Orpheum banjos

[John Cohen]

Does anybody have experience with these?  I have the opportunity to purchase a 1918 11'' Orpheum No. 3 pot with a Bart Reiter repro neck (26'' scale length).  The banjo is a wonderful player but seems on the quiet side and has little punch.  It currently has medium gauge strings and a weatherking head.  What are these banjos known to sound like?  I'd describe this one as warm and round, harp-like, with lots of sustain but little bite or presence.  It does have a classic-style 2-foot bridge and a tailpiece that applies a lot of down-pressure.  Maybe a renaissance head would brighten it up and increase the volume?

[John Cohen]

It is somewhat odd that these banjos haven't caught on these days.  I do not play old-time music although I do play minstrel banjo, and the short-scale Orpheum I tried was the best sounding banjo tuned to C I had ever heard for this style- with or without steel strings.

[Patrick Garner]

I've only used Nylgut on these and was immediately blown away at the tone quality. I'm an open back steel string guy and always assumed nylon would be unacceptable. Man, I was wrong. It's a pleasure to play these and tone is remarkable.

[John Cohen]

Update:  I received the 29 1/2'' scale Electric but it was not as advertised.  The neck had a severe propeller twist that made it unplayable and impossible to set up, and it needed a new neck. I returned it and purchased the Orpheum No. 3 Special I was looking at.  It's not a typical No. 3 Special but a Custom Order No. 3 with "Special" on the dowel instead of the peghead.  It has the same carved heel as the R&L Bacon Grand Concert banjos and it also has a fingerboard extension increasing the number of frets to 24 (all other known 5-string No. 3's have a maximum of 22 frets).  It was also ordered without a heel inlay, but the inlay at the back of the headstock is unique and different than the standard fleur de lis.  It's a really great sounding banjo- totally different than the first Orpheum I tried with the replacement neck.  It sounds a lot like my Van Eps did but with more clarity when playing chords, all while not sounding too thin.  It's plenty loud, easily twice as loud as the first Orpheum I tried.  It also has lots of punch and none of the stuffiness that the first one had.  Interestingly, they both have the same cheap, plastic 11 1/4'' heads and no-knot tailpieces, and I had them set up with the same bridge and strings.  Either the first one I tried was a tub, or the one I have now is exceptional.

[Trapdoor2]

Shirley Spaulding liked her Orpheum #3 special, that would be good enough endorsement for me!

Having carved a few propellers in my time (model airplane propellers)...a nice helix is a wonderful thing, but not on a banjo neck.

[John Cohen]

It was by far the worst twist I've ever seen in a neck... not sure how the seller missed it before he shipped it.  The neck was described as perfectly straight.

My Orpheum has an aftermarket resonator like the one on Shirley Spaulding's banjo... sounds great with and without it!

[Jody Stecher]

Indeed.

Trapdoor2 said:

Shirley Spaulding liked her Orpheum #3 special, that would be good enough endorsement for me!