Generic depiction of the instrument model, not the specific item offered on a linked platform.

Banjo

Gibson RB-250

Name: Gibson RB-250
Brand: Gibson

Gibson · RB-250

Price: 1.605 EUR – 2.536 EUR

Price history

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Availability: 4/10 (Common)

A working-musician's Mastertone built from 1954 until Gibson's Nashville flood destroyed its banjo shop in 2010: mahogany neck with bowtie inlays, maple rim, and a flathead tone ring for classic Gibson snap.

Where available? Go to the best price – 1.605 EUR About this instrument

About the Gibson RB-250

The RB-250 was essentially Gibson's RB-3 (a Mastertone model with wreath fingerboard inlay) minus the fancier wreath pattern, using bowtie inlays on an ebony fingerboard instead - a cosmetic downgrade from the flagship model rather than a difference in tonal engineering. A 5/8-inch maple rim carries a factory-installed Kulesh flathead tone ring, the flat-topped tone-ring style associated with the bright, cutting "Gibson snap" bluegrass players prize, as opposed to the mellower archtop tone rings on other makers' instruments.

Construction includes an 11-inch head with 24 lugs on a nickel tension hoop, nickel arm rest and tailpiece, and a one-piece flange. Through the 1980s, Gibson standardized the flathead tone ring plus a one-piece zinc flange and Presto tailpiece across the RB-3, RB-250 and Earl Scruggs models, making later production years closer replicas of the vintage pre-war originals than earlier post-war examples had been.

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/97165258-1979-gibson-mastertone-rb-250

Sound character of the Gibson RB-250

The RB-250 carries Gibson's Kulesh flathead tone ring, the flat-topped bronze-alloy ring design (as opposed to an arch-top ring) that came to define the classic Mastertone bluegrass sound - slightly rounder and warmer than an arch-top ring while still highly resonant and loud. Its mahogany neck adds a touch of midrange warmth against the bright ring and maple rim.

Bright Resonant Warm

Technical data for the Gibson RB-250

Rim	5/8" maple
Tone ring	Kulesh flathead
Neck	Mahogany
Fretboard	Ebony, bowtie inlays
Head	11", 24 lugs
Produced	1954-2010

Price history for the Gibson RB-250

Cheapest seen: 1.605 EUR · Most expensive seen: 2.536 EUR

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

The history of the Gibson RB-250

Gibson built the RB-250 continuously from 1954 (with roots back to 1949) until the 2010 Nashville flood destroyed the company's banjo manufacturing facility, making it one of the longest-running Mastertone models and the standard working banjo for professional bluegrass players who didn't own an actual pre-war flathead original.