I am lucky enough to have two Baldwins. One is from the late Sixties and looks very much like the Hee-Haw Banjo. Whomever had it before me didn't treat it very well and wear and nicks and even something resembling a bullet hole are present. Another is a 1979 Ode in great condition. I enjoy them both but I favor the 1 and 1/4 inch neck width of the older Baldwin over the considerably narrower neck of the '79 Ode. I wonder if the necks can be swapped between them. This would yield me a beautiful gold banjo with a neck that is much more comfortable than that which is already on the '79. I would want to re-fret the old neck and possibly refinish it's severe peg-head checking.
Does anyone have any opinions or suggestions (beside the obvious humorous ones)?
9 Comments |
tlong says:
6/11/2014 6:43:23 AM
If your Baldwin has the burns truss rod with the hole in the bottom of the neck heel it should change over fairly easy. If it is an earlier Baldwin made in Boulder,the neck heel will have to be fitted. The flange is heavier and the quarter round radius on the flange is larger. I would consider restoring the earlier Baldwin. It is in my opinion a bit better banjo tha the 79
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cactus says:
6/12/2014 8:06:04 AM
Thanks for the info! The oldest of the two does not have the Burns truss rod adjuster-the neck must be removed to adjust. It is hard to date the older one -no label or serial number. I believe that it is an earlier one - close to the actual acquisition of the brand by Baldwin. If the change requires re-carving the heel I don't think I will attempt it. Restoration of the older banjo without a neck change now seems to make the most sense. Again, Thank you for your response!
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tlong says:
6/12/2014 8:30:33 AM
If that's the case and it is factory original, it was made before the move from Boulder to Arkansas in 68.
There should be a three digit serial no. stamped near the bottom of the shell in very small numbers. If there is no serial no. then it could have been made of left over Boulder parts
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cactus says:
6/12/2014 12:05:42 PM
I have inspected the inner shell and there is indeed some stamped letters and numbers. They read "DS - 710".
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tlong says:
6/12/2014 1:10:19 PM
That would amoung the last of the Boulder made banjos Should be a great banjo .I would love to have it
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cactus says:
6/12/2014 2:29:56 PM
I'm glad to hear good, accurate information about my Baldwin. I acquired it in 1977 and it hadn't been kept in nice shape by the previous owner. I really loved it sound and the feel of the neck though so I bought it for $500. I have almost replaced it with new banjos several times but nothing that I ever tried sounded as good. I am glad I kept it. I bought the '79 last year and it's in excellent condition. It's tough to get used to the narrower neck but I can manage to play it well. It's funny, but my back-up banjo is like new while my main player looks beat up! Go figure! Thanks again for your reply!
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 | BrittDLD1 says:
7/27/2014 3:35:29 PM
DS-710 was shipped from Boulder in mid-January of 1968. The LAST Baldwin made in Boulder, was shipped at the end of March, 1968. Any ODE or Baldwin -- made in Boulder -- is somewhat better than the mid-'70s Arkansas-made Baldwins. Arkansas made some aesthetic and functional changes (like very narrow necks, and misplaced hook-spacing on the flanges) that brought the quality down somewhat. By 1978, Baldwin got it's act together again, and made some real improvements -- which brought the aesthetics back into similarity with the Boulder-made Baldwins. But that only lasted about 2 years before the parent Financial Services company of Baldwin went bankrupt, and stringed instrument production stopped.
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 | BANJO TONY says:
1/3/2015 9:42:29 AM
this is great now my ode model c is at home with the rest of the family how close to the end is this banjo. the serial # is 5-80-94.
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 | swamprunner says:
1/6/2016 6:20:06 AM
The"Hee Haw banjo of which you speak is an early Baldwin Ode. It belonged to Bobby Thompson, a great picker. I saw his banjo in a recording session in Nashville in the 1970s. Thought it was identical to mine, but found out later, mine was a rare model E.
Chuck built mine in early 1965. He sold the company to Baldwin in the latter part of "65.
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