Gibson RB-75 Mastertone #DA-5055
After the top-tension models were introduced in 1937, only one conventional Mastertone remained in production--style 3 underwent some slight changes, its price was lowered from $100 to $75, and it was rechristened style 75. #DA-5055 is a beautiful example of an RB-75 and was shipped from the Gibson factory in 1939. It conforms to standard catalog specifications for style 75 with mahogany neck and resonator, one-piece flange, high-profile twenty-hole flathead tone ring, nickel-plated hardware, double-cut peghead, and rosewood fingerboard. A variety of inlay patterns are seen on style 75 banjos, and #DA-5055 is inlaid with the full ten-piece leaves and bows pattern; the majority of leaves-and-bows RB-75s had an abbreviated inlay set with only eight pieces.
One of the most interesting features of this banjo is the decal on the back of the resonator; although a portion of the decal has worn off, the name of the banjo's original retailer, High Point Music Supply in High Point, North Carolina, can be deciphered along with the company's four-digit phone number.
#DA-5055, pictured above with owner John Bowles, is one of the best-sounding prewar banjos I have ever encountered and I was fortunate to be able to record some sound clips of it at Banjothon 2009 in Maryville, Tennessee:
Photos courtesy of
John Bowles.
