Globe

Globe Musical Instrument Manufacturing Co


This is a company that I'm short of information on, despite it being a fairly large manufacturer in its day. I know the Globe Musical Instrument Manufacturing Co. moved to in St Charles Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in 1915, in 1926 they were producing 250,000 instruments a year and it was still going strong in 1937.

I also know that in its day it ranked right up with the other big Chicago makers like Harmony or Kay, but I don't know when it started or when it ceased trading, (However I know some of the old Globe Factory is now a bar and the proprietor told me Globe had left the premises before WWII). Now its seems most people have forgotten it altogether and attribute instruments made by Globe to Regal, Harmony or say the maker is unknown?

When Globe Music was going, it specialised in fretted instrument making all of the usual Guitars, Mandolins, Banjos and of course Ukuleles and Banjoleles. A lot of the instruments made were OEM for others like Ferry & Co. to brand, but they also produced their own brands instruments too. The most famous Ukulele brand I have seen it made was La Pacific, a range that included Ukuleles and Banjoleles, including the fairly unique octagonal black one that started production in 1926. There was also Tru-Fret with a metal fretboard, (the forerunner of all of the plastic fretboards of the 1960's) and Hula Lu.

The bracketless type of Banjolele made by Globe is often attributed to Harmony or Regal as the manufacturer' but there is a number of differences between them. The most obvious is the Globe fretboard stops well short of the drum at the 15th fret whereas the others continues right down. Another is the design of the cut-outs used on the rear resonator, Globe used either 2 very long ƒ holes in the centre of the resonator or a circle of 8 segments in the centre. Globe also use this resonator design and the short 15 fret fretboard on their bracketed Banjoleles too.