1963 Gibson RB-180

1963! A magical year in the folk world! In 1963 I went to the Philly Folk Festival, saw everyone there, and on separate occasions saw Bob Dylan, Flatt and Scruggs, and Pete Seeger, all at Carnegie Hall. And I didn’t even have to practice to get there! It was also the year that I got into my first serious lutherie project, making a Pete Seeger-style extra-long banjo neck, and here I still am working with this stuff. Amazing. At the time, seemed like every banjo company in America jumped on that bandwagon with extra-long-neck open-back versions and none better than Gibson, especially with the RB-180 model that had a full-fledged Mastertone tone ring. Well here it is in all its 1963 glory, waiting for you in super-original ultra-cool condition. There were actually two versions of the Mastertone rim back then, the thin kind and the full-thickness kind, and this banjo of course has the better kind. All its original stuff too: special Gibson tuners, Elton-type covered tailpiece, all the original hooks and nuts, and all the plating is in beautiful condition, as are the frets. One blessed improvement though, a modern-type geared fifth-string tuning peg, thankfully. And it matches perfectly. Original Gibson hard shell case too! Calling 1963! And at the bargain price of only $1995 w/ohsc