I had suggested to him that he contact Wayne Rogers of Gold Tone and ask about a post facto licensing agreement, figuring that their being able to offer "Keith-Licensed Tuning Pegs" would help Gold Tone market them, and help Bill financially, but he was loath to do that. He had no patent protection, so he had no legal recourse. Later, Gold Tone had Chinese versions of Bill's "Keith Tuning Pegs" made, and still sell these as their upscale tuners (Bill told me they were excellent copies). Gary negotiated a licensing deal with Gold Tone after they had started producing copies of the tailpiece because it was still under his patent.īill Keith never patented his D tuners (he figured that it was such a tiny market, and who would ever bother to copy such an esoteric product?), so his idea was ripped off by a number of other tuner builders.
Like the new Minstrel model, this banjo has a 12 tone-rim (our wood tone ring) fitted with 14 brackets and a single wooden rod in the pot a slightly shorter and fuller neck with a scale of 25.5 and nut width of 1.34 and aged brass including our new. I have a hard time believing that Gold Tone would risk the bad press when the market for banjos is on the decline. In the spirit of offering another high-quality and affordable Old-Timey banjo, OME presents the Tupelo. Which is why I am asking if anyone knows the story behind this. So it came as a surprise when I spotted this exact design on a Gold Tone banjo identified as a "Carlin tailpiece."Īfter the recent unpleasantness with Deering and the "smile" bridge, I would think that banjo companies would try and steer clear of blatant knock offs claimed as their own. Its about 4 ounces heavier, and when combined with our 50 years of crafting banjos and developing. At the heart of the ÐSouthern CrossÓ Bluegrass banjo is Chuck Ogsburys latest tone ring, the ÐHG 50, which is sand-cast bell-bronze and has a slightly different mix of alloys and weight from our other Bluegrass tone rings. I really liked the design.Į/Īccording to this thread, Glen Carson had bought the remaining banjo business and was planning on continuing to produce the tailpieces. Omes newest addition to their Banjo line, the new Southern Cross HG 50. The first time I saw one was on a Banjo that Clarke Buehling was playing. He designed a tailpiece that is very pleasing in form and functions well. He was also a heck of a nice guy- good people! A comfortable player, its lightweight and includes a Rosewood armrest, an Ebony scooped fingerboard and a Cherry neck. It has 26 brackets and aged brass hardware, a 25.5' scale length and a nice 1.34' nut width. For those who may not know why I am posting this, Will Fielding who passed a while ago (do a BHO search) built fantastic banjos. This Ome Wizard Open-Back Banjo is a gorgeous old-time-inspired five-string open-back banjo featuring a 12' solid Maple rim and Omes Minstrel tonal system.