ODE Banjos Are Back!

We’re very excited about these new ODE banjos, which are similar in construction to the instruments from OME. Both banjo companies are the legacy of Chuck Ogsbury, who started tinkering with banjos in the late 1950s while he was in college. Those early experiments led to the founding of ODE and by 1962 he was offering a full line of open-back and resonator models in 4, 5, and 6-string versions. In 1966, he decided he wanted to see more of the world than the inside of a banjo workshop so he sold the ODE to Baldwin, the piano company, and hit the road. In 1970, the siren call of the banjo proved too hard to resist so he got back into the building business with OME. Over the decades OME has earned a reputation for making some of the finest banjos out there.    

In 2021, Chuck’s son, Zen Ogsbury and his partner, Zoe Hatch, resurrected the ODE name and started a new line of banjos. These instruments are crafted in the original ODE shop with Chuck’s guidance. Unlike the OME instruments, which tend to be on the fancy side, the new ODEs are more simply decorated and consequently, less expensive. But they are made with the same attention to detail as everything made by someone bearing the Ogsbury name. These exceptional  banjos, with all the tone, playability and quality you could want.