Wm. H. Lange Lange-Made Review
Wm. H. Lange Lange-Made
submitted 6/24/2004
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Submitter |
jbalch (see all reviews from this person) |
Where Purchased |
Ebay |
Year Purchased |
2004 |
Price Paid |
Don't Remember
historic exchange rates / currency converter
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Sound
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Woody, deep, plunky sound. Really nice! |
Sound Rating |
8 |
Setup
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This old banjo was not set-up when I got it. The skin head was broken. The bridge was missing. The neck was straight. All original parts were present.
I installed a new calfskin head, added an old 3-foot maple bridge, and NylGut strings. It plays fine with no additional adjustment. The frets could stand to be leveled. But it is OK for now. |
Setup Rating |
not rated |
Appearance
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Dark brown (almost black) finish. Simple decoration (Star in peghead...dots in fretboard). It looks really great with the translucent calfskin head. |
Appearance Rating |
8 |
Reliability
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The old hardware is all original and complete. It is economy grade ... but still very functional after 80 years or so. |
Reliability Rating |
8 |
Customer Service
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NA |
Customer Service |
not rated |
Components
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The 11" rim is constructed of glued blocks of solid wood (unknown species). It has no tone ring. It does have a decorative bracket band. The tailpiece is marked "Patent Applied For." The neck brace reads: "Patent Pending.". It has Waverly friction tuners plus the original matching 5th string tuner. The tuners have nice grained iroroid buttons. The hooks and nuts are all original. These are economy grade components but they all work very well. |
Components Rating |
7 |
Overall Comments
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This is a cool old banjo. I bought it as a travel instrument. It will serve me very well for that use.
The Lange company made lots of great banjos. Paramount was their premier line. They also constructed instruments for Bacon and others. This banjo is marked "Lange-Made" It is a fine old frailer. |
Overall Rating |
8 |
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