Flange | { Gibson Prewar Banjos }

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The flange of a banjo is the base that secures the hooks and nuts in order to create head tension. The flange fills the gap between the rim and the resonator, and the decorative holes allow sound to escape. Gibson made most of its Mastertone banjos with one of two different types of flanges (or as they used to be known, resonator bands) – a tube and plate (two-piece) flange or a single piece (one-piece) flange.

Single Piece Flange

Plans for the single-piece flange began on November 15, 1928 and it made its debut in early 1929 on their “new” line of banjos. Single piece flanges were die cast out of a zinc alloy by Doehler Die Casting Company in Toledo, Ohio.

Single piece flange.

Closeup of a single piece flange.

Underside of a single piece flange. Note the dull nickel plating.

Doehler Trademark.

A single piece flange in action.

Tube and Plate Flange

Before the single piece flange, Gibson used a single tube to secure the hooks, and when they introduced the resonator, a plate was added to the tube to fill the gap between the rim and resonator. Tube and plate flanges continued to be used even after the single piece flange was created.