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Comment by Bell Banjos on June 7, 2012 at 6:41pm

Looks like an altered resonator, that's for sure. Pretty clever. Airhole/Soundhole. Strap button. A bluegrass banjo turned into a clawhammer banjo with a hidden resonator. Not unlike Boucher's later model.

Comment by Tom Morrison on June 8, 2012 at 12:01pm

I'll bet the banjo is probably pre-bluegrass and not altered,  probably from the 1910s based on the peghead??  Anyway it 's a 4 string based on another photo.

Comment by James Pentecost on June 8, 2012 at 12:57pm

Looks just like my 1924 Gibson Trapdoor.

Comment by Trapdoor2 on June 8, 2012 at 2:42pm

Yeah, Gibson "trapdoor". TB-4, I believe. I had one about 20yrs ago. Not really a very good sounding banjo, IMHO. I own one of its baby brothers, an MB-4...but no trapdoor resonator on it.

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