Goose Acres T-11W 5 String Banjo (1993)
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Goose Acres T-11W Model 5 String Banjo (1993), made in Cleveland, Ohio, serial # 771, natural varnish finish, walnut rim, mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard, original hard shell case.
Goose Acres was the family business of Bob Smakula and his father Peter H. Smakula, two names often spoken with a distinct reverence within the world of banjo lovers. After humble beginnings building dulcimers in the 1970's, a teenage Bob enlisted the aid of his father Peter, a German immigrant and all-around steward of American folk music. The pair grew a small repair operation and their "Thumb Piano Factory & Dulcimer Works" into the Goose Acres Folk Music Center. More than just a store to share the fruits of their own lutherie, it was a repair shop and a vital meeting ground that served all manner of local pickers and folkies all the way up to the likes of Norman Blake and Doc Watson. While Bob continues to this day to build and preserve fine folk instruments under the Smakula banner, Goose Acres ceased operations in 2006 and Peter passed shortly after in 2008.
This 1993 Goose Acres 5-string is much like the company's aluminum rimmed T-11 with the alternative of a walnut rim with a simple flat-head tone ring. The neck is in the classic Vega pattern made of 3-piece laminated mahogany with a thin center strip and topped with a dot inlaid rosewood fingerboard. The headstock is faced in rosewood and carries typical 1980s Planet tuners with large pearloid buttons and a small pearl "GA" inlay. It is a voluminous and hearty sounding banjo with a nice classic ringing tone. This is a very nice traditional old time banjo that in a pinch can sub in a Bluegrass jam!
Overall length is 36 3/4 in. (93.3 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 1/4 in. (667 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Overall this banjo remains in wonderful condition, showing just some marginal wear to the metal surfaces but hardly any actual marks from use. It plays very well; the frets have plenty of life in them, the tuners work splendidly, and it is fully set up and ready to pick. The only notable bit of wear is some light divoting to the fingerboard in the lower positions which is visible but does not impede playability. It resides in the original very good quality brown leather covered hardshell case it left Smakula's bench with in 1993. Excellent Condition.
Goose Acres was the family business of Bob Smakula and his father Peter H. Smakula, two names often spoken with a distinct reverence within the world of banjo lovers. After humble beginnings building dulcimers in the 1970's, a teenage Bob enlisted the aid of his father Peter, a German immigrant and all-around steward of American folk music. The pair grew a small repair operation and their "Thumb Piano Factory & Dulcimer Works" into the Goose Acres Folk Music Center. More than just a store to share the fruits of their own lutherie, it was a repair shop and a vital meeting ground that served all manner of local pickers and folkies all the way up to the likes of Norman Blake and Doc Watson. While Bob continues to this day to build and preserve fine folk instruments under the Smakula banner, Goose Acres ceased operations in 2006 and Peter passed shortly after in 2008.
This 1993 Goose Acres 5-string is much like the company's aluminum rimmed T-11 with the alternative of a walnut rim with a simple flat-head tone ring. The neck is in the classic Vega pattern made of 3-piece laminated mahogany with a thin center strip and topped with a dot inlaid rosewood fingerboard. The headstock is faced in rosewood and carries typical 1980s Planet tuners with large pearloid buttons and a small pearl "GA" inlay. It is a voluminous and hearty sounding banjo with a nice classic ringing tone. This is a very nice traditional old time banjo that in a pinch can sub in a Bluegrass jam!
Overall length is 36 3/4 in. (93.3 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 1/4 in. (667 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Overall this banjo remains in wonderful condition, showing just some marginal wear to the metal surfaces but hardly any actual marks from use. It plays very well; the frets have plenty of life in them, the tuners work splendidly, and it is fully set up and ready to pick. The only notable bit of wear is some light divoting to the fingerboard in the lower positions which is visible but does not impede playability. It resides in the original very good quality brown leather covered hardshell case it left Smakula's bench with in 1993. Excellent Condition.