Sensational sounding original example of one of the truly spectacular vintage American open back five string banjos ever made. 10&15/16” head.The only addition is that luthier attached an ingenious dowel stick adjustment mechanism to be able to adjust the neck angle and raise or lower the action. Great neck angle and action. Of all of the Orpheum five string models this one is the best sounding by a long shot. I’ve owned every model Orpheum five string open back banjo over the forty five years I’ve been collecting and none of the others have as good a tone as the a Mahogany number three. The heel carving is ornate and elegant as is the beautiful multi laminate neck back strap and fingerboard inlays, not to mention the spectacular headstock inlays back and front and the heel cap inlay. The five piece neck is straight and true and the playability is outstanding. One would be hard pressed to find a better example of this iconic model. It’s my favorite vintage 20th century open back five string banjo of all time and I’ve owned at least fifty different models by all of the major manufacturers. I personally prefer it over it’s two most popular competitors, namely the Vega Tubaphone and White laydie models, both of which I also have for sale. The vintage banjo market is the flattest it’s been in almost twenty years. This is in large art due to the fact that the new generation of old time style banjo players seem to prefer the many fine banjos being made by modern banjo luthiers. There are many finely crafted new models for sale by talented makers. However, they are often considerably more expensive and have none of the charm and mojo of a hundred year old American banjo. For a modern day luthier to make a replica of this model using all of the same woods, inlays, five piece neck, back strap,and heel carving they would have to charge in excess of $5,000, given the cost of materials and the number of hours it would take to craft an identical model. Prices are highly unlikely to get any lower than they are currently for vintage American banjos and now is definitely the time to buy. The market is down by at least 30% from where it was 12 years ago and it will rebound. It’s only a matter of time. As I’m writing this I’m already having anticipatory seller’s remorse because this model is my favorite and they hardly ever come up for sale, it also being the rarest of all of the Orpheum open back five string banjos. Modern hard bump case.
