Certainly not immaculate, but certainly a great banjo. This JD Crowe model is ready to live in your “Old Home Place”
The mahogany neck has received a “speed neck” treatment as the finish has been removed from most of the back of the neck. The mahogany resonator has plenty of scratches and some rash on the front from scraping against the L brackets, but it is by no means in rough shape. The rose wood fingerboard has held up well, and the frets have minimal/moderate wear on the first seven frets.
The maple rim features a Mastertone label signed by JD Crowe himself. The bridge seems a little bedraggled, but given that it is branded “Gibson,” it’s likely original so I opted to leave it.
Almost all the nickel hardware appears original though not without patina, despite my best efforts with a cotton rag and some Semi-Chrome. This includes the Gibson branded flange and much beloved Gibson branded “Crowe” tonering. Two of the Waverly tuners are not original to the instrument, but other than that, everything checks out there.
Unfortunately the original Gibson branded case was not included with the instrument when I acquired it, but it comes in a very nice hard shell case I believe to be an Ess and Ess.
Thanks for looking and feel free to reach out with any questions.
