Chords for Jim Mills...."Sharing The Latest Find"...1930 "Original Flathead" PB-4

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Hi folks, Jim Mills here sharing the latest fine in Jim Mills Banjo Showroom.
Today we have a super rare banjo.
This is circa 1930 original pre-war Gibson Flathead PB4 Master Tone, factory order number 9639-5.
This banjo is well known amongst serious flathead collectors.
It surfaced about 15 years ago now, still in the original owner's family.
It sold right away, changed hands a couple times and then basically went off the radar
for about a decade.
I kept up with it, never thought I would own it, just recently got it and am glad to be
able to bring it to you today.
Again, it's an original flathead, 20 hole flathead, high profile, full weight flathead
ring, uncut Master Tone label.
Absolutely 100% original banjo, guaranteed, no questions, no excuses, every nut, bolt,
washer and screw.
Super banjo, super rare banjo.
My friend Joe Spann's book on early Gibson history estimates he only made 25 of these
banjos and we don't know how many still survive today.
We have a good number of them listed that are known, but I would venture to say out
of the ones that are known, this is in the top one or two condition wise in existence.
For lack of a better term, it's nearly a time capsule here.
I would say a virtual time capsule.
It really is.
After 85 years, this banjo is in pristine condition, hardly a blemish on the wood, on
the resonator or anything else for that matter.
It comes with its original calfskin head that was on it, its original plectrum neck, its
original plectrum case, which by the way a 5 string will fit in perfectly, its original
factory instructional papers, bridge, bracket wrench and most rare, it still retains its
original factory hang tag or price tag that would have been on the banjo in the music
store in 1930 when you went in to look at it.
This is, I can tell you, after dealing with these banjos for 30 years, I've only had two,
including this one, that still retained its original hang tag or price tag.
They're very cool in their own right.
They have Gibson in script like you see on the peghead on the little tag.
It's stamped in ink with the model number PB4, then you have the factory order number
and then you have the price stamped in ink of $150 is what the style 4 retailed for.
A lot of people get a kick out of that menial figure today, $150 for a banjo like this,
but you have to take into account in 1930 you could purchase a brand new Ford automobile
for a little over $300, so it was quite a bit of money to pay for a musical instrument
of any kind and for that reason they made very few of them.
As I say, they only made 25 of this one piece flange style 4 flathead plectrum banjo. _
It's a super banjo in every respect.
It does feature another oddity, rarity, which is kind of cool, the master tone block.
You'll notice this is a hearts and flowers inlay, which came pretty much standard on
the style 4.
They either came with a hearts and flowers inlay or the flying eagle inlay.
This one has a hearts and flowers, but the master tone pearl block in the fingerboard
is located at the 15th fret rather than the 21st fret, which is where they typically are located.
The only other banjos that Gibson made during the pre-war years with the master tone block
at the 15th was a wreath pattern.
Whatever reason, they put it on this one.
I've never seen another one, but again, that's very cool.
And Frank Neate made the neck that's on this banjo now.
It's a five string that's an exact replica of the original plectrum and of course it's
set up to modern specs with a weather king, a Remo weather king head.
It's ready to play anywhere with anyone, absolutely professional grade banjo in every way.
It also features one of the most dramatic figures in the grain of its resonator of any
style four that I've had and I've had a bunch of them and have seen a bunch of them.
It's very warm and rich with dark streaks of walnut running through it.
I'll bring it closer to the camera so you can get a view. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Concerning the tone of this banjo, in my opinion, it absolutely has what you'd expect to hear
in an original flathead banjo of this caliber.
It has all the volume and power that you would want and that you would expect in one of these
banjos but it also has that nice, rich, warm, rounded tone when you hit the third and fourth together.
They just melt like butter.
But it also has that cut, that amount of crack that you're after when you really get after one.
But it also has the right sustain and the right decay of note which is so critical in
these banjos to have that kind of separation where all your notes don't just ring together.
_ And again, if anyone's interested in this banjo or any of these banjos, I have, as far
as I know, the largest selection of fully original pre-war Gibson banjos anywhere that I know.
And we have conversions, original flatheads, plectrums, original five strings in all sorts of models.
So whatever you may be interested in, we hope to help you find it here at Jim Mills Banjo Showroom.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you're interested in something like this.
All my information will be at the bottom of the page in this video.
So hope you enjoy.
I'm going to play a note or two just to give you an idea. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _
[Cm] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ [A] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ _ [A] _ [G] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _