Description
Exceptional condition • SN: 224-037
25.5″ Scale • 1-5/16″ Nut
Cyclone 10:1 Tuners • Antiqued Hdwe
Cherry Wood • Dowel Stick
One of the most popular banjo models we’ve sold in last 12 years or so is the OME Tupelo. This one is made of Cherry Wood with a 12″ pot and all antiqued hardware. To top it off, it also comes “stock” with Rickard 10:1 cyclone tuners and a hard case. This banjo was bought new a few months ago by a regular customer. It has only been played a few times and stored in the case.
This OME Cherry wood Tupelo banjo with 12″ pot is deceptively simple in appearance, but big in performance, playability and tone. Designed by Chuck Ogsbury, founder of OME, it is made of beautiful (and highly resonant), Cherry wood Rim and Neck. Ebony Peghead Overlay, Heelcap, Fingerboard and capped bottom of Rim. The peghead harks back to early banjos from around 1860’s-1870’s with a simple square cut “guitar style” solid peghead. The peghead is blank except for the Truss-Rod cover near base of peghead. Bone nut. Ebony fingerboard with s-curve scalloped fingerboard, 16th and 17th frets partially scalloped away.
All 5 tuners are Rickard brand with the main 4 peghead tuners being the antique brass Rickard Cyclone 10:1 tuners everyone has gone “ape-y” for over the last several years. These have all matching black tuning buttons. Back of peghead shows off the new OME brand stamp, burned into the wood – OME logo in center with “Titusville” above and “Florida” below the logo. The Cherry wood of the neck and the rim has good color and grain.
The neck attaches to the rim with a single dowel co-ordinator rod. Like the simple banjos of the mid-to-late 1800’s, there are only 7 hooks and nuts per side, for a total of 14.
The Cherry wood rim is 1/2″ thick and is tapered toward the head to cause the head to rest on the wood rim, itself, instead of a tonering between the rim and the head. You’ll be surprised with the beautifully developed tones just from a wooden rim acting also as a tonering. The bottom of the rim is bound with tortoise on both the inside and the outside. And, the bottom of the rim is possibly capped with Ebony. Maple OME bridge and OME one-pc tailpiece.
This is the first OME we’ve received from the new OME shop in Titusville, Florida, and we are impressed. I can state that the workmanship is the same high grade of perfection that OME buyers were accustomed to from the shop in Boulder, Colorado! We plan to bring more of them into our stock as timing and resources permit.
This is a very nice instrument that comes with a Hard Case and Rickard Cyclone tuners! These OME “no tonering” open back banjos are festival winners!
