Ron Block Truetone

The Ron Block model features beautiful highly-figured flame maple. Curly Maple is a great tone wood while also offering a very attractive visual appeal.

Banjo players who favor the older instruments always rave about the sound, but also include the feel of the necks and their ease of playability in describing their preference for the pre-wars. With this in mind, Steve carefully digitized the neck of his favorite old banjo, capturing every curve and nuance. The Huber necks are produced using computer-aided machining technology, ensuring that each neck is crafted to the exact specifications – every time!

All our Curly Maple models, including the Ron Block, feature a 5-ply resonator with a veneer of highly-figured flame maple on the back and sides.  The back is inlaid with twin concentric rings of multicolored wood marquetry.
Resonators are built by Steve’s dad, Jack Huber, in Lancaster PA.

The Hearts & Petals inlay is an exclusive pattern to Huber banjos. It was designed as an echo of the larger, floral inlays common on banjos in the 1930s.

Both the headstock and the fingerboard are inlaid with this distinctive pattern, which as the name implies, features both heart and flower petal shapes.

The pearl block inlay at the 21st fret is engraved with the name Ron Block.

All of the Huber Banjos come with Waverly V-2 tuners installed. The V-2s work very well and closely approximate the look of those found on vintage banjos. The tapered underside of the peghead washer helps protect the headstock and the internal low-friction bushings help ensure smooth operation.

The tuners are fitted with authentic recreations of 1930’s “Amber Tulip” buttons and help create the proper vintage feel.

All stock models are made with a rosewood fingerboard.

The Huber bridge is made of carefully selected maple and ebony and is designed for tone, volume, and clarity. String slots are cut with a custom-built slotting machine that produces the exact depth, spacing, and angle every time.

The Huber bridge is also available as a separate accessory item order.

Our HR-30 Tone Ring represents the pinnacle in prewar reproduction, measured in both tone and responsiveness. It was created after a year of analysis into the vibratory physics of more than a dozen prewar flathead rings, and further research into casting methods that could consistently reproduce a ring that closely matched our prewar standard.

Through a special arrangement with Remo, Huber installs a head on each new banjo that is manufactured to his custom specifications. Steve finds that they offer a superior tone to that of the stock Mylar heads offered for banjo.

These Huber heads can also be ordered as a separate, after-market accessory item.

The Huber Engineered Rim is the ultimate in tone and response, developed over a year of extensive scientific measurement and careful prototyping.

Dr. Jim Rae is the brains behind the Engineered Rim. Dr. Rae analyzed the vibrational physics and sonic output of prewar rims and used these numbers as the benchmark. Brian Sims worked with Dr. Rae in the prototyping and manufacturing of the Engineered Rim.

We use a two way adjustable truss rod in our necks. The two way rod allows for adjustments in both directions – you can add relief or reduce bow as needed.

The rod is accessible under the truss rod cover in the headstock, just behind the nut.

All Huber banjos are finished with multiple layers of nitrocellulose lacquer, hand sanded between coats for a smooth appearance. They are then buffed to a high gloss with careful attention to detail at every step in the finishing process.
For the Ron Block model, a golden brown stain is applied to the neck and resonator.

The back is inlaid with twin concentric rings of multicolored wood marquetry.

The binding along both the fingerboard and the resonator side walls is trimmed with a decorative strip of white/black/white.

The Ron Block model is gold-plated, using 24K hard gold plate. All gold plating is done in the Huber shop where we can insure consistency of color and quality of the electroplate.

The tension hoop, tailpiece and arm rest are engraved on the Ron Block model. This classic pattern is a replica of what was used on prewar Granadas.

In keeping with the concept of a careful replica, the Ron Block model uses a clamshell type tailpiece, just as was found on prewar Granadas, the banjo on which this model is based.

The pot-metal flange we use in all Huber Banjos is custom machined in a process which allows for more solid contact between the flange and rim, resulting in better structural stability and tonal response.

On all our models, we use a brass notched tension hoop, plated to match the other metal parts.

We use plated steel rods to hold the neck onto the rim instead of the softer brass found in many new banjos. We chose steel rods since the older flatheads used them and, proving that no detail is too small, even the nuts and washers are exact prewar replicas!

Each Huber banjo is shipped in its own plush lined hard shell case.The top lid is arched for superior protection.

Every Huber Banjo is warranted to the original owner without time limit, often described as a “Limited Lifetime Warranty.”

Any defect in material or workmanship, except heads, strings and pegs will be repaired or replaced free of charge to the original owner, if returned to our factory, charges prepaid.