It's only fair, that after serving me well for thirty-five years, that this dear old friend get mentioned. I probably should have included it in the photo, but there was only so much room. This is an Ode/Muse Style One long neck banjo. It has a cast aluminum pot and a tone ring. Twenty-eight brackets hold the head on. The neck is a light, not quite blond wood. I first began playing it as a rental back around 1964. I had it for about a year, when my parents bought it outright for me as a high school graduation gift. I played it non-stop, through good times and bad until the end of 1997, when my dream of owning a Vega Pete Seeger model came true. As thrilled as I was about owning a Vega, it was a bittersweet moment when I tuned down the strings on this banjo and put it in the case for storage. It still sits in my little den. I didn't want it to get too far away. In truth, if I had a bigger place, I'd have it out on a stand, strung, tuned and ready to go. It waited for me while I was in Vietnam. Even my girlfriend at the time didn't do that. It played duets with my son, when he took Suzuki violin lessons at age five. I can still hear us doing "Go Tell Aunt Rhody", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It chased one wife away (she absolutely hated Charlie on the MTA), and had a second wife forbid me to play it when she's home. Hey, it's not bagpipes! Why are we banjo players so maligned? But I just had to include this banjo in my pictures. And no, it's not for sale. We've had some good times together. But I wanted to share it with anyone who was interested.
