Huber VRB-4 Truetone 5-String Resonator Banjo

This is a pre-order. Our Huber VRB-4 Truetone is on backorder with Huber Banjos in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and we expect it in early 2027. Huber is currently building banjos to order on a 5 to 8 month timeline, and very few dealers carry Huber. Ordering now reserves it. Factory dates can move, so call or text Geoff at (404) 218-8580 before you buy and we will tell you where it stands.

A note on the photographs: these are Huber’s own photos of a VRB-4 Truetone. Yours is being built now and will look like this, with the natural variation of real walnut. Photos of the actual banjo will replace these when it arrives.

The Huber VRB-4 Truetone is a new five-string resonator banjo modeled on the prewar style 4 banjos, built by Huber Banjos in Hendersonville, Tennessee. It pairs a straight-grain walnut neck and a figured walnut resonator with chrome-plated hardware, Flying Eagle inlay, Huber’s 1930s-style HR-30 tone ring and the Huber Engineered Rim. Available to pre-order from Banjo Warehouse, an authorized Huber dealer.

Hear a Huber VRB-4

This video is Geoff playing a used 2014 Huber VRB-4 that we sold in October 2026, not the banjo on this page. It is here so you can hear the model.

A prewar style 4, built new by Huber

The VRB-4 follows the prewar style 4 banjos: walnut wood with chrome-plated metal parts, as on the 1930s originals. The neck and the resonator side walls are straight-grain walnut, and the resonator back is figured walnut inlaid with twin concentric rings of stained wood marquetry. White, black and white antiqued binding runs along the rosewood fingerboard and the resonator.

The fingerboard and peghead carry the Flying Eagle inlay pattern of the prewar style 4. A pearl nameplate at the 21st fret spells out Truetone in individual mother of pearl letters, which marks a Huber built with the HR-30 tone ring and the Engineered Rim.

Steve Huber digitized the neck of his favorite prewar banjo, and every Huber neck is machined to that profile. The resonators are built by Steve’s father, Jack Huber, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The pot

The HR-30 is Huber’s 1930s-style flathead tone ring, developed from an analysis of more than a dozen prewar flathead rings. It sits on the Huber Engineered Rim, developed from measurements of prewar rims. The flange is custom-machined pot metal, the tension hoop is notched brass plated to match, and the neck is held on with plated steel rods, as on the old flatheads, with prewar-style nuts and washers. Huber fits a Remo head made to its own specifications, a maple and ebony Huber bridge, and a clamshell tailpiece like the prewar originals.

The neck and finish

Waverly V-2 tuners with grained ivoroid buttons. A two-way adjustable truss rod, reached under the truss rod cover just behind the nut. The walnut is stained natural, and every Huber is finished in multiple coats of nitrocellulose lacquer, hand-sanded between coats and buffed to a gloss.

Specifications

Brand	Huber
Model	VRB-4 Truetone
Condition	New, on backorder from Huber (expected early 2027)
Modeled on	Prewar style 4
Tone ring	Huber HR-30 (1930s-style flathead)
Rim	Huber Engineered Rim
Neck	Straight-grain walnut, natural stain
Resonator	Figured walnut back with twin marquetry rings; straight-grain walnut side walls
Fingerboard	Rosewood
Inlay	Flying Eagle; Truetone pearl nameplate at the 21st fret
Binding	White/black/white, antiqued
Hardware	Chrome plated; clamshell tailpiece; notched brass tension hoop; plated steel co-rods
Tuners	Waverly V-2, grained ivoroid buttons
Head and bridge	Remo head made to Huber’s specifications; maple and ebony Huber bridge
Truss rod	Two-way adjustable
Finish	Nitrocellulose lacquer, gloss
Strings	5
Handedness	Right-handed
Made in	Hendersonville, Tennessee (resonator by Jack Huber, Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
Case	Hardshell case, plush lined, arched lid

Setup, shipping and warranty

Banjos we ship from our shop are set up by our banjo tech Tara, who trained at the Huber Banjo factory under Steve Huber and Bennie Boling. When the VRB-4 arrives from Huber, it ships to you in its hardshell case, insured with FedEx, with tracking sent to you personally.

Huber’s limited lifetime warranty to the original owner, handled by Huber.

Financing is available. We offer PayPal Pay in 4 on all website orders.

Questions, or want to talk with Geoff before you decide? Call or text us at (404) 218-8580. Banjo Warehouse has been selling fine banjos since 1980, now based in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Questions about the Huber VRB-4 Truetone

When will the Huber VRB-4 Truetone arrive?

We expect it in early 2027. Huber is currently building to order on a 5 to 8 month timeline, and factory dates can move, so call or text Geoff for the latest before you buy.

What does Truetone mean on a Huber banjo?

Truetone is the pearl nameplate at the 21st fret of a Huber built with the HR-30 tone ring and the Huber Engineered Rim.

Is Banjo Warehouse an authorized Huber dealer?

Yes. Banjo Warehouse is an authorized Huber dealer, and Huber works with very few dealers. Our banjo tech Tara trained at the Huber Banjo factory under Steve Huber and Bennie Boling.