The Worlds Biggest Playable Banjo made by Gibson

[Oscar Stern]

According to the records, Gibson made only 10 of them, in the late 1920's. Only 2 are known to still exist today. The one in your picture is one of them. They were one of the references I looked at carefully when I was designing my Banjozilla.

By the way, the name Banjozilla is mine, for my upright bass banjo, which you've seen pictures of. I don't have any trademark on the name, but it's been appearing in national magazines and online since about 1994.

I'm planning on building a 6 string Fretted Bowable Version that has a Scroll it's called "Classical Banjozilla of David" because it has a Star of david on the back.

 

[Oscar Stern]

Well, yeah, I tried that with Banjozilla and it helped reduce the feedback problem. But it also took away the banjo sound. It just sounded like an electric upright bass. It helped me figure out what was causing the feedback. It was the head moving from sound in the air, then making the strings vibrate. Stopping the head from moving stopped the feedback, but it also killed the banjo sound.

And yes, you could build an electric bass with a big round wooden body and a fairly rigid wooden disk on the front. Paint the disk white. An electric bass designed to look like a bass banjo. Send the signal through a digital synthesized clip of a banjo-like sound. A fake bass banjo. Is that what you want? I don't.

If I'm going to build a Bass Banjo, I want it to have a real functioning head, and have a real banjo sound.

I have 6 string Classical Banjozilla (34 inch scale Fretted & Bowable) with a Scroll and it has a special banjozilla pickup because I have a special drumhead that makes it feedbackless.