Baldwin Ode  Reviews

Baldwin Ode submitted 9/6/2002 Submitter Unknown Where Purchased From an individual Year Purchased 1988 Price Paid 500.00 ($US) (bought USED) Sound 1972 Baldwin Ode...Light, bright, cheerful sound. Delicate...not too loud or overbearing...a powerful statement during banjo breaks when pushed...nice, mountain echo during backup. Incredably fast playing with light strings, easy on the fingers...perfect for an ol' gal like me. Sweet and even sad (if that's possible) during slow songs. True all the way up the ebony neck...rolls the blues away...heaven. Sound Rating 10 Setup Set up OK. Changed a couple of frets. Several new bridges over the years. Replaced head. Adjusted tailpiece. My maintenance I had professionally done. Setup Rating 7 Appearance Beautiful ebony pegboard (you know...where the tuning keys are) & neck with pearl inlay. Conservative, not flashy. Narrow neck. Whole look of my Ode is skinny. I do have to polish my hardware with with a special cleaner often because it tends to dull quickly. Appearance Rating 8 Reliability My Ode is now 30 years old and is only getting better. I need no backup. Played on stage in all kinds of weather, played in front of campfires in freezing weather and in Louisiana heat & humidity...tuning remains mostly constant. (I don't generally have to drive people crazy constantly tuning). Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service Not applicable to used Ode. Customer Service not rated Components Very heavy tone ring. Easy sliding ebony neck. Wish I had better hardware. Don't even know what it is...maybe stainless steel, nickel or something...I don't know. Components Rating 7 Overall Comments I would recommend an Ode to anyone who can find one because I think they are American made and I don't think they make them anymore. I don't recommend an Ode to pickers who desire an extremely loud, boistrous sound. Since my Ode is irreplacable my heart would be broken if it was stolen. I don't know if I would ever recover from loosing my best friend in the whole world, who keeps me company during times of loss, lonliness & failure...who celebrates with me when I am confident & happy...who is ever challenging and new...who haunts me when I am neglectful. I love my banjo...I know there are better banjo's, but I love mine. My favorite feature is the skinny neck which allows for easier chording, bending & sliding for me, because I am a girl picker with very small hands. I haven't played any other banjo I like better than my Ode. All other banjos I've played feel "weird". Overall Rating 10