2021 Gold Star GF-200 "Eugene"

Let me tell you about one of my new favorite custom Gold Star banjos on the planet, this is "Eugene". This banjo was the brainchild of my very good friend Matthew Tessier, and was a joy to bring to life. It started with an orphan GF-200 1952 bowtie neck of mine and Matt had the nicest Granada style resonator to ever leave Steve Gill's shop. From there the parts grew to include...
1985 GF-100FE Pot Assembly
Dotson MOP Truss Rod Cover
(Set) Berlile-Pittman Cam Tuners
Rickard 10:1 Tuners
1980’s Gold Star Tailpiece/marked Presto/bolt & nut
Barnes Dino Bone Buttons
Huber Antique Gold Plating on the Gold Star tone ring
G. Carson Armrest “Eugene” engraving
Finish work by Casey Sullivan
Assembly by Bennie Boling
and the perfect Silvio Ferretti Scorpion bridge.
I played this banjo on 5 Kentucky Thunder shows and it's is fully tested and apporved. Matt, you have one hell of a good banjo in "Eugene".
All the best and keep rollin,
RC
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TECH INFO:
Video recorded on a Canon EOSR with a 35mm f1.8 lens
Audio recorded a Sennheiser MKH 8060, Scarlett 2i2 & GarageBand
#81crowe #goldstarbanjos #saltydogblues

[@luminawarren8132]

Love mahogany banjos w maple resonators. This one has " something special " fo sho.

[@banjo544]

Best comprehensive version of “Salty Dog” I’ve heard, and I’ve been listening 60+ years.

[@jbcurdog72]

I was excited til I read the full description above... I thought for a second this was something I could buy, but I read that it's pretty much a "custom"! I love the tone of Gold star banjos and sold a Gf 200 52 Classic bow tie, and still am regretting to this day!!! Eugene and your picking sounds great!!!

[@davidlundmark9359]

Wow very cool, please do more of these solo videos, definitely my favourite kind of content!

[@ermagerd101]

Nice work, thanks Russ!

[@Technical_ndn]

Got to hear Russ play Eugene live at Bloomin this year and also jam with Matt while he played it, man does it sound good!!!!

[@earl1906]

Sounds great

[@moritzengel2735]

Oh man! What a killer banjo!

[@danawalker55]

Awesome banjo and awesome picking! Thanks for sharing, Russ.

[@heftmachine]

Crisp and clear, love it brother!

[@user-nv6vh4js2y]

Excellent! Keep em coming.

[@charlesjohnson4544]

Wow ,, Great picking 🪕👍

[@michaelmullins1290]

It sounds great for sure. Russ can pull tone from a tater.

[@johnnyace46]

Sounds fantastic Russ. Is it a new model! Sounds like my Earl Scruggs 49 classic I picked up a Carter’s vintage 2 years ago. I also put on a Scorpion bridge from Silvio Ferretti. I notice that the tone ring appears to be unplanted or tarnished gold. So what’s the story. Inquiring minds want to know. Thank you so much for posting your videos. It’s all there for anyone who wants to learn how to play. I remember going to see Earl in Central Park NY too many years ago remember the date or year. Thousands of people. I worked my way up front with all the wannabe banjo players in NY to try and figure out what he was doing. That was a life changing experience. I was so fortunate to see him live. Saw you at the Charleston Music Hall a few years ago with Skaggs and the band. That was quite a night. Right up there with the best I’ve ever seen.

[@silvioferretti6609]

The original specs for the GF-200 "1952" (which I sort of designed for Saga) were based on Earl's Granada in 1952, and included a gold plated tone ring, cam tuners (which Saga failed to install on the production models), and a 4mm (or less) thick Br. RW fingerboard (they used ebony instead, which is OK) with bowtie inlays of course. Neck shape and dimensions are also different from the other Gold Stars (except for the regular GF-200), with a slimmer profile and a narrower fingerboard.

[@earl1906]

Is this, by chance, the banjo you were playing in Liberty NC?

[@81crowe]

Yes, it is Camden!

[@earl1906]

That's so cool I was there

[@runeulriksen]

Russ, I know you have been playing Gold Star-banjoes for a long time now. How much would an old 80’s Gold Star sell for these days?

[@chrisbryant1657]

👍👍🎵🎼

[@jamisonsmith9141]

Hey Mr. Carson where did you get your strap from. Also any advice for a 13 year old banjo player in progress thanks.

[@fivestringhoss]

What's the song playing with the photographs?

[@luminawarren8132]

So its a Huber tone ring not a Gold Star Sounds great

[@81crowe]

That was a typo on my end. It's the stock 80's Gold Star ring, but Huber gold plated it for Matt.

[@luminawarren8132]

​@@81crowegotcha.

[@MrGibson5string]

Steve Gill? Banjo neck maker from Flora, IL, or a different Steve Gill?

[@81crowe]

Same Steve Gill

[@MrGibson5string]

@@81crowe nice! Didn’t realize Steve knew you and vise-versa. He’s a great dude!