Chuck Ogsbury is a living treasure in the banjo community and has been building great banjos since the late 1950s. We discussed the history of the Ome banjo company, some of his banjo building beliefs, how he goes about designing new instruments, and more. In the early “sixties the rising popularity of folk and bluegrass music bought about a change in demand and the company’s principle banjo production was devoted to 5-string and long necked instruments, although tenor and plectrum banjos continued to be made. founder of Ode banjos and Ome banjos recently. The company also markets a resonator of the same material. A heavy protruding rim (as earlier used by Gibson and Merriman ) through which the tension brackets pass, takes the place of the shoes. Not content to resume manufacture on prewar lines the company developed and entirely new process of making hoops which involved a moulded resin plastic hoop reinforced at key points and they called them the “Reso-tone”. They ceased the manufacture of banjos abruptly, like all other manufacturers when the US entered WWII and did not recommence production until the 1950’s. Continuous growth compelled the establishment in 1965 of Harmony’s “Plant No 2” nearby so that now with 125,000 sq ft of manufacturing it is one (1960’s) of the top production facilities in the USA. In 1941 the company moved to larger premises at 3633 S, Racine Avenue and in 1962 it acquired a modern one story factory built at its present location 4600 South Kolin Avenue. In addition to the instruments bearing the name Harmony the company also made all types of banjos for other firms sold under the vendors own brand names. With the spread of ragtime the company equipped itself to make banjolins, tenor-banjos and plectrum-banjos to meet demand and by the mid 1920’s were one of the largest banjo makers in the USA, however their output of 5 string banjos was not large. By 1903 the growth of the business warranted the building of a small plant at 1750 North Lawndale Avenue, Later, two additions to the main building were undertaken to cope with the increasing demands for instruments.
#History of ode banjos full#
ALL OF OUR SALES INCLUDE A 7 DAY FULL SATISFACTION GUARANTEE. This has been fully inspected and set up at the Banjo Warehouse in Atlanta Georgia. This is a vintage Baldwin ODE Style C 5 string Banjo that is all original. Includes Original Hardshell Case and Paperwork. At first they only made guitars and mandolins. Vintage Baldwin ODE Style C 5 string Banjo USA. The Harmony Company of Chicago was established in 1892 by a small group of craftsmen who learned their skills by apprenticeships in Europe.