Sound

There is no other banjo sound to compare it to, its as simple as that. It has one of the new USA cast tone ring and I believe that the tones are of a better quality than the swiss one. It can be bright near the bridge or when further away so laid back mellow its almost horizontal. You only need to listen to a top picker to hear what she can do (I am a novice!)

Sound Rating

10

Appearance

Its very easy on the eyes, straight of the case a beauty.

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

Life time warrenty. Its got to be good.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

A true joy. It is a beauty and more words are surplus.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

A slick strap that cures any right hand , ring finger problems. Also has applications for Old Time players hand problems. It's inexpensive, comfortable and works well. An easy cure for run away ring finger. I really like it !!

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

Homecoming event organised by Rufus Page on his farm in Mount Juliet Tennessee. A step back to simpler times. The locals were amongst the nicest folk I have ever met. Was made very welcome by all. The very best bluegrass music. What a memorable event !! I will be back for sure to the best festival i have ever been to! Jamming on the Fri concert on Sat OCTOBER

Overall Rating

10

Sound

This banjo was made in May of 1993. It is my second, high quality mahogany banjo. It sounds a lot like the Hatfield I used to have. It is bright and hollow with a very nice growl. One you've owned a banjo in each of the 3 main woods, you can really tell what each has to offer. I think mahogany is the best all around sounding banjo. This one sounds incredible!

Sound Rating

9

Appearance

This banjo has been played A LOT!! It has a massive belt buckle rash on the back side of the resonator. The neck has had some filler applied to gouges on several frets. I'm going to mark the appearance low but it is actually one of the reasons that I love this banjo. It's got a lot of character!

Appearance Rating

6

Customer Service

N/A

Customer Service

not rated

Overall Comments

As I said, this banjo reminds me of a Hatfield Buck Creek that I once had. It has a great open and bright sound with lots of sparkle. I love the inlay pattern which I think is called standard. It's a 1993 which is from the coveted Greg Rich era. Is it all hype? Not from what I can see! Try one, you'll like it!!

Overall Rating

9

Sound

Plays in key of C. It wont sound as good as a full size but it sounds surprisingly better than what you might expect from an instrument of this size.

Sound Rating

8

Appearance

Its cool because of its small size. quality built and looks like a proper musical instrument and not a toy.

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

top

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

Quality item well made and sounds good - Cant seem to put it down - the small size and quiet sound is nice.

Overall Rating

8

Overall Comments

Bought a couple of these when also purchasing a mountain dulcimer. The mid weight (white) ones are great, with a good grip around the thumb, durability and a clean picking action that means there is little "pick noise" at all. I like them so much that I have stocked up and now use them for pickin ' on all my instruments.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

The Cougar has a rich dry sound with no overtones, great fourth string and the upper register was crystal clear. The banjo has a traditional sound to it that matches the type of music I play.

Sound Rating

9

Appearance

The Cougar is a mahogany, nickel plated banjo and the fit & finish are second to none, hand crafted by Robin Smith of Hendersonville, Tn. Mike Smith designed the headstock & inlay patterns for the banjos and kept the "Big Kat" theme in mind for the creative inlay patterns. Very cool!

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

I have dealt with Mike Smith a number of years concerning his bridges & capos and he always goes above and beyond all measures needed to make sure the customer is fully satisfied.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

If you're looking for a great sounding banjo with top notch craftmanship at an affordable price, you need to check out the Kat Eyz banjo line.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I received the mute last week and have had the chance to use it daily since. I am really impressed with the tone - even muted - and the workmanship is outstanding. I am no longer banned to the furtherest reaches of the house when practicing. It is easy to attach and there is minimal interference with the right hand (nothing to worry about). The delivery was quick and the service outstanding.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Hi my name is Billy Copeland i get all my music needs throw First Quality Music.I just got the best sounding banjo and the first of it's kind a Vintage 35 Sullivan banjo an man there a great banjo.You will find a great buch of people at First Quality Music thats there to help in all your music needs.So stop in see them one more thing ask Jeff to take you to the show room and work shop it's a great walk throw.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

This is an App for iPhone. Despite the name it is not limited to guitars. It performs equally well with banjo, bass, mandolin, fiddle, uke, 12-string, etc,etc. There is a Tuner which is far more sensitive and smoother than a clip-on type.

It has a metronome with 13 sound effects and a full chord library (500,000 chords!) Chords sound realistically when screen is "strummed". Has left-handed feature to flip chords and scales around. Scales charts for each instrument in alt tunings. Has alternative tunings for each instrument. Very, very useful. Scored 4.5 / 5. Costs $12.99US. Only negative is it doesn't clip on and sense vibrations. (ie not too good in a noisy environment.)

