Brand: Gibson
Instrument Categories: Banjos, SOLD, Tenor
The item shown here has sold and is no longer available. We are presenting it for historical and reference purposes. To view items currently available for sale, please visit our ecommerce site at https://shop.12fret.com. For permission to re-use any of these materials, please contact us at info@12fret.com
Here’s a lovely older instrument, built around 1924 – The Gibson TB4 Snakehead, trap door tenor banjo, with Maple for the neck, rim and folding ‘trap door’ resonator. This fine instrument has its original parts, though the case is long gone, and was built at the end of the Lloyd Loar era (1911 to end of 1924), which produced many historic innovations.
The Gibson TB4 was part of the TB or Tenor Banjo series introduced in 1921 as Gibson attempted to stabilize its place in the banjo market. Available in several numbered styles, the TB4 or Style 4 featured Maple for the rim, neck and resonator, with Ebony for the fingerboard and Mother of Pearl for the position markers and ‘The Gibson’ peghead inlay. The pickguard or finger rest is a teardrop piece of grained celluloid – best to not have open flame nearby.
Snakehead and Trap Door are two unusual but key terms for this Gibson TB4 Snakehead tenor banjo. The ‘Snakehead’ term refers to the shape of the headstock, and the ‘Trap Door’ is the hinged, movable resonator back.
This fine vintage piece is in good working order, and plays well.
- Model: TB4 Snakehead Trap Door
- Year: 1924 | Approximate year
- Finish Sunburst
- Class: Vintage
- Serial Number: 11011A 23
- Country of Origin: USA
- Condition: Good
- Date Posted: 17/06/2020
- This instrument has been sold
- Instrument Weight: 6.07lbs 2.76kg
- Scale Length: 19in 482mm
- Nut Width: 1.173in 29mm
