DIV - Posted - 10/14/2011:  12:31:10

This is subject of my newest blog entry here: banjohangout.org/myhangout/hom...p?id=4174

I'm very happy and fortunate to have this banjo back!  It has a very interesting story, and this is only the parts I know.  I hope others can fill in the holes...please let me know if you have any additional info about this Ome #1012.

Here's what I know:

It was shipped out from Ome in Boulder, Colorado on April 25, 1975.  To where, I don't know!?

1975-2000?: ??????

Some time before 2005, Gordon Lyons of New York state bought it from someone in Nevada.

October of 2005, I bought it from Gordon (photo courtesy, Gordon Lyons):

As you can see, the original OME tailpiece had been replaced some time ago (not by Gordon) with a "Bear-Claw" tailpiece.  Well, naturally, I wanted an original OME tailpiece, so I hunted around the Hangout until BHO member Derek Easter contacted me in October of 2005 with a trade offer for a nickel ODE tailpiece (similar).  That was a very pleasant trade, but I didn't stop there.  After some more advertising and searching, in Novemeber of 2005, Canadian BHO member Jay Kuchinsky had exactly what I was looking for on his ODE banjo and I had what he wanted, so finally we traded and I got the correct non-adjustible OME TP on this Juggernaut and completed the picture.

I enjoyed it for a while, then I got caught up in the one-piece flange, cast tone ring craze and sold it on ebay...

so in January 2008, it was re-sold by Flip-it-Fast/Simpson's Fine Musical Instruments in Georgia (photo courtesty SFM):

Jan 2008-Aprill 2008:????

In April of 2008 it returned to the Banjo Hangout when it was bought by my friend Ken Sieber of New York.

Then around September of 2008, it was purchased by BHO member, Jim Kish of North Carolina (photo courtesty of Jim Kish):

In October of 2009, it was sold to my good friend and hangout member, John Miller of North Dakota

(photo courtesy of John Miller):

Then, in March of 2011 John sold it to BHO member Dave McCracken of Virgina.

Finally after a straight up WIN-WIN trade for my wonderful RB4 replica, it's back with me in the state of WA

***I plan on keeping it this time!  I learned my lesson and if anyone has any additional information on this banjo, I would love to be contacted. 

Thanks for your interest!

Edited by - DIV on 10/14/2011 12:49:41

danielburdett - Posted - 10/14/2011:  12:59:42

Glad to have another fine banjo in the state of Washington!  

Pickin furry paws - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:03:07

Pretty cool, DIV. I once saw an original gold plated Ome a few years back at a camp...same tailpiece, but engraved. Just beautiful.

biscuit joiner - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:17:14

I wish I had never sold that banjo, too, but I'm far too lazy to go to such lengths to get it back. I'd say it's back with it's rightful owner.

Plus I would have converted it to an openback which I'm sure would horrify the other caretakers.

DIV - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:24:04

quote:

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Originally posted by Pickin furry paws

Pretty cool, DIV. I once saw an original gold plated Ome a few years back at a camp...same tailpiece, but engraved. Just beautiful.

---

Yeah, that was either a Juggernaut II or a Juggernaut III (if the heel, peghead and resonator had carving).

Mine is a nickel plated Juggernaut I---just the way I like it!

Edited by - DIV on 10/14/2011 13:24:26

DIV - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:25:15

quote:

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Originally posted by biscuit joiner



I wish I had never sold that banjo, too, but I'm far too lazy to go to such lengths to get it back. I'd say it's back with it's rightful owner. Plus I would have converted it to an openback which I'm sure would horrify the other caretakers.

---

Hi Jim

Nice to see you post on this one.  Thank you for taking great care of it while it was in your hands.  These are very nicely converted to open back since the flange plate is removable, but the bracket shoes can still hold the tension hoop down.  That's why the bottom of the rim is nicely bound so it still looks finished with the reso off.

Would you believe I was silly enough to consider finding one of these and "converting" it to one-piece flange?  Man, that would have really been bad Karma!

I came to my senses and again I appreciate the counter-Masterclone design of this masterpieces.

Barnet in SoCal - Posted - 10/14/2011:  14:50:10

Hey Dan,

Congrats on the return of your baby! Enjoy it, play it, play it, enjoy it some more. Heck, why not post some sound files? :)

Hope you've been well, my friend.

