Hi Rob,
Happy you have Eddy's banjo. Sorry we now lost another tenor great.
Looking forward to hearing it when convenient.

Best regards from Maine,
Tom

Cheers, Tom. Indeed.

Very nice, Rob, that you now have this banjo. The way I remember it, it's a 12" inch, 17-fret, openback tenor banjo. Looking forward to hear you play this banjo!

One question: is there anything like a tonering, e.g., a rolled brass rod or tube, or does the head rest directly on the wood rim?

Hi Emiel. Nice to hear from you again. I’d say it had a wooden tone ring:

Very cool Rob, fine instruments are meant to be played and now you are the keeper of the flame. I remember once reading the story of the half resonator, but now I’ve forgotten it. Do you remember how it came about?

I missed that Tony had died. I don't get around here much anymore, but man that's a bummer. I'm glad you have the banjo, though.

Hi Laurence, nice to hear from you too.

My understanding is that Eddy always preferred open-backs for weight reasons, but occasionally he needed more volume. This solution gave him “just enough” volume to be heard in an ensemble. He of course had more than one banjo, though, so probably had full resonator banjos available for when needed.

haildixon - sorry to dump the news on you like that. I don’t know exactly when Tony died, but it must have been about nine months ago. Was his name compass5 here? That rings a bell.

It seems Tony’s name here was Compass56.

I just found a discussion about Eddy’s banjo here: https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/390343

I’ve just tried to get in touch with Ome Banjos to talk about this banjo, but the site has been entirely taken over by GoldTone. Is there any way of getting in touch with the guy or guys who might have made this banjo?

Thanks, Rob. Several years ago when I was gigging a lot more and still in New Orleans Tony and I talked quite a bit and had a short hang on one of his trips to New Orleans. He was a genuinely nice and curious guy, extremely humble and gracious. A real loss. Wish I could help you on finding whoever made the banjo. I'm out of the loop.

Cheers, Hail. I never met him - I live in Scotland - but we were in touch via email. My memory is shakey, as I suffered memory loss when ill, but if I remember correctly he had been told at one point he only had a couple of years to live. So his time was precious, and I’ll bet he enjoyed talking to you.

Good to see that banjo. In the hands of a musician like yourself. Hope it aids in your continuing recovery after all you’ve been through You’ll have to make us a video when you’re up to it.

Will do, Jerry. Thanks for your kind words. So happy to be playing again!

Chuck Osbury now makes STARR banjos still in Colorado. He was the maker/owner of Ome.

Ah, now I did hear that a while back, but forgot. I'll look them up. Thanks, Jerry.

Rob, the old Ome banjo people are still active, as said by Jerry. They can be found through these websites:

starrbanjos.com

odebanjos.com

I've just emailed them at Starr Banjos. Thanks about the Ode link as well.

The one and only time I met Eddy—a truly legendary encounter—he told me that he had modified the back of his Ome banjo’s resonator, using the bottom of a small trash can. He also mentioned that his bandmates nicknamed his banjo (or perhaps its case) "the turtle," on account of its short neck. These are just a few, yet indelible, memories of a great musician and a truly wonderful human being. As for Tony, I can say that he shared a particularly intense musical connection with Eddy—and, as it happens, a rather similar temperament, too. I miss them both dearly. R.I.P. together, forever!

I’ll keep that in mind, Marco.

Rob this banjo full of history could not be in better hands! :-)

I’m not sure I agree, Paolo, but they’re my hands, so I’ll do my best.

Wow, Tony is gone too! I use to communicate with him. Eddy was a great loss as well. I was puzzled by what Eddy did to his Ome tenor, considering the cost of Omes. He knew what he was doing to the Ome, it appears. I have an Ome Silver Monarch, always my favorite for performing .I am happy someone like Rob got Tony's banjo. It was nice to see Hail Dixon posting, after several years away. Jim

Sorry for blurting out that Tony had gone, Jim. I've been away from here for a few years, and thought everyone would have known.

Eddy made his living as a working musician, week in, week out, and in that situation your instrument becomes a working tool, and you need it to do what needs to be done, and sometimes that means doing things to it that most players wouldn't dream of doing to a quality instrument.

I've been playing it quite a bit today, and I have to say I absolutely love it...but I'm not playing concerts, so have no need for extra volume.

I had an Ome Mogul for a while. Great instrument too, but I feel more relaxed playing Eddy's.

Apparently Tony’s last video, and using this instrument. I have to say I find it very, very moving. He knew he didn’t have long.

https://youtu.be/a7zYctOwVho?is=dJomMA_p7BXdwyTq