Gibson TB-11 #DA-5007
Style 11 was Gibson's attempt to dress up a lower-priced banjo through the use of pearloid decorated with red and black silkscreened designs on the back of the resonator as well as the fingerboard and peghead, along with a colored finish on the rim, the sides of the resonator, and the back of the neck. Blue is the most commonly seen color for this finish, and style 11s are consequently sometimes referred to as "blue banjos".
Style 11 banjos were not Mastertones and only had a small-diameter brass hoop sitting on top of the rim; they did, however, share the one-piece flange and maple rim of styles 3, 4, and Granada, and thus make excellent five-string conversions with the addition of a new neck and a tone ring. So many style 11 banjos have been converted in this way that there is a growing demand for examples in original, unaltered condition. This TB-11 is just such a banjo.
Gibson's Catalog Y of 1937 mentioned style 11's "new type raised tone ring" which was purported to "improve tone and volume" and provide "more brilliancy". The new design, seen on #DA-5007, was not a heavy cast archtop tone ring as found on the Mastertone models; instead, the archtop appearance was caused by the placement of the brass hoop on the inner edge of the rim rather than the outer edge. This TB-11 is housed in its original red-line hardshell case and remains in near-mint condition.
#DA-5007 is housed in its original red-line hardshell case emblazoned with the band name "Rocky Mountain Cowboys". The banjo is also accompanied by the original sheet of setup and maintenance instructions from Gibson, as well as a photograph of the original owner with the banjo. Although many style 11 banjos were not numbered, this banjo bears a serial number on the back of the peghead as frequently seen on banjos from the late 1930s; the letter prefix "D" indicates a production date of 1938.
S.S. Stewart sold a banjo under its own brand in the 1930s which was manufactured by Gibson and was virtually identical to style 11.
Photos courtesy of Bob
Feldman/WeBuyStrats.com.
