I am an active duty Army soldier who will be retiring this summer and as a retirement gift to myself I am seeking to purchase a banjo and learn to play. Divx vod registration code lg tv. This is something I have wanted to do for years but never found the time to devote to it. My knowledge and experience with Banjos is very limited so excuse the ignorance.

This numbering code started in the early 1970's, after Baldwin moved the Ode banjo works to Arkansas from Colorado. There were several earlier numbering systems used before the buyout and the move. This one made the most sense by far. The first 2 numbers are the month, second 2 are the year, and the third 2 numbers are the individual piece.

Long story short I have found what I believe to be a good deal on a quality banjo but need some advice. The banjo I am looking at is a Baldwin Ode (Model # 6505 / Ser # 8-80-63). The finger board has hearts and flowers on it and it has a wood rim with tone ring. Wood appears to be walnut. Asking price is $1000.00.

The banjo is in perfect condition and sounds fantastic. I examined is thoroughly and find nothing wrong with it at all. Is $1000.00 a decent price for a banjo of this type? Also does anyone know the year it was made of any other specifics from the model and serial number?

I thank each of you in advance for your help!! Ole, Baldwin Ode banjos were made from 1966 until the very early 1980's, so your banjo had to have been built sometime during that 14 or 15 year period. Most that I've encountered have been from the 60's and early 70's. The ones I've seen and played have been very serviceable instruments. The instrument you're considering matches the specs of the Baldwin Ode Model C, which was their midrange instrument. You can find the model description about halfway down on this PDF file of their 1967 catalog: Hopefully someone with far greater personal experience with Baldwin Ode banjos than I have chime in on this thread, but having put together more than one five string banjo from parts, I can tell you that the asking price sounds fairly reasonable to me. Just getting parts of that quality to build one for yourself would cost close to that.

So I'd definitely try to haggle on the price if I were you, but it doesn't sound outlandishly expensive to me. You might want to check with the folks on the Mudcat Cafe website, to get their opinions on the price - there are probably more dedicated five string banjo players on that forum than on this one. But it sounds like a good deal to me. I actually prefer the sound of walnut banjos to maple ones, as they have a sweeter midrange and low end, in my opinion. Hope this helps. Wade Hampton Miller.

Bacon Banjo Company Serial Numbers A Summary of Bacon Serial Numbers by Ed Britt Copyright © 2003 All rights reserved. (From my forthcoming, yet-to-be written, magnum-opus - David L. Day, and the Transitional Bacon Banjos) Editor's note: There was never a 'Bacon & Day Company' nor for that matter a 'B & D Banjo Company.' It was always called the Fred Bacon Manufacturing Company, or the Bacon Banjo Company, or some variant thereof. The 'D' of 'B&D' was in fact David L. Day, but his name was never part of the company name. While the bulk of the information contained here is from Ed Britt, I have added a few things, and responsibility for errors is mine.