Bradford & Company Hawthorn® Maple Bowtie five-string resonator banjo
There are mahogany Bowties on the market built as Gibson did on its RB-250 Bowties from the 50s and 60s. Gibson also built the RB-500 Bowtie model from 1964 to 1969 that had a maple neck and resonator veneer. We build our own Hawthorn mahogany Bowties but nobody else has a production model maple Bowtie of maple of which we are aware. We are told that Gibson built 101 of maple RB-500 Bowties but they are scarce as hen's teeth today. We believe in fearless experimentation. Our maple Bowtie has a red maple neck and curly maple resonator finished in a high gloss sunburst or "darkburst" finish. Players who have played our maple Bowties have raved about the tone and volume. If you order one with an ebony fretboard, you really have a screamer. Our favorite tone ring/wood rim combo is the popular Tennessee 20 tone ring on a Jimmy Cox hard rock maple three-ply wood rim. Our tuners are equipped with the period correct Kluson Vintage Diecast Reissue tuners like the old Gibsons. With cream colored "tulip" tuner buttons. We love the Hoppers cam d-tuners. For that vintage Scruggs tuner sound it's hard to beat the Hoppers cam d-tuners. We follow the Gibson formula closely but we do use the Gary Price SL-5 Straight Line tailpiece, which we feel is vastly superior to the tailpiece used by Gibson. As of January 1, 2020, we are going to our newly redesigned headstock, modified from the classic Gibson "Flyswatter" design but still retaining the essential look of the classic "Bowtie" headstock. We believe you will find that our Hawthorn Bowties match up well with the old Gibson flathead Bowties or any new Bowtie-type banjos being built today.
There are mahogany Bowties on the market built as Gibson did on its RB-250 Bowties from the 50s and 60s. Gibson also built the RB-500 Bowtie model from 1964 to 1969 that had a maple neck and resonator veneer. We build our own Hawthorn mahogany Bowties but nobody else has a production model maple Bowtie of maple of which we are aware. We are told that Gibson built 101 of maple RB-500 Bowties but they are scarce as hen's teeth today. We believe in fearless experimentation. Our maple Bowtie has a red maple neck and curly maple resonator finished in a high gloss sunburst or "darkburst" finish. Players who have played our maple Bowties have raved about the tone and volume. If you order one with an ebony fretboard, you really have a screamer. Our favorite tone ring/wood rim combo is the popular Tennessee 20 tone ring on a Jimmy Cox hard rock maple three-ply wood rim. Our tuners are equipped with the period correct Kluson Vintage Diecast Reissue tuners like the old Gibsons. With cream colored "tulip" tuner buttons. We love the Hoppers cam d-tuners. For that vintage Scruggs tuner sound it's hard to beat the Hoppers cam d-tuners. We follow the Gibson formula closely but we do use the Gary Price SL-5 Straight Line tailpiece, which we feel is vastly superior to the tailpiece used by Gibson. As of January 1, 2020, we are going to our newly redesigned headstock, modified from the classic Gibson "Flyswatter" design but still retaining the essential look of the classic "Bowtie" headstock. We believe you will find that our Hawthorn Bowties match up well with the old Gibson flathead Bowties or any new Bowtie-type banjos being built today.
- Red maple neck
- Jimmy Cox curly maple resonator or Steve Gill pre-war style curly maple resonator
- Virtually any commercially available tone ring can be ordered. Huber, Tennessee 20, , Prucha, or our own Ozark Thunder® "No hole" flathead tone rings have been popular
- Sullivan archtop tone ring available upon request
- Jimmy Cox 3-ply hard rock maple rim or Randall Wyatt birch or Euro-beech block rim
- Optional Tony Pass Thinskirt® birch block rim ($200 upcharge)
- Nickel plated hardware
- Dual action truss rod
- Ebony or rosewood fretboard with classic bowtie inlays
- No finish on back of neck (speed neck) optional
- Full binding on resonator and neck
- High gloss sunburst (darkburst) finish standard
- Standard period correct double inlayed concentric circles on back of resonator like on the classic Gibson Bowtie models
- Waverly nickel tuners
- Optional Keith d-tuners on 2nd and 3rd strings and regular Keith tuners on 1st and 4th strings.
- Optional Kluson reissue tuners with "tulip" buttons
- Optional Hoppers cam tuners ($200) or Keith tuners ($250)
- Gary Price SL-5 Straight Line tailpiece
- Randall Wyatt bridge and Remo, Five Star, or American Made Banjo Company head available
- Dual coordinator rods
- Premium Hardshell Case or optional Custom Tweed Embroidered Ameritage Hardshell case
- Full Warranty to original purchaser
- Prices for the Hawthorn Maple Bowtie start at $4750
The Kluson company has recently reissued the venerable Kluson banjo tuners as used on the old Gibson Bowties of the 50's and 60's. The new tuners include the classic tulip buttons. We offer these period-correct, but new tuners as an option on our Hawthorn Bowties. In contrast to some of the balky original Klusons, these new ones work as smooth as butter. We think they give our Bowties a cool and authentic vintage vibe.
Bradford & Company Fine Instruments
4448 Belleview | Kansas City, MO 64111 | 816-283-0400
info@bfstrings.com
11-6, Tues-Fri, 12-4 Sat, Closed Sun and Mon
4448 Belleview | Kansas City, MO 64111 | 816-283-0400
info@bfstrings.com
11-6, Tues-Fri, 12-4 Sat, Closed Sun and Mon