Gibson RB-1 #9775-3
The style 1 of the 1930s was a
non-Mastertone model and therefore had no true tone ring--only a small-diameter brass hoop
on top of the rim. It did, however, feature the same pot metal one-piece flange and
three-ply maple rim as the Mastertones of the same period.
Style 1 had nickel-plated
hardware and a dark-finished maple neck and resonator, with white binding on the neck and
both edges of the resonator. Even though the Mastertone models had by this time gone
to the double-cut peghead shape, the fiddle-shaped peghead was retained on
style 1, with a minor
modification--the two small indentations normally found under the fourth- and first-string
tuners were absent. The rosewood fingerboard was inlaid with a fleur-de-lis inlay
pattern which is also known by such varying names as "bats" and "flying
birds"; in the late 1930s, this inlay pattern was replaced on
style 1 by a simple dot
pattern, although the "inverted bud" peghead inlay remained.
Style 1 banjos have an oval
"The Gibson" label inside the rim which is similar to the Mastertone label found
on the higher models.
This banjo is now owned by the son of the original owner, who bought it on June 10, 1934 in West Virginia. The fifth-string peg, tone ring, tailpiece, and armrest are not original.
Photos courtesy of Allen Canterbury.
