SCRUGGS/RENO
 

Scruggs/Reno 1935 RB-3

Recently, I was asked by Don Wayne Reno to oversee a restoration on his father’s 1935 Gibson RB-3 Mastertone banjo. This instrument (serial # 518-1) was owned and used by Earl Scruggs as a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys during the early days of the birth of Bluegrass music. Earl Scruggs continued playing this banjo into the beginning years of the Foggy Mountain Boys with Lester Flatt. Earl Scruggs later traded the banjo to Don Reno, and Don used this banjo throughout his career. The banjo was passed on to Don’s son, Don Wayne Reno, another great banjoist who continues to be inspired by this sensational instrument.

This instrument was owned and used by the two first generation Masters, who gave to Bluegrass music, the essential element for its own unique sound. This banjo has been in service since 1946. The history of this banjo is unparalleled, and has, ahead of all the others; help make the Gibson Mastertone banjo the industry standard for Bluegrass and Country Music.

I started the restoration with a detailed photo session of the banjo in its condition upon arrival, and continued the photographs throughout the restoration. I was assisted by some of the talented men who work at the Gibson banjo factory in Nashville. They were all eager to contribute their time, thoughts, and talents to this project. We were all honored to participate in this restoration.

I removed the neck and coordinator rods from the pot assembly. The pot was dis-assembled, and non-original parts were set aside to return to Don Wayne. If you observe some of the photos of Don Reno with this banjo, you can see that he would occasionally change some of the parts. He used different armrests, tailpieces, and tuners. Upon arrival, the banjo had chrome hooks and nuts that were not Gibson parts, and some wood screws holding the "L" brackets in place that were not original. The original tailpiece and armrest were also missing. Other than these parts and a new nut and geared 5th string peg, this banjo is original.

I carefully cleaned all the metal parts and the outside of the rim under the flange. I left the inside of the rim with the Mastertone Guarantee label as it was. My mind raced with thoughts of the classic sounds that were created through this very sacred combination of wood and metal! The "L" brackets were bent down from years of use, so I straightened them back to the correct angle, and used the remaining original screws to attach them back to the rim. The original coordinator rods and washers and nuts were all in good condition. The flange was not removed from the rim. A missing section on the upper part of the flange reminded me of how fragile the pot metal material is. The break in the flange happened (I was told) when the banjo fell (in its’ case) from a bunk in the Reno and Harrell bus. This missing section is an identifying character that can be seen in many photos of Don and his banjo. I found a nice even coated Remo head, and re-assembled the pot using the proper parts. Reproduction hooks and nuts, Presto tailpiece, and Pre-War style armrest were used. The pot was tuned and set aside until the neck restoration was completed.

The resonator of this banjo is unique to typical Gibson Pre-War specs, as the inner lining is made of maple instead of the usual poplar lining. I have occasionally seen this on a few other Pre-War Gibson banjos. The resonator on this banjo is bound as a style 3. Some folks have called this banjo an RB-75 by serial designation, but the resonator denotes style 3. The resonator has had the finish worn off and re-touched. Don Reno has also signed his name on the inside of the resonator, and carved his name in the back of the resonator near the heel slot. No doubt about the history of this wonderful banjo. The resonator is structurally sound and complete with the original wall lugs and mounting screws

The original 5 string neck of this banjo had obviously seen a lot of wear in its’ 60+ years of service. The many hours of playing by Earl, Don, and Don Wayne, along with the many repairs through the years, made the restoration of the neck and fingerboard the most critical and delicate part of this project. The banjo has been re-fretted many times since new, and the Brazilian rosewood fingerboard worn to great degrees. Upon inspection, the worn areas of the fingerboard had been filled and covered with varnish to slow further wear. The frets had been filed nearly flat to the fingerboard and left un-crowned. The banjo would not make a clear note sound on virtually any fret when Don Wayne left it with me.

Gibson’s Ed Weber removed the old frets, planed the fingerboard, filled the grooves, and final glass planed the board before installing all new frets and a new nut. The original Mastertone block was carefully ejected from the fingerboard to avoid breakage. The beautifully figured rosewood fingerboard has now been restored to 98% of its original condition! Ed also repaired some of the pearl inlay that was flaking and falling out due to continuous use. We found part of an old matchbook under the nut that was used as a shim from a former repair. Please visit Ed’s website www.customscrimshaw.com and see more of Ed’s talents.

Through many years of use and changing of the tuning pegs, the original tuner holes in the headstock had become enlarged and nearly "oval" shaped. The banjo had oversized washers on the face of the headstock to hold the tuners in when Don Wayne brought the banjo to me. Gibson luthier Jackie Miller put dowels in the enlarged headstock holes and re-drilled the headstock to accept the original style Grover pancake tuners. The banjo will now stay in tune.

Gibson’s Tony Wray contributed to the restoration by shaping and cutting the string slots on the new nut, and crowning and dressing the new frets. Tony’s care and expertise made this old banjo "play like butter" as we say.

Gibson machinist Jon Lovette assumed the task of re-installing the original 5th string guide nut into the fingerboard. A delicate operation it was, as the 5th fret required the routing of a half circle to set the nut. Jon makes the resonators for all the new Gibson banjos.

After restoring the neck, re-building the pot assembly, and completing the missing parts, I re-assembled the banjo. With the original neck fit from the Kalamazoo factory, the neck resumed proper pitch, and I selected the appropriate new Gibson 5/8" bridge. The banjo had received a long over due restoration.

This banjo absolutely "roared" when I tuned it up and all the guy’s at Gibson did too!!! This was an extremely satisfying moment for all of us!!! I called Don Wayne to let him know of our progress, and to ask for some extra time for me to do an extensive set-up. He agreed, and was very pleased about our results.

Then came the best part for me. I’ve been a Reno and Smiley fan since I was 12 years old, and I have all of Don’s recordings. I became a fan of Earl Scruggs at the age of 4, and I have all of his recordings. Earl Scruggs banjo playing is what first inspired me to play the banjo. I have all the 78-RPM records of the Bluegrass Boys with Lester and Earl. I have studied all of these collections of recorded output greatly during my 38 years of playing the banjo. I selected some of my favorite cut’s that came to mind, pulled the albums, 45’s and 78’s and started listening to the many great performances that were recorded on this banjo. From those inspirations, I started the set-up of this incredible instrument.

Well, it didn’t take long for me to retrieve the sound I had imagined to come from this banjo. I believe an exceptional instrument will remain, and just get better with use and proper maintenance. The sound so many of us banjo players know and love, still lives through this great instrument. This banjo "vibrates" like no other banjo that I’ve ever played and has a sound "all its’ own". It was an incredible experience, exploring the potentials of this banjo.

Don Wayne came to the factory to pick up the banjo, and expressed his thanks and gratitude to all of us. He offered to let me use the banjo whenever I wanted, and I have taken him up on the offer many times. I have used the banjo to record several very special new projects here in Nashville that will be released in 2006! I feel I can speak for my friends at Gibson by saying, "Thanks Don Wayne, for allowing us the privilege to help maintain one of our Bluegrass and American Music treasures. The 1935 Gibson RB-3 Mastertone Banjo, also known as "Nellie". We are all truly blessed".

Charlie Cushman

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