Studio King tenor banjo by Gibson #9717-12
In the 1930s, Gibson made a number of banjos for sale by other companies, including mail-order houses such as Montgomery Ward. Banjos made by Gibson for Montgomery Ward have been seen under the brand names Recording King and Studio King; the Studio King brand seems to have been produced in smaller numbers and to have been reserved for higher-end banjos comparable to the Gibson-brand Mastertone line.
If it were a Gibson Mastertone, this
Studio King tenor would fall
somewhere between style 3 and
style 4. Like a
style 3 of the period, it
features mahogany wood and nickel-plated hardware, but its hearts and flowers
inlay pattern is considerably fancier than the leaves and bows pattern normally
seen on style 3 banjos.
Whereas the style 3 of the
1930s featured white-black-white concentric rings inlaid in the back of the
resonator, this Studio King has multicolored wood marquetry somewhat reminiscent
of that seen on style 4
banjos on the period. The multi-ply binding on the neck and resonator is
of the type used on the gold-plated, engraved
Granada of the 1930s.
The peghead shape on this example is unusual, with its upper portion having an
outline similar to a Gibson fiddle-shaped peghead rather than the long, tapered
point normally seen on Recording
King and Studio King pegheads.
The flange is one-piece and the tone ring is a forty-hole raised head as seen on
Mastertones of the period; the tuners are Grover "two-bands".
#9717-12 bears a truss-rod cover with the factory-inscribed
personalization "CREA", the significance of which is unknown. This
customization is in fact the only reason for the truss-rod cover's presence on
this banjo since, like other non-Gibson-brand banjos, it has no adjustable truss
rod. The banjo is accompanied by its original hardshell case and
accessories, including a sheet of maintenance instructions similar to, but
different from, the one sent out with Gibson-brand banjos.
The original owner of this
exceptionally
good-sounding tenor banjo was a Mr. Heaton who lived near the small community of
Moonshine, Illinois.
