Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/230789
jaytreat - Posted - 03/10/2012: 13:53:00
If you are thinking of buying a long neck banjo beware of Jonathan Beyer of the State of Washington. I purchased one and it has a great sound, but, after two months things have started to go wrong and I took it to Paul at the FolK Shop in Tucson, Arizona who is a well known banjo expert. On close inspection he found that the builder, Mr Beyer, has made a lot of mistakes in the building of the banjo. If you decide to buy from Mr. Beyer take a good look at the banjo before you accept it. My mistake, I did not.
cosmicbanjo - Posted - 03/10/2012: 14:16:04
Looks likes a nice enough guy from viewing his website, but its pretty obvious that he is not a professional, and is putting banjos together from parts he does not make. To sell his banjos for under 700 he is using some pretty cheap parts--if he is making any money (which i assume he is).
I would try contacting him and working something out. his website does say 'my word is my bond' so hopefully he means that. Best of luck and let us know how it works out.
As always 'Caveat emptor' and 'you get what you pay for' :)
cosmicbanjo - Posted - 03/10/2012: 14:18:33
And my price was wrong--- for $557.00 you really should not expect a lot....
thefolkshop - Posted - 03/11/2012: 07:06:04
What should Mr. Treat expect for $557? More wood putty? A higher grade wood putty? Please view the pictures I have posted on my homepage and tell me what Mr. Treat should have expected. What a 100% ripoff.
Helix - Posted - 03/11/2012: 07:39:55
I sold several Helix Auroras (Alder) with Gold Tone Maple necks and hardware for $350
I sold several Helix Jackrabbits (Bamboo) with Helix Bamboo necks for $499 with GT hardware.
That is what I expect. I was using my social security to resupply hardware so I could introduce another way of making music to the public.
It's the same effort to make those mini banjos, as it is to make 16 or 18 brackets.
But please, before you set off on a public lynching, what are the issues, and how could they have been corrected? Is pro-active problem solving taking place behind the scenes? Where is the instrument now?
When you or anybody hangs out dirty laundry, it can be seen for miles that perhaps you weren't feeling too well, after all, it's hangin' on your line.
So I ain't goin' to the Laundry Shoppe for anything but nice and new.
Once I did a rim changeout where the neck heel had been cut with a shaper, and evidently rocked a little, so string line was an issue, I just reset the heel, but that's where the error emerged clearly in the heel itself.
Once a customer switched tension hoops and sent my rim and hardware off to a 'real' luthier for reassembly with an A-scale neck, because they didn't need that 5th string or tuner because they were going to be playing that folk music. I just bought a $35 fleur de lis inlay twice. There were 20 emails to me and 50 emails to the luthier, who is a member of the hangout. We problem-solved this with a full refund to the customer. I bought that neck twice and sold it thrice. The rim and another neck went to a deserving young working musician.
Is there a banjo hangin' from a tree somewhere? Send it up to me, I'll look it over, what height do you like the strings on a longneck? How many capo spikes?
I think I'll contact the builder privately and become acquainted.
( ))===='=== ::} Longnecks Rule
Dave1climber - Posted - 03/11/2012: 07:45:45
Mr. Treat should expect his money back.
thefolkshop - Posted - 03/11/2012: 08:11:03
Mr. Treat tried everything before going to the BHO. Please look at the pictures and decide whether or not he got ripped off. The pictures only show the beginning of the problems with this banjo.
Helix - Posted - 03/11/2012: 08:12:20
Dave, I agree completely. The builder deserves to look the banjo over and address issues. The customer has redress.
mbanza - Posted - 03/11/2012: 08:17:40
That is ugly and should have been fully disclosed. I can't comprehend why the putty wasn't leveled and kept off the hardware.
Edited by - mbanza on 03/11/2012 08:21:54
derft - Posted - 03/11/2012: 08:31:31
That is just unbelievable. How any one could sell a banjo in that state is beyond me It looks like the putty was put on after the banjo was assembled. The buyer deserves a full refund. You are absolutely correct Paul.
Fred
Helix - Posted - 03/11/2012: 10:16:39
Something else is in action here. Yes, these pictures create other questions. There is a truth here that is not coming to light, I'm not happy about the way people get tried publicly.
