Gibson TB-3 Mastertone #25-23
Style 3 was the least
expensive model in Gibson's Mastertone line. It was introduced in 1925 and remained
in production through 1937, when its price was lowered from $100 to $75 and it was renamed
style 75. While the
style 3 of the
1920s had a two-piece flange with maple neck and resonator, a fiddle-shaped peghead and the diamonds and squares inlay pattern, the style changed
in 1929 to the
configuration seen here. The flange is one-piece; the wood is mahogany with two
white/black/white purfling rings on the back of the resonator, and the peghead shape is
double-cut. There is single white binding on the neck and on both edges of the
resonator. The tone ring is a forty-hole archtop; this
example's tailpiece and case are non-original.
While most style 3 banjos of this period feature the leaves and bows inlay pattern, they are also occasionally seen with flying eagle inlays on the fingerboard as on this rare example.
#25-23 (see Gibson banjo serial numbers vs. factory order numbers) was owned for many years by William "Bill" Eddy, who bought it in 1975 from the Bob George Music Store in Kansas City, Missouri for $900. Mr. Eddy played the banjo for twenty years with the Kansas City Banjo Band before moving to Idaho, where he continued to play in churches, nursing homes, and once a week at Godfather's Pizza. Mr. Eddy passed away in 2008 and the banjo continues to be played and enjoyed by his son Bob and his grandson Brett.
Photos courtesy of Bob
Eddy.