Search iTunes App Store for "Guitar Toolkit"

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

I have owned a Robin Smith timeless banjo for 5 years.I have had a Stelling whitestar archtop, a 2005 Gibson rb-250,and a Recording King rk-80L with a Fitch nitro tonering.The timeless is by far the best I have ever played.It was great until I recently sent it to Robin for some needed work and a set-up..Now it is unbelievable.I will never part with it! Robin is the best,also a very nice guy to talk to. I recommended him to a friend to have a five string neck made for his vega four string and he did an awsome job on that.We picked that one up at his shop in Hendersonville and had a great visit with Robin and Ronnie Reno.I highly recommend Robin for all your banjo needs.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

My first impression was that it is rather harsh. loud, yes..."bright", no. After installing a fiberskyn head and stuffing a sock behind the rod, the harshness was (naturally) toned down quite a bit and I found that these modifications brought the overall sound to just about where I want it. I like a banjo that sounds well with both Scruggs/Bluegrass and "folk-style" (which, yes, I realize is a nebulous term). The new head and sock provided a sound that lent itself well to both styles.

Sound Rating

7

Appearance

Generally, a very nice looking banjo. Well done inlays, shiny chrome. Finish itself was pretty darn good except for the cracks (in the finish) which ran from bracket to bracket...almost as if the factory worker overtightened the hooks (or the brackets themselves) although when I got the 'jo, head tension didn't seem too tight.

Appearance Rating

6

Customer Service

I had purchased banjos from banjo.com before and was always treated fairly. Still, I am disappointed that the banjo had the obviously mal-fitted neck and finish cracks. One would think that such an item would have been returned to the factory/distributor rather than sold to a customer. I didn't raise a fuss with banjo.com about this, because personally, I didn't feel it worth the hassle of returning/re-shipping the item.

Customer Service

6

Overall Comments

I have mixed feelings about this banjo. Other than the mismatched neck and the finish cracks and the fact that I had to change out and stuff the head...it sounds good, plays good and looks good. Were it not fo the problems mentioned, I may have been happier with the purchase. Originally I bought it as a "knock-around" banjo, for camping etc., which it works fine for. I think I paid 375 +or-. My advice though (which you may take with as many grains of salt as you wish) if you are buying this as a "first" banjo, (i.e. to learn on)....save up some more money and get one in the next price catagory up. If you're buying it as a "second" banjo, or a knock-around banjo, I would say it's probably worth the $, (as long as it's under $400).

Overall Rating

6

Sound

Easy to play, plunky and basic sounding but great fun and really portable.

Sound Rating

9

Appearance

I love the goodtime styling and always have.

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

Quickly delivered and carfully packed.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

I baught this banjo for portability and quit practice. My main banjo is a Deering Sierra. Both sound great in their own completely different ways but for the money the Goodtime is superb and great fun.

Overall Rating

9

Sound

This banjo feels great. Both hands are very comfortable at work, especially the neck is great. I used one of Mike's KatEyz 11/16" bridges on this particular model. The banjo has a good degree of separation between the notes sonically. The tone is awfully rich and in short, the tone is fabulous. It's one of those banjos that sound as good in front as it does to the player in back. I highly suggest it.

Sound Rating

9

Appearance

The mahogany Cougar looks like a million bucks! Mike drew his own template for the designs of all his banjos, and this one has it's own unique look that isn't too much or too plain. It's a nice combination of ideas. Custom work is done by Robin Smith. Great job to Robin for his expertise and talent, and carrying that out into Mike's banjos.

Appearance Rating

8

Customer Service

Mike Smith one of the greatest guys you'll ever meet! He'll do anything to meet your requests.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

took a while for it to arrive in the UK but worth the wait
it works just fine no rattles no buzz, doesnt fall off, well finished easy to fit
gives great sustain and creates a really nice tone
thinking of using the tone sometimes in performances by amplifying it
all in all a great piece of kit recommend it to anyone