None of the pictures describe the issues, again, no issues. Folk Shop SHOULD begin to describe the issues, or let it be private. Just my opinion.
thefolkshop - Posted - 03/11/2012: 10:32:51
Posted on jaytreats blog:
Mr. Beyer told Mr. Treat that the only reason that I disparaged his building prowess was because I wanted to sell him a different, more expensive instrument. Please view the pictures on my homepage and decide for yourselves. Ridiculous! Mr. Beyer should be very ashamed of himself. Paul The Folk Shop
jaytreat - Posted - 03/11/2012: 11:21:37
The whole story. After I looked at the banjo on line and had many discussions via e-mail with Mr. Beyer about the banjo and he assured me it was a quality banjo and that if I had any problems with it after I got it he would let me return it. I got it and played it and was very happy with the sound of it. I did not look real close at anything. I am not an expert and really only interested in how good it sounds and how sound it is. I play a lot so I change the strings once a month. The fifth string fret would not work properly and would not hold tension. So I actually thought it was just the string slipping so I decided it was time to change all the strings anyway. That's when I discovered the peg would not work properly, so I took it to Paul at the folk shop. He said the peg was not properly installed and began looking the whole thing over including taking off the pot. He then discovered the neck was cracked, the neck was warped and the the whole thing was not put together properly. So I e-mailed Mr. Breyer who told me that there was nothing wrong with the Banjo and the "so called expert only wanted to sell me an one of his expensive banjo's". I Know Paul is not that way because he has helped me and a lot of my friends with all kinds of problems in the past that he took little or no money for. After many e-mails back and forth with Mr. Beyer he flatly refused totake it back or admit that it was anything but a quality banjo. I take full responsibility for not being more observant when I first got it but again I was mostly interested in trying out a long neck banjo and how it sounded. I should not have purchased it on line I am certainly OLD enough to know that the buyer beware. My biggest reason for the post is so that no one else makes the same mistake I did. I have no animosity towards Mr. Beyer, I got what I paid for. Jay
derft - Posted - 03/11/2012: 12:45:39
I have done business with the Folk Shop and Paul for over 20 years, You will not find a more upstanding and knowledgeable banjo guy then him. The builder chose not to stand by his word as he claimed and let a banjo go out the door in terrible condition. If that was done to me I would also caution others about this builder. Thank you for letting us know. Just my opinion.
jaytreat - Posted - 03/11/2012: 13:32:10
Thanks derft, that is what a was, am doing.
thefolkshop - Posted - 03/11/2012: 15:18:54
Mr. Beyer attempted to use a two piece flange on a rim with no lip (pic 2 above). The only point that the tube bucks up against is the cut in the neck heel. I think that his initial effort was to build a lip with wood putty. Of course that wouldn't hold, so he may have decided to 'glue' the whole thing together with more putty. He then covered the entire operation with a bottlecap resonator (that wasn't cut for the larger heel). BTW, the action is so high that it is unplayable past the fifth fret. Mt. Treat is a novice that got stung with his first banjo and can't afford another. He needs his money back so he can buy a different banjo and this is not an effort to sell him one of mine. I do have 40 longnecks but none for $557. How about you Mr. Helix? Will you help him out?
the-fish - Posted - 03/11/2012: 16:03:18
wow, thats a piece of crap..sorry
Helix - Posted - 03/12/2012: 06:48:54
If the Folke Shoppe did something like this, people would howl, probably had a stroke, huh?
Again something isn't right here, I see the photos, the approach by other pros trying to enlist opinion from others isn't ethical, the poor buyer did nothing wrong.
Please don't lynch someone who might be impaired or confused in some way, the work shows the thoughts. I'm sure this can be problem-solved off forum, notice how the issues took some time to show up.
Shootin' from the hip?
5 finger ninja - Posted - 03/12/2012: 16:37:21
demand your money back and buy an rk35.
stelling man - Posted - 03/13/2012: 06:57:31
Marvin, That Is mighty good advice..
STELLING MAN
mikehalloran - Posted - 03/13/2012: 14:00:39
quote:
Originally posted by 5 finger ninja
demand your money back and buy an rk35.
Hmmmm...
If you want a custom long neck, there are at least three regular contributors to the BHO who would be glad to help you out on that.
uncle.fogey - Posted - 03/13/2012: 14:03:46
quote:
Originally posted by mikehalloran
quote:
Originally posted by 5 finger ninja
demand your money back and buy an rk35.
Hmmmm...
If you want a custom long neck, there are at least three regular contributors to the BHO who would be glad to help you out on that.
Thanks, Mike - you get what you pay for.
mikehalloran - Posted - 03/13/2012: 22:07:48
Your welcome.
We're I still able to play and touring, I would commission a long neck from you, Helix and Dan plus a Nechville and rotate them through.
As much as I liked the sound and playability of my Vega Pete Seeger (and I did), I only played it at church except for one concert the week before my stroke. My Muse/ODE and Fender Allegro saw the rest of my long necked action over the years.
At the time I was knocked of action, I was putting together a new band and in the process of hiring a bass players to allow myself to lead from the banjo.
