Restoring "Old Nellie"

Recently I had the distinct privilege and honor of working on and helping to restore the most prestigious banjo ever to come down the pike. This original, 1936 5-string flathead Mastertone once belonged to the master himself, Earl Scruggs. It is the banjo on which he recorded so many of the songs bluegrass artists everywhere love to sing and play to this day, songs like Molly and Tenbrooks, Bluegrass Breakdown, and I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky to name just three. This historic banjo, an RB 75, is known as the Holy Grail in banjo circles and during the mid to late 40’s, while working with Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys, Earl was right there picking this very instrument when bluegrass music was born. It was not only exciting to hold such a treasure in my hands and pick it, but work on it, too.

Don Reno acquired this RB75 from Earl Scruggs in 1948 while doing a radio show at WCYB in Bristol, VA., trading a 1934 Granada Hearts & Flowers original flathead banjo and a Martin D-18 for it. Reno went on to record much of the Reno and Smiley repertoire with his RB 75. Songs like Dixie Breakdown, I Know You’re Married But I Love You Still, and Banjo Signal are familiar to bluegrass enthusiasts everywhere and just as popular today as they were back then. He cherished his “75” and played it more than any other banjo he owned. One of the most influential banjoists of his time, Don Reno developed a style that is still referred to today quite aptly as the “Reno style”. He utilized the three-finger picking style pioneered by Earl Scruggs but augmented it with a blazing thumb-finger method, playing the melody line on single strings.

The RB 75 now belongs to Don’s son, Don Wayne Reno. His band, The Reno Tradition, plays extensively throughout the world and headlines a variety of shows and venues from coast to coast. Don Wayne initially discussed the inherent problems of the RB 75 with Charlie Cushman who brought it to the attention of the banjo department at Gibson. We knew what an important task lay ahead of us so we took our time in mapping out just how to proceed on each issue. Other than finish issues such as dings and jams from being banged around, the banjo was in good shape overall. We decided to leave the finish alone.

The frets were completely worn away and had been raked and filed one too many times. It was unplayable. So, the frets had to be pulled and the fingerboard planed. I pulled the frets out as well as the Mastertone block, which was original to the instrument. It was crucial that the Mastertone block’s lettering did not get sanded away while being planed or get broken when installing the new frets. I gave the neck to Jackie Miller who pulled the fifth-string guide nut, bone nut, and spikes. An immediate problem that needed attention was the wallowed-out tuner holes on the peghead. The tuners were loose in the holes and the tension from the strings pulling on them was all that kept them in place. Jackie doweled the tuner holes closed and then redrilled them to make for a snug fit. After planing the fingerboard level he returned it to me. Some of the inlays were extremely thin and a couple of pieces of the third fret inlay were completely missing.

We determined that rather than replace the whole inlay it would be better to keep as much of the inlay in its original state as possible. Thick pearl has a different look to it so, to match the existing inlay, I fabricated and shaped the pieces needed out of thin, mother-of-pearl and glued them into position. I carefully sanded these pieces down flush to the board and started installing the frets. I glued each fret in and set the Mastertone block in place. Finally, I installed a new bone nut.

Next, the neck went to Jon Lovette who cleaned the fret board and dressed the frets. The delicate nature of the fingerboard required a steady hand and a light touch. Jon did a fine job of 45’ing the frets and removing all of the glue residue. At some point in the history of this banjo, the hooks and nuts had been replaced with the wrong brand of hardware. Charlie provided a set of original pre-war hardware hooks & nuts which Jon used when he replaced the worn out head. The pot assembly and resonator were in fairly decent shape, aside from the condition of the finish mentioned above, and not in need of repair.

The flange and stretcher band were in surprisingly good shape, but the “L” brackets were bent and the pot assembly was sitting too low in the resonator. As I mentioned above, some of the hardware was not original and needed to be replaced. This was true of the “L” bracket screws, too. Charlie replaced them with original hardware and, after bending the brackets back in shape, the pot assembly sat at the right height in the resonator. He tore down the tuners and after inspection, repacked them with a light grease and reassembled them.

Tony Wray, the banjo department supervisor, re-cut the heel to custom fit it to the pot assembly in order to achieve the correct pitch of the neck. Custom fitting a banjo neck is critical and allows for total transference of sound between neck and shell, proper string height from the outset, plus minimal stress on the neck. This helps the player to avoid over-adjusting the coordinator rods. After stringing it up and reinstalling the spikes and fifth string guide nut it was ready for the set-up.

A proper set up can take a good deal of time. Initially Charlie tuned both the head and sound chamber and later, after a period of “settling in”, retightened the head. After he was done, the transformation was astonishing. When we first saw the banjo and listened to it, it was in bad shape and the sound was dull and mediocre. During the set-up process Charlie found and restored that pre-war sound. Anyone who has heard that sound knows what I mean. It’s the difference between a rifle shot and not just a cannon shot, but a cannon shot on steroids. Needless to say we were all excited with the results. Don Wayne Reno was thoroughly pleased and beside himself with the restoration as well as the rest of us who were fortunate enough to have had a hand in bringing such a fine instrument back to life.