Bradford & Company Hawthorn® Bowtie five-string resonator banjo
Players who have played our Bowties have raved about the tone and volume. 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. An option is the reissued Kluson Vintage tuners (pictured below). We love the Hoppers cam d-tuners. These can be set to turn the same direction or to turn inward like Keith 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 Straight line SL-5 tailpiece, which we feel is vastly superior to the tailpiece used by Gibson. We believe you will find that our Hawthorn Bowties match up well with the old Gibson flathead Bowties or any new ones being built today. 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.
Players who have played our Bowties have raved about the tone and volume. 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. An option is the reissued Kluson Vintage tuners (pictured below). We love the Hoppers cam d-tuners. These can be set to turn the same direction or to turn inward like Keith 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 Straight line SL-5 tailpiece, which we feel is vastly superior to the tailpiece used by Gibson. We believe you will find that our Hawthorn Bowties match up well with the old Gibson flathead Bowties or any new ones being built today. 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.
- Mahogany neck with Steve Gill pre-war or Jimmy Cox Gibson style mahogany resonator
- Virtually any tone ring is available on all Hawthorn banjos. Huber, Prucha, Tennessee 20, or our own Ozark Thunder® "No hole" flathead tone ring are popular choices.
- 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 period correct double inlayed concentric circles on back of resonator like on the classic Gibson Bowtie models
- Waverly nickel tuners
- Period correct cream colored "tulip" tuner buttons (not shown in photos) Kluson reissued vintage tuners with period correct tulip button optional
- Optional Hoppers cam tuners ($200) or Keith tuners (upcharge as dictated by cost)
- Optional Keith d-tuners on 2nd and 3rd strings and regular Keith tuners on 1st and 4th strings.
- Gary Price SL-5 Straight Line tailpiece
- Randall Wyatt bridge and Remo, Five Star, or American Made Banjo Company head
- Dual coordinator rods
- Premium Hardshell Case or optional Custom Tweed Embroidered Ameritage Hardshell case
- Full Warranty to original purchaser
- Prices for the Hawthorn Mahogany Bowtie start at $4550
The Kluson company has recently reissued the venerable Kluson banjo tuners as used on the old Gibson Bowtie 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