what you probably wanted to hear. I could surely be wrong, but your description seems to fit Roger Siminoff’s description of a Gibson Style 5 tenor banjo with a trap door resonator (scroll down or search for Style 5 at this link:Īnd Greg Earnest actually has a picture of this style banjo, inside and out, but slightly later vintage, when this banjo was, according to Roger, built with a solid resonator:

Gibson banjo serial numbers