Barnet in SoCal
___________________________
"Wha' happen'?"
--Mike LaFontaine

rockybottom16 - Posted - 10/14/2011:  15:52:14

Hey Dan- I got to spend a week with your OME back when Gordon owned it.  He's a pickin buddy of mine here in upstate NY.  I was very close to buying it but couldn't quite manage the cash at the time.  Gorgeous banjo with a very sweet tone.  In my book, the OME Juggernaut and the ODE style D(or E) are two of the most attractive banjos ever designed.  It's great that you got it back.  I dream about getting a couple back that I let go years ago, but this type of thing rarely happens.  I can just imagine how tickled you are!

Ken

DIV - Posted - 10/14/2011:  16:04:58

Tickled is right!  I should have left the house hours ago, but I can't put this thing down.  Just love it...

thanks for the insight, Ken....the story continues to develop!

and thanks, Barnet....it's great to hear from you too!  I will some some sounds clips eventually.

Pickin furry paws - Posted - 10/14/2011:  20:15:07

The owner of the one I saw said that it was one of Bobby Thompson's banjos, I think. It has been a while, but that is what I remember her saying.

DaveInCA - Posted - 10/14/2011:  20:30:23

Can't help but wonder with all those folks buying and then selling this banjo......is there something wrong with it?

stanger - Posted - 10/14/2011:  22:05:14

quote:

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Originally posted by DaveInCA

Can't help but wonder with all those folks buying and then selling this banjo......is there something wrong with it?

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karma, Dave. There was nothing at all wrong with the banjo. 

Some banjos are simply made for one owner. 

Dan went to extraordinary lengths to get the banjo back, but he is far from the only player I know who once sold a banjo and later bought it back. I know a guy who sold the same banjo, purchased new, 3 times before he realized it was HIS banjo and bought it back a 4th time. Every time he bought it back cost him more than the time before. Everyone who ever owned the banjo made money on it's sale. 

A more famous example is Earl Scrugg's Granada. Who knows how many hands it went through before Earl's? When Don Reno swapped banjos with Earl- he owned the Granada- he felt so bad about getting the best of Earl in the trade he kicked in the Martin D-18 guitar Earl also played for years and years. For whatever reason, Earl heard something in the banjo he didn't hear in his others. Or maybe it was just karma. Once he had it in his hands, that was it. 

There is a lot of stuff going on in a banjo besides just tone. The way it feels, plays, looks, weighs, and connects with a player is a very individual thing. Dan connected with his banjo, and eventually bought others like it- I know he once owned another Juggernaut I that was an excellent instrument, and a 3rd Juggernaut III that much fancier, but only that one was the one he wanted back.  It happened to me, too- I got a banjo in 2006 I just knew was made for me from the first time I held it. Since then, I've played others like it, and other models by the same maker that knocked my socks off, but I wouldn't ever sell mine.  It is so familiar now, and still so gratifying to play, I'll never part with it.

regards,

stanger

DIV - Posted - 10/14/2011:  23:20:27

Nice words Mike.  thank you...you really do understand and you've watched my journey over the years.  I've learned so much from you and continue to do so...

I have owned 5 Juggernauts and this one is by far the one I really should never have let go and I'm so happy it's back now. 

And DaveInCA: This instrument definitely has nothing wrong with it.  I can't believe how fortunate I am that no one decided it's a keeper.  As long as you're open minded and accept that you can make great banjo music with a banjo without a one piece flange and without a traditional cast tone ring, it's a winner.  It took me a while to realize it and now that it's back I'm not only a better banjo spectator, but also a better player so I'm much more deserving of this instrument.

McUtsi - Posted - 10/15/2011:  02:45:25

Congrats...some stories are beautiful...I have a r/w Juggernaut I that was born a few months

after Yours saw the light of day...it´s the greatest banjo ever...easy...McUtsi

DaveInCA - Posted - 10/15/2011:  10:43:48

>Some banjos are simply made for one owner.

Mike, I guess you mean the right owner -- the one that finally keeps it. As you say, perhaps many people owned Earl's Granada, but he kept it. Or maybe it's that some owners tend to look for musical nirvana in new instruments rather than in their hands and heads. Reminds me of serial monogamy. Serial number monogamy, I guess.

Dan, good that you got over that prewar Gibson fixation, and I hope you enjoy the Ome for many years.