❌SOLD❌ Huber Lancaster 5 String Banjo Mahogany, 2006

Here we have a striking Huber Lancaster 5-String Banjo -a spectacular tonal recreation of pre-WWII Mastertone banjos, ideally suited for hard-driving bluegrass. The Lancaster is not visually elaborate, but brings all the sound and playability of a professional grade instrument.

This fine banjo is in very good condition, with no appreciable wear or damage. The original hard shell case is included.

Huber Banjos have been built at Steve Huber’s shop in Hendersonville, Tennessee since 2000, and aim to reproduce the sound of pre-WW2 instruments.

Steve Huber was a busy performing banjo player while he developed the Huber banjo components, but from 2005 has devoted himself to his family and the Huber Banjo business.

From Grant MacNeill (Banjo Expert The Twelfth Fret) on the Huber Lancaster:

“This banjo is built to reflect the most prized pre-war 5-string banjos, which were generally built of mahogany with nickel plated parts. The neck and resonator are built of mahogany with a clear, mahogany tinted gloss finish. The resonator is decorated with two concentric rings, and the neck and resonator have white binding.

Steve Huber is a unique individual; a superb player who is also a gifted Luthier and technician.

Among his many achievements, this incredible “renaissance man” built his own forge and developed an authentic replica of the iconic prewar Gibson flathead tone ring, duplicating the alloy and pouring techniques from the 1930s era.

This ring became the benchmark for that sought after “pre-war” sound. The Standard Huber Tone ring banjos remain one of the most popular Pre-war style banjos in the professional banjo scene…Huber banjos are considered by many of our customers to be the loudest banjo in our entire shop !

That said, despite his successful tone ring, Steve remained convinced there was more to learn on this subject.

Steve Huber has unique access to many priceless 1930s Gibson flathead rings and 30s maple rims. Through a painstaking, experimental process, he came to realize that there are surprising tonal differences when one mounts various early 30s tone rings on various original 1930s maple rims. The myriad tiny differences and flaws in these primitively made tone rings and rims have an audible effect on the banjo tone.

Interestingly, Steve came to realize that the rim is as important as the tone ring.

Without taking both parts into account; looking at the ring and rim as a unit, the extra effort spent improving on the ring would only offer a minor improvement over his already successful pre-war ring.

After years of experimentation, Steve and his skilled Luthiers narrowed it down to the “best” match between tone ring and rim. Then they set out on the quest to duplicate that magic combination using modern technology.

The latest TrueTone HR-30 Bronze tone ring combined with the Huber TrueTone Engineered Rim puts the ultimate pre-war Gibson flathead tone ring tone ring into the hands of modern players. Those players who might not have a spare $80,000 to invest in the “real thing”.

Fretwork, inlay work, finish and setup is typically superb as is always the case with every Huber Banjo we see.”

Builder’s Description of The Huber Lancaster:

“Historically our most popular model, the Lancaster uses a mahogany neck and resonator with nickel-plated parts for a classic look. It is fair to suggest that the majority of banjos manufactured since the early 20th century have been mahogany and nickel.

The neck and resonator are made from choice mahogany with a natural mahogany finish. The rosewood fingerboard and peghead feature the standard Huber inlay pattern. The mahogany neck imparts a sweetness to this model with a warm blending of notes that create a classic bluegrass sound.

The resonator features twin concentric rings in the back. The neck is inlaid with the original Huber pattern and the pot is built using the Huber Engineered rim and the Huber HR-30 tone ring.”