1960s Harmony-made Chicago Resotone 5-String Resonator Banjo (VIDEO! Fresh Work, Ready to Go)

Quick notes: 1) I own this instrument. 2) I've done it all up and it's ready to go! 3) Please read the following text for full details and specs -- it's borrowed from my original blog post on it...

So, this guy has "Chicago" at the headstock but it's actually a Harmony Resotone in different branding. The rims on these are a molded material of some sort but they're very stable and sound nice despite their humble build. I'm a fan of these banjos -- the necks are almost always dead straight or close to it (good job on the non-adjustable rod, guys), they're fast players when setup right, and they're durable and functional. They've got a very "old school" sound that's easy on the ears but not as poppy or bright and cutting as a fancy banjo, though they have plenty of volume to jam with.

All of these play like garbage until they've been gone-over. In the case of my work on these, that means I remove the silly neck brace these come with and simply double-bolt the neck to the rim. That keeps the neck from loosening and rotating-around randomly which is a perennial problem with these "from the factory." Once that's done, setup and adjustments are easy-peasy and they tend to stay true for many years after.

This one is mostly original except all of the hook/nuts are replacements (better quality than the originals) and the tailpiece is, too. Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you -- Harmony molded half-holes for double the amount of hooks on the rims of these but only drilled them out for the amount of hooks you see in the photos. The other holes are blocked from the factory.

The early versions of them were drilled out for all the hooks but they must have realized that once they were using the Remo synthetic heads (yes, this one looks original to me), they didn't need to use so many hooks to keep the head stable and so they cut costs and halved the amount used. It's a win for us, too! Who likes adjusting that many?

Anyhow, it's ready to go, plays great, and sounds great. What more?

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, side dots install, smiley-face paint for the 12th fret (marker had rubbed-off), new compensated bridge (I notch the slots), replacement hooks+nuts+tailpiece, setup, cleaning, etc...

Rim wood: molded

Tonering: none

Bridge: 3-foot maple/ebony

Fretboard: ebonized maple or similar

Neck wood: poplar

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, spot-on)

String gauges: 9s

Neck shape: medium soft V

Board radius: flat

Truss rod: non-djustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-lower

Scale length: 26 3/4"

Nut width: 1 1/8"

Head diameter: 11”

Resonator diameter: 13"

Depth overall at rim: 3"

Weight: 5 lbs 7 oz

Condition notes: aside from the replacement parts that are fit and pitting to the original hardware, it's overall in good shape for a student-level instrument from the '60s. It shows plenty of finish-wear on the neck and fretboard and some scratching on the resonator but it doesn't look bad. It looks friendly.

It comes with: no case, sorry.