Baldwin Ode Banjo Serial Numbers4/29/2021
A few years after Omes start-up, the company followed Odes example and flirted with the idea of making mandolins.When I search for ODE, I get all types of words: moderator, model, etc.
Anyone have info on the ODE Mandolins Who made them Where, what year, etc 2- How do I search for just the word ODE Thanks --- Sheryl. Might try searching for Ode banjo and see if it leads to to mandolins. Dealer reiterates what Ive heard, that ODE mandolins were made by Robt. ODE was a banjo maker based in Boulder CO that manufactured a line of banjos with cast aluminum shells. At that point ODE was reorganizing or going out of business; I think someone else took over the nameplate, and that the mandolins were added during the 70s. Some of the old ODE luthiers (does one call a banjo maker a luthier Guess so.) started up the Ome banjo company, still in Boulder I believe; they make some extremely fancy 5-string, tenor and plectrum banjos. Dont think the ODE mandolins were manufactured in great numbers, but if Givens had anything to do with their production, theyre probably high-class instruments. Baldwin Ode Banjo S Mac Kit BanjosThe Stew-Mac kit banjos use, or used, a cast aluminum shell based on the ODE design. However, the Stew-Macs have an integral cast aluminum arch-top tone ring, while the Muse I own has a separate brass arch-top tone ring -- a higher-end design, IMHO. But, by 1966, Ogsbury had sold his banjo company to Baldwin, the large company known primarily for pianos that also owned Gretsch instruments. As part of the sales contract, Ogsbury agreed not to build instruments for five years that would compete with the ones whose production Baldwin would be taking over. After the deal went through, Baldwin saw little reason to keep using the Ode name. Baldwin originally badged their instruments (primarily banjos) with their company name but discovered that it lacked the name recognition that Ode had acquired among banjo players. So, around 1971, they began double-naming instruments using both Baldwin and Ode designations. Baldwin farmed out the manufacture of their banjo components and legendary dobro flatpicker and luthier Tut Taylor, who was building banjos and resophonic guitars, was one of their contractors. Givens, meanwhile, had left home and traveled east to Nashville; he and Tut became partners. They bought the old Grammar Guitar Company and began doing work for Baldwin, making instruments under the Ode name and also producing some instruments of their own. With Bob Givens available, it made sense for Baldwin to have him make some Ode mandolins, which they did. Okay, so, Tut Taylor and Bob Givens were building Ode instruments for the Gretsch Division of the Baldwin Music Co. Got that Company affiliations got pretty confusing and for some instruments it was hard to figure out exactly who had made them. For example, some mandolins bearing the Ode name on the headstock had Givens engraved on the tailpiece, and labels reading, THE GIVENS MANDOLIN Manufactured By TUT TAYLOR MUSIC, INC. Nashville, Tenn.-----Distributed By Gretsch--Cincinnati, Ohio Clearly, R. L. Givens was involved in making these instruments, but in his spare time, as I mentioned, he also was producing special-order, custom-made instruments bearing his own name..
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