 | stanger says:
9/5/2019 7:24:11 PM
Hi, Daddy...
No one knows when the last ODE was made. It's unlikely that will ever be known, as no records have ever surfaced.
But you're mistaken about 1980... For unknown reasons, there were more C and D models made then than in any other year. Especially the Ds. 1979 was also a high number year for both models.
I can offer some speculation on this: The D was always the most difficult banjo to build for Baldwin. The intricate inlays and bound peghead were both all handwork and delicate work, so it made the D a slow delivery. And the D was the most expensive banjo Baldwin offered.
Baldwin's factory where the banjos were made burned twice in a single year, which messed up banjo production for 2 1/2 years that followed, and then Baldwin moved the banjo works to another factory, which also messed up production.
The D was tricky to build, so orders stacked up.
The C was simpler to build, looked almost as fancy, and was a much better bargain, so it was always Baldwin's most popular wood-rimmed banjo. But it's harder to build than the Grade 2.
The Grade 2's pot came ready to go from the same foundry in Colorado that first made the aluminum rims, and making the neck was a piece of cake. The Grade 2 was their basic working man's banjo, and was always the biggest seller of Baldwin's 3-banjo line.
But when all the equipment got burned, even the Grade 2 would have been hard to build.
After the fires and the move, there must have been back-orders on the entire Baldwin banjo line. Grade 2s began appearing, but not every player wanted a Grade 2. The C and D were great bluegrass banjos, and the most desired at the time when bluegrass was really taking off.
When Baldwin realized they were in deep financial trouble, I believe the management had largely paid no attention much to Ode.
Banjos never sell like guitars or the other Baldwin stuff, but the Odes kept selling despite the troubles, and made money as soon as they were made, despite having to wait for one to show up.
When the corporate guys discovered how much money was tied up in that waiting list, they suddenly made Ode a sales priority because it was an overlooked cash cow. Fast money and a lot of it.
And 1980 was the year disco killed banjo sales. Norlin Gibson wasn't making many banjos, and all the Japanese brands were abandoning the banjo to make more electric guitars. A lot of the small makers hung it up for good in 1979 and 1980.
Baldwin was about the only manufacturer who was making all the banjos it could make, and Baldwins were the easiest banjos to buy for all the dealers who needed a banjo. Baldwin almost had the entire banjo industry to itself.
But that wasn't enough to fend off their bankruptcy.
So by the end of 1980, possibly into a couple of weeks into 1981, all the banjos were sold, and all the equipment, the casting dies, records, wood stocks, etc. went to auction or to the local dump.
I know of one D that was assembled by a former worker who bought the parts and finished the banjo at home years later.
That's probably the last Ode made. It has no serial number, doesn't conform to catalog specs, and may not have 100% original parts. I never saw the banjo in person.
I don't know when the parts became a banjo.
And I've forgotten the owner's name long since.
regards,
stanger
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 | kingdaddy says:
9/5/2019 9:12:16 PM
As always...a wealth of fascinating info! Thanks for that! I guess my main question was just wondering what the latest serial number anyone has seen on the Model C/D? I do realize that 1980 produced quite a few (relatively speaking), but for some reason, I've not seen any others with a serial number of 12-80. Since mine is #79 it seemed like at least a possibility that it was toward the end of production, figuring that they may have been "ramping down" production by that time... Like you said, no way to know. I'm sure someone will post a higher number than mine at some point somewhere. In the meantime, although it is a stunning instrument...I am going to limit myself to just 1 banjo (and start learning how to play) and my 3 guitars (which I play regularly). Probably put the Ode on the Marketplace here soon, maybe a couple of other places too. Thanks again for the great information...very interesting!
Mike
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