Trying to ID this ODE neck. Seller is unsure if it's a parts banjo or not, I'm unsure as well. Pot appears to be maple with this wooden resonator. I found one example of a muse banjo with a similar resonator but it was a combination of wood and metal. I'm unsure if the seller would know how to remove it to check details.
The neck appears to be maple and rosewood. Pot is maple with bent hooks and archtop tone ring. Tailpiece looks like non-ode clamshell to me.
Could anyone help date the neck? Truss rods are late 60s, I think. But the inlay work etc reminds me of an early 60s one I had. Could this be an ODE build or more likely a frankenbanjo?
Anyways, I know there are a lot of very helpful Ode lovers on here. Hoping you can help me figure this one out. Thank you!!
that wooden flange isnt factory standard... im wondering if the resonator and wood flange were added, have you seen it with the resonator off?
Edited by - kyleb on 03/27/2023 10:07:54
quote:
Originally posted by kylebthat wooden flange isnt factory standard... im wondering if the resonator and wood flange were added, have you seen it with the resonator off?
Unfortunately no. Not sure if the seller knows how to remove it. I will ask though
Not really any ODE stuff there
N-ODE (not ODE).
Is the neck an ode neck?
The hooks and tension hoop look like what was used on the very first ODEs in '61 and '62. The inlay in the headstock looks like '64-'65 ODE or later Baldwin, then Gretsch ODE but not in that configuration. I'm not an expert, but I've played four different ODEs and read all I could, learning from those on BHO from a previous generation. It looks like someone's painstaking attempt at creating a fully wooden ODE. That said, the rest of the hardware is not ODE. The planetary tuners might be the ones they used, but there's no enough showing in the photo to know. What if is was a strange one-off? It's interesting either way!
Not any ODE stuff to see
Not only is the flange "not factory standard," one must wonder at the thinking behind 1/4" to 3/8" plywood (?) flange construction. Yikes. At least the four-hump tailpiece is consistent with the number of strings being used.
quote:
Originally posted by 35planarThe hooks and tension hoop look like what was used on the very first ODEs in '61 and '62. The inlay in the headstock looks like '64-'65 ODE or later Baldwin, then Gretsch ODE but not in that configuration. I'm not an expert, but I've played four different ODEs and read all I could, learning from those on BHO from a previous generation. It looks like someone's painstaking attempt at creating a fully wooden ODE. That said, the rest of the hardware is not ODE. The planetary tuners might be the ones they used, but there's no enough showing in the photo to know. What if is was a strange one-off? It's interesting either way!
Because of the strangeness of the build I did wonder about this. Thank you for taking the time for a constructive comment. I realize the only thing that may be from the company could be the neck, but also have owned some of the weird ones that came off the floor too. The resonator didn't look so amateurish that it might possibly be some oddball prototype. I assumed the neck would possible be 65-69. So thank you for chiming in! Spent a good hour earlier going over old ODE posts
well, arrived today and only thing ODE is the neck on this. BUT, despite that, it is a really nice, hobbled together banjo with a big sound, so I am appreciating it as is. Someone spent some time putting this together, probably on a budget, but it plays quite well. The flange is wood, but done pretty carefully, although it has some cracks from age. the pot is actually two pots combined, fit with a brass ring that creates an archtop. Neck has been fitted to the pot, sadly drilled out, but it's now the way the maker intended it to be. It came from the estate of a cousin of a fellow who was helping the widow sell old instruments. And in that, some of my favorite builds end up being these ones done by folks on their own, taking bits and pieces of what their favorite things might be and creating a banjo around that. so thanks for letting me share
jun3machina,
Thanks for posting. I too have purchased things like that cobbled together, hoping I can recover a part or two for something else.
I really don't think the neck is real ODE , just has some Ode inlays.
Neck could be real.
The flange and resonator appear to be a copy of an old ODE aluminum unit but the real deal was unitary in that, when you removed the resonator, the flange came off with it.
Show us some pictures of the inside of the pot. Let's see what you really have.
Here's a straight shot of the headstock. I'll post more photos in the morning.
Pictures with the resonator off. Its a strange one. They used nickles as washers for the resonator screws. The pot is 2 pots put together. The neck heel was hacked into to fit and sits on the wood flange. The "archtop" is literally a big bent circle of brass fit into the main rim and extends up creating the archtop on the head.. Regardless, it sounds good and is really fun to play. And its pretty solidly out together, even though it looks a bit finicky.
More
I won't say this neck isn't an ODE. The pot, OTOH, is a very interesting build that came from somebody's garage or basement. I really like the 5¢ washers.
No shy person should play this in public. It is an instant conversation starter.
Edited by - mikehalloran on 04/10/2023 12:07:10
I'm gonna call it my Wooden Nickle ODE, until I find a real one ith a wooden pot.... LOL. Seems appropriate!
There is a ODE/Baldwin pot & reso on ebay.
No real ODE parts I can see here .
Tom
so someone went through all the trouble to make a faux ode neck with a truss rod? seems counterintuitive... but maybe thats the theme of this banjo.
Don't know jack about ODE, but that neck is pretty piss poor execution, especially the inlays on the head stock. So many pieces are out of position! I can't imagine any commercial builder would let that out of the shop. Hope the OP didn't pay much for this.
Well, if nothing else, the flame on the back of the neck is really nice.
I have an Ode tenor neck I bought from a forum member. It has the inlays of a style C/D but was unfinished. The tuner holes were drilled wrong. I’m plugging and redrilling
The point is that it is a weird, wrong looking neck. I can’t imagine anyone going to the trouble of faking it.
My theory is that the hardware is from an an aluminum pot, and the neck is an Ode second.
Yikes. That's one serious frankenbanjo. The neck centerline is off, both in construction (the center stripe is off center) and the neck is mounted on the wrong center, so it's cocked a little to one side which will make for some really funky tuning and intonation issues. The neck fit is horrid but I guess that's on full display. I've never seen any ODE neck or inlay like that, but I defer to those who know way more about ODE's than I ever will, it's maybe some very early neck? It just seems very sloppy to me to be ODE. Way too sloppy.
Odd, strange puppy there. It is a conversation piece at minimum!
Edited by - banjoy on 04/29/2023 15:18:41
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