1893 A.C. Fairbanks Curtis Electric
There's nothing like a father's love for his son, especially when it's been filtered through the banjo market. Curtis Fairbanks, son of A.C., is said to have been a child banjo prodigy, and that's all anyone seems to know about him. He was almost certainly a classic-style banjoist, but we think this banjo bearing his name is fit for almost any banjo-related task you can come up with. It has a mahogany neck with a 27" scale ebony fretboard with some nice inlay. The peghead tuners are the original screw tension type with original grained ivoroid knobs. The 5th tuner was upgraded to a geared Schaller. It has a 12" diameter spunover rim with the Curtis Electric tone ring. Said tone ring is comprised of a brass hoop which sits atop a series of 3/16" rods, which sit inside of a steel hoop. All original hooks and nuts are present. This banjo is set up with a nice calf skin head that has a cloth patch glued to the underside of the head in the bridge area (for mellower tone I assume) and a set of Nylgut 6B strings. This banjo has a warm round tone that is excellent for solo or small ensemble playing. Yours for $1,500, includes a hard case.