Goose Acres Model A 5 String Banjo (1984)
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Goose Acres Model A Model 5 String Banjo (1984), made in Cleveland, Ohio, serial # 500, natural finish, aluminum rim, laminated mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original chipboard case.
Goose Acres was the family business of Bob Smakula and his father Peter, 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 1984 Goose Acres 5-string is built around a Cleveland foundry aluminum rim with an integral arch-top tone ring. The area between the outer rim and inner raised section has 24 round sound ports facing to the rear. The neck is in the classic Vega pattern but with a more Gibson-like volute, made of 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. For a metal-rim banjo the sound is warmer than one might expect, with a nice ring but never harsh. This is a very nice (if not wholly traditional) old time banjo that in a pinch can sub in a Bluegrass jam!
Overall length is 37 1/4 in. (94.6 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/4 in. (7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 in. (660 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Overall this banjo remains in very fine condition, looking not much used showing just some light wear to the metal surfaces but hardly any actual marks from play. It plays very well and still resides in what is likely the somewhat worn original chipboard case it left the Goose Acres Folk Music Center in all the way back in 1984. Overall Excellent Condition.
Goose Acres was the family business of Bob Smakula and his father Peter, 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 1984 Goose Acres 5-string is built around a Cleveland foundry aluminum rim with an integral arch-top tone ring. The area between the outer rim and inner raised section has 24 round sound ports facing to the rear. The neck is in the classic Vega pattern but with a more Gibson-like volute, made of 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. For a metal-rim banjo the sound is warmer than one might expect, with a nice ring but never harsh. This is a very nice (if not wholly traditional) old time banjo that in a pinch can sub in a Bluegrass jam!
Overall length is 37 1/4 in. (94.6 cm.), 11 in. (27.9 cm.) diameter head, and 2 3/4 in. (7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 26 in. (660 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
Overall this banjo remains in very fine condition, looking not much used showing just some light wear to the metal surfaces but hardly any actual marks from play. It plays very well and still resides in what is likely the somewhat worn original chipboard case it left the Goose Acres Folk Music Center in all the way back in 1984. Overall Excellent Condition.