Steve Huber Lancaster Model Banjo (No Longer Available)

Emulating the sound of a prewar Gibson flathead tone ring might sound like an easy proposition to those unfamiliar with the processes involved, but those in the know will tell you that it is a difficult task indeed, something close to discovering the Holy Grail of bluegrass. For this reason, it is all the more noteworthy that in the several months since its release, praise for the Huber Vintage Flathead ring has been unanimously enthusiastic. While many of us know Steve as a formidable bluegrass banjo player with an innovative traditional bent, his destiny as a tone ring developer par excellence now seems almost inevitable.

Combining life and work experiences as a machinist, mechanical engineer, instrument repairman and bluegrass musician, the idea for the Vintage Flathead tone ring came to Steve about three years ago, just after he’d turned his back on life as a bluegrass road musician and settled down in Nashville with a relatively comfortable day job as a manufacturing engineer. “I thought to myself, what else can I do that’s banjo related? One day, I had my own tone ring out of the banjo and was tinkering with it. When I hit it with a mallet, I noticed it rang differently than other tone rings. It got me to thinking that since I already knew how to make banjo parts, I could replicate it if I found out what’s in it. I knew the sound that I wanted.”

Specifications for the Huber Lancaster Banjo

* 1 3/16″ wide bone nut
* bound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard
* Planetary tuners
* geared 5th peg
* 2-way truss rod
* neck machined to exact pre-war specifications
* Huber pre war replica alloy tone ring
* Huber 3 ply hide glue rim
* Huber 5 ply pre war style resonator
* Huber steel coordinator rods
* one piece zinc flange
* Presto sytle tailpiece
* one piece armrest

Check out Grant’s Banjo Setup Q&A

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