* The Stew-Mac 'kit' banjos use, or used, a cast aluminum shell based on the ODE design. Don't think the ODE mandolins were manufactured in great numbers, but if Givens had anything to do with their production, they're probably high-class instruments. Some of the old ODE luthiers (does one call a banjo maker a 'luthier'? Guess so.) started up the Ome banjo company, still in Boulder I believe they make some extremely fancy 5-string, tenor and plectrum banjos. At that point ODE was reorganizing or going out of business I think someone else took over the nameplate, and that the mandolins were added during the '70's. I still own a Muse Style 2 5-string I purchased at the Denver Folklore Center in 1965 with my US Army separation pay. ODE was a banjo maker based in Boulder CO that manufactured a line of banjos with cast aluminum shells.* I believe they sold ODE brand banjos through direct sale, and Muse brand through dealers. Givens, or at least that he designed them. Dealer reiterates what I've heard, that ODE mandolins were made by Robt. Here's (an ODE A-style for sale by Campbell's Music Service. Can anyone tell me what it means? Age, value, etc? I have a Baldwin ODE Banjo that supposedly has a serial number of 9-77-16.
