1970’s IBANEZ Artist 591 Wreath 5-String Banjo with Drop D Tuners and Hard Shell Case

1970’s IBANEZ Artist Wreath 5-String Banjo with Drop D Tuners and Hard Shell Case

I have always been partial toward older instruments. I am not a collector but when I start shopping, I typically look old. During all my quests I have probably only had maybe a half dozen older instruments that I would consider top quality.  This banjo is definitely a quality older banjo.

This is a bit of a puzzler to me as a hobbyist banjo player. It appears to be Japanese made from the early 1970’s era, pre-1978. There is some scuffing on the armrest like an arm had been resting there a lot. But the frets are in excellent condition like there is not much play time.

This banjo is maple in the dark tobacco finish. More natural banjos were made and the dark tobacco was a bit of an upgrade. Most of the banjo is in excellent condition. However, there are areas on the binding areas that the finish has bubbled a bit.  There is also a chip in the finish thumb side near 12th fret. Does not affect playability but is not mint.  

This has a maple resonator with chrome hardware. The neck is also maple with a rosewood fretboard.  This has a nice dark brown mocha finish. The ebony fretboard has a wreath inlay pattern. There is also white binding on each side of the neck and resonator along with RB800 style binding which looks fantastic. This has a one piece armrest and a clamshell tailpiece which are both original. These parts are also basically identical to what would be on a Gibson RB250 of the same era. The headstock also has wreath inlay along with the Ibanez logo. This has a full size brass tone ring and has a lot of tone and volume. This also has a 2 piece flange. All the metal is in excellent condition except for the scuffing on the armrest.

The banjo head is original but has been decorated with a couple of fish logos and has also been signed by Jim and Jesse McReynolds. One of the fish has a name Corely in it and none of these signatures has authentication. So they are all as good as the others.

The have also been some drop D tuners added which look to be original Keith tuners. Again just my observation and not documented.