RARE & STUNNING Great Lakes "Presentation" five-string, dating back to 1976, already fitted with four Bill Keith tuners.

My late father left me ten banjos. And as he was a dear friend of Bill Keith, he had a lot of Bill's tuners on his instruments.

*PRICE REFLECTS INCLUSION OF FOUR KEITH TUNERS*

As you may know (and I have discovered through my research), Great Lakes was a small company that was only around for a short time. So only a few banjos were put out there, and fewer remain. And -- Bill Keith played a "top tension" Great Lakes banjo.

*ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS INCLUDED --
• Great Lakes picture brochure (June 1, 1975)
• Great Lakes price list (March 1, 1976)
• my father's purchase receipt with personally addressed, hand-written letter from Mark Zimmerman (9.3.76)
• various documents from Bill Keith to my father, and specially regarding the refurbishment of the tuners

*EXCERPT from Banjo Newsletter Vol III, No. 5, March 1976 -- PRODUCT EVALUATION, by Hub Nitchie -- "In the field of Bluegrass banjo, there is a notable standard: The Gibson Mastertone. The pre-war Mastertone set the criteria for the design of tone rings, flanges, peg-heads, hook and bracket arrangements and most Bluegrass banjos made by other manufacturers, domestic and foreign, have emulated the ideas from Gibson. Because of these standards it is difficult for the picker to be objective about something that deviates from the Gibson 'norm'. It is also difficult and in fact courageous for a manufacturer to offer an original design for the banjo consumer. Great Lakes has dared to be different and if you let your eyes and ears be the judge you will find their products to be exceptionally well made, aesthetically attractive and good sounding. The 'Presentation' model is the top-of-the-line and it is a beautiful instrument. It also sounds as good as it looks....it is quality throughout."

*Hardshell case and leather strap included with purchase.

SERIOUS ENQUIRIES ONLY. I am not a banjo player, so I am only interested in selling my father's beloved instruments. I'M SELLING, *NOT* TRADING