Gibson Catalogs and designations
Gibson occasionally re-designated their instruments when newer models came out. Two of the changes I have noticed are when they added a diamond flanged resonator to the UB-2 and suddenly called the older model UB3, the UB2, then called the new one with a resonator the UB3! I think for the purposes of practicality this was very late in the game and Gibson created a bit of confusion by doing this. I also have wondered if it was a typo, because it would create such a confusion between dealers, buyers and the company itself.
Most players and collectors call the Gibson banjo uke with diamonds on the fret board and peg head that has a flat resonator on the back, the UB-3. The dotted fretboard model with a flange is usually called the "UB-2 Deluxe".
The other change was when they added the UB-5 model, which was simply the UB-4 with gold plating instead of nickel. This was also very late in the production of the UB4, and has aroused quite a bit of debate. There would seem to be more of the gold plated version around, and therefore it might be practical to go with the catalog and call them the UB-5. I don't think there is anyway to actually date this model so specifically as to differentiate between ub-4 gold plated and ub-5. Perhaps someday Gibson could publish some information on this and the rest of their banjo uke line. I'm picturing a dusty box, somewhere in a basement, perhaps with flood damage that might have the information about this.
Gibson occasionally re-designated their instruments when newer models came out. Two of the changes I have noticed are when they added a diamond flanged resonator to the UB-2 and suddenly called the older model UB3, the UB2, then called the new one with a resonator the UB3! I think for the purposes of practicality this was very late in the game and Gibson created a bit of confusion by doing this. I also have wondered if it was a typo, because it would create such a confusion between dealers, buyers and the company itself.
Most players and collectors call the Gibson banjo uke with diamonds on the fret board and peg head that has a flat resonator on the back, the UB-3. The dotted fretboard model with a flange is usually called the "UB-2 Deluxe".
The other change was when they added the UB-5 model, which was simply the UB-4 with gold plating instead of nickel. This was also very late in the production of the UB4, and has aroused quite a bit of debate. There would seem to be more of the gold plated version around, and therefore it might be practical to go with the catalog and call them the UB-5. I don't think there is anyway to actually date this model so specifically as to differentiate between ub-4 gold plated and ub-5. Perhaps someday Gibson could publish some information on this and the rest of their banjo uke line. I'm picturing a dusty box, somewhere in a basement, perhaps with flood damage that might have the information about this.
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