The design and quality build of this William Lange made banjo truly fascinates me. This is my third purchase of this exact model and I’m sure I won’t have it for too long when a prospective buyer tests it out. William Lange was an exceptional innovator of banjos, in particular tone ring systems. He is well known for his top quality Paramount & Orpheum line of banjos. Other Lange-designed banjos include the Langstile line and the Triple-X line, to name a few. Without going into too much detail or copying text from another site please click on this link for more interesting reading on the evolution of the langstile deluxe and Paragon banjos.

The Langstile Deluxe’s tone ring-tube system is a cross between that found on some models of Clifford Essex Paragons and the Triple-X. The Langstile Deluxe – Triple-X similarities centre on the tone ring being supported by tone tubes which transmit sound down through a relatively thick-walled pot into a tone chamber capped by a resonator. The maple rim is beautifully inlaid with delicate wood marquetry throughout, including matching resonator side walls. The seven piece neck it made from walnut sandwiched with maple stripes in the centre. This model is similar to the Clifford Essex CE banjo as it uses the same top tension bolts instead of side shoes. The 3mm thick flange adds further weight to the banjo and features ‘cross’ cutouts, very like the Epiphone ‘X’ flange but turned around.

The headstock is decorated in tasty MOP with original quality Grover mini page geared tuners which all work perfectly and hold tuning well. The neck is straight, has excellent frets and low action and plays easily up the fret board. The fret board is made from rosewood and has fancy floral inlay position markers. I’ve fitted a new renaissance head which really helps give a richer balanced sound, with beautiful sustain. I decided to fit the banjo with handmade ‘Harmonic’ silver coated strings 12, 18w, 26w, 38w and glad I did as it has really enhanced its sound. Also a nice feature is the original Grover Presto tailpiece and the original hotdog armrest. Comes with a new robust Pod case.