Simple lines complement the look of this superb open-back banjo. Equally simple dowel stick construction with a 12” rim and frailing scoop make this a perfect choice for old time or round peak traditional styles. This version has the famous Tubaphone tone ring that was invented by the Vega Banjo Company and first utilized in a production instrument back in 1909. One of the first, and most successful, tone rings of its time the Tubaphone, originally spelled Tu-Ba-Phone predates the Gibson Mastertone tone ring by at least 16 years. It is essentially an outer shell of spun brass, with a tubular square inner ring, displaying a multitude of round holes in it. It is said that its sound is vibrant, warm and round to which we’d like to add “with enhanced sustain.” This version is made with brown matte finish on rim and neck. It is, as Peter Alsop has always said, “a hummer,” and a darned nice one, too.
Let’s talk about its many attributes: It has a traditional dowel stick construction just like the big boys downtown; it has a Cooperman 12" 3-ply maple rim, a 25.4" scale length, bone nut and a 1-5/16" nut width; it has an Indian rosewood cap on the bottom of its dainty rim, dowel stick and heel cap; it has an ebony 17-fret fingerboard with frailing scoop; a mahogany neck with the traditional small peghead shape, a nickel-plated grooved tension hoop, a leaf inlay on peghead/Elite amber head. It tunes quite accurately with 5-Star Planet tuners, has a 2-way adjustable truss rod, that old brown stain and matte finish overall, and is housed in its immediately distinguishable tweed hard-shell case. This was $1,747 but is NOW ON SALE.