ID: b5
Price: $1279.99
Blemish: less radiused fingerboard
Description:
Béla Fleck, surely today's best-known banjoist, has his own heroes. One of these, John Hartford, made extensive use of a low-tuned five-string banjo (a twelve-inch Farland from the 1920s) in his music. While Béla had already been playing a Gold Tone CEB-5 Cello Banjo, he felt that there should be a banjo to fill the gap between the cello banjo (tuned to G, an octave below the standard banjo) and the standard five-string. Béla collaborated with Gold Tone president Wayne Rogers over many months and after overcoming many challenges and the building of several prototypes, the ML-1 "Missing Link" came into being. Tuned to open C (in a G configuration, i.e. an octave below the fifth fret of a standard five-string) the ML-1 features a twelve-inch, three-ply maple rim supporting a bronze tone ring. A specially-made Remo Black Suede head carries a custom 7/8" bridge and an all-wound custom string set hooks up to a Gold Tone Terminator tailpiece. The hard rock Canadian maple neck is topped by a rich black ebony fretboard, honed to a compound radius (5" to 9") and fitted with jumbo frets. The gorgeous art nouveau inlay pattern (of Béla's own design) travels the length of the neck all the way to the peghead, interrupted only by a Zero Glide nut (for super-accurate intonation and low-friction tuning). Black bindings and black buttons on the Master Planetary tuners complete the elegant look.
ML-1 Specifications
All Gold Tone instruments setup in Titusville, FL. USA
Headstock
ButtonsBlack
Nut Width1-3/8" Zero Glide Nut
TunersGT Planetary
Zero Glide Installed1
Neck
FingerboardEbony 5-10" Compound Radiused
Frets22
InlayNouveau Custom
MaterialHard Rock Maple
Truss RodTwo-Way Adjustable
Body
ArmrestGold Tone Engraved
BindingBlack ABS
Brackets26
Bridge10" Radiused Maple w/ Ebony Cap (7/8")
Coordinator RodsDual 12"
FinishVintage Brown / High Gloss
HardwareChrome Plated
Head12" Remo MC Black Suede
Resonator14" Maple
Rim12" 3-Ply Maple
TailpieceTerminator
Tension Hoop12" Notched
Tone Ring12" Bronze Sand Cast
Dimensions
Scale Length26-1/4"
Weight9.2 lbs.
Other
BagHPB (Available)
CaseIncluded
String Gauge.018w, .040w, .030w, .022w, .018w
TuningCGCEG