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I bought two of Tony Pass' Thinskirt rims, one for my bluegrass banjo (with JLS #12 tone ring), and the other a Thinskirt "Woodie" for my openback banjo. (The Woodie has the tone ring as an integral part of the rim, roughly similar to the original Deering Goodtime.) I cannot speak too highly of these rims. They made a remarkable improvement in tone and volume to both instruments.
When my openback instrument was set up with a Goldtone Whyte Laydye tone ring and 3/4" thick multi-ply rim (from a Gold Tone custom kit), it sounded kind of mediocre to my demanding ears. The rim & ring was replaced with Tony's rim. The volume increase was remarkable. A man in our house church heard the previous set-up, and with the new rim, he commented "Boy that thing is LOUD!" The tone quality increase is as remarkable as the volume is. This is - in my opinion - now the gold standard for open back banjo sound.
My bluegrass banjo was originally made from a Gold Tone OB250+ kit, which utilized a "professional" three-ply maple rim. As stated, after upgrading to the Thinskirt, I appreciate the superior quality of machining, tone, and volume that the Tony Pass gives me. Also of note is that, previously, my Fults BlueRidge Parallel tailpiece was kind of muddy sounding when my strings aged only a few weeks. With the Tony Pass rim, the Fults BlueRidge really comes into its own, and gives a quality, deep tone with good volume.
The rim apparently gives its bass tone enhancement out the back of the instrument, where the rim obviously is. I ended up removing the resonator off my bluegrass instrument to get all this glorious tone. If I perform publicly, I can reinstall it, to project the sound out.
Tony's Thinskirt rims are like comparing a Stradivarius violin to a commonly-available high quality violin. The Stradivarius is noted for power and tone, and very possibly utilized submerged wood, as Tony Pass does.
To obtain ideal tone, my set-up is:
Remo WeatherKing heads, tuned to 88 (Drumdial tuner) with the JLS #12 tone ring, and 89 on the Thinskirt Woodie. As a rule of thumb, JLS rings take a loose head, and Woodie rims take a tight head, for ideal sound.
Tailpieces: Openback: Fults 1934 Parallel; Bluegrass: Fults BlueRidge Parallel (custom order).
Strings make a huge difference in set-up; I use only Gibson Earl Scruggs strings. Currently I am using light gauge, although I will try out the medium gauge strings. Incidentally, my common practice with both banjo and guitar is to have my strings detuned one fret (the G string is tuned F sharp.) This practice gives me more sweetness and resonance to the sound of the instrument. Both banjos are loud, even though detuned in this way.
In closing, I recommend the Tony Pass Thinskirt very highly. For me, the difference was immediate. Tony says that many folks have a delayed effect ("bam effect") in which the boost in tone doesn't come until after playing for a period of time. For me, it was immediate.
I hope this helps in your selection of a rim. Tony Pass is the best.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

Very good overall for a variety of tones, it's bright and loud for bluegrass but can sound mellow enough for solo fiddle tunes or vocal accompaniment.

Sound Rating

10

Appearance

It's purty ! ! Nice inlays, gold hardware, nice finish. My wife likes it more than I do.

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

Never dealt with Fender, I do my own setups & repairs.

Customer Service

5

Overall Comments

Plays, sounds, and looks good. The only issues might be in factory setup.

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

The mute is a spiffy looking brass and with an aluminum bar with two “feet” underneath and two brass thumbscrews on top. After two minutes turning it this way and that over the bridge (I’m not good at this kind of stuff) I figured it out and installed it. I’d read reviews of this mute but I wasn’t really prepared for the low, sweet sound the banjo has with it on. The mute doesn’t compromise the instrument at all, just gives a different sound that I like as much as the banjo unmuted. Now when I’m visiting my new grandson I can play the banjo without waking him and maybe even put him to sleep with its new quiet, dulcet tone. Highly recommended!

Overall Rating

10

Sound

Great sound. I have the open back version, so it makes a big difference how you angle the instrument to let out the sound. I put some Martin fluorocarbon strings and they sounded much better than the original strings.

Sound Rating

8

Appearance

Very pretty.

Appearance Rating

9

Customer Service

I have not asked for help as yet. I will assume the best.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

This is a great banjo ukulele. There are not too many new banjo ukes available. This one is a very good value.

Overall Rating

9

Sound

Wonderful banjo for bluegrass playing. Love the light weight. Loud, good tone, very good banjo. Sound rating if rated for banjos in that price range would be 10

Sound Rating

7

Appearance

Blonde finish, simple. But that helps keep the cost down.

Appearance Rating

7

Customer Service

Warranty is one year, but at this price I am surprised it even has a warranty. A couple emails to the company were answered the next day.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

They keep the price down by skipping all the options. I'm adding an armrest and I will install side dots. I think it is good that they sell a no frills banjo, in order to sell a good quality banjo and a price anyone can buy. Frills can always be added.

Overall Rating

10