Overall Comments

So how many renditions of June Apple can you stand? I like the standards in the old time repertoire as well as everyone else does, but I’m always excited to hear of a new artist with fresh material who deserves more recognition then they are receiving. Such is the nature of our own Todd Treadway who in 2012 released his “Cigar Box Banjo”, available through CDbaby:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/toddtreadway

This CD has only recently came to my attention and I have to say I’m quite taken by it, it is indeed unfortunate when a CD this good flies under the radar of reviewers, and it’s an outright shame for people who appreciate great tunes to remain unaware of them. Hopefully that will change before long!

You may initially think from the title that this is a lightweight or quirky novelty CD, but that’s not the case. Every once in a while I hear tunes that I think are compelling enough to join in the ranks of other modern composers such as Curt Bouterse’s “Waiting For Nancy” and “Nixon’s Farewell”, or Jim Childress’s “Road To Malverne”. Many of Todd’s compositions are at that level.

Todd is no one trick pony; his material is fresh, unique, and stands the test of repeated listening. It has sweet and catchy lilting tunes, dark and modal pieces, and covers pretty much everything in between. The compositions are mostly his original pieces with a small selection penned by other sources. Although it’s done mostly with simple cigar box banjos with guitar and sometimes bass accompaniment, the tunes are immediately transferrable to the clawhammer style, and most of them come across very well played in this form.

All of that, plus he plays all the instruments and did the recording and production work. Over-achiever? Todd frames the entire process as being congruent with the simplicity of the instruments, but he’s created a real jewel for his efforts. Do yourself a favor and get comfortable with this CD. The mark of an excellent recording for me is to listen and feel my life has been enriched from the experience. “Cigar Box Banjo” does it for me, and that’s good enough.

Bottom line; I’ll go so far as to say he’s only a Volkswagen commercial away from being a household name. That’s how good it is. Move over Nick Drake.

You can sample Todd's music at his homepage here, be sure to try on "Prairie Rain" for size!

http://www.banjohangout.org/my/Todd+Treadway

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

The adapter fits snuggly and does not vibrate. I bought four and do recommend this product to anyone wishing to mount their Snark tuner on the head brackets.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

This Banjo is the perfect Bluegrass machine. Rich, full tone with a great feeling neck.I love it

Sound Rating

10

Appearance

Beautiful Walnut. The wood veneer used on the resonator could have been nicer. Inlay is perfect, I like the thin blk strip on the binding.

Appearance Rating

7

Customer Service

The best

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

These Banjos are great sounding with top notch playablity..very under rated in the Bluegrass world

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

This mute is as advertised. I live in an apartment building and I'm not sure who's happier, me or my now-sleeping neighbors. I am 100% satisfied.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Mike was great to deal with. He was great on the phone and shipped the mute quickly. The mute works great: easy on/off, will work on different bridges, allows the banjo to still ring, and you can hear any pick noise. If you need to practice without bothering others, you need one of these.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Great little item that works as advertised. It allows your Snark tuner to be mounted on the hooks of your pot assembly. The price was cheap, fast shipping and quality made. It actually improved the Snarks response time too, as a side benefit.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

A thing of beauty. Bart is a craftsman. Smartened up the old Gold tone like you wouldn't believe.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Didn't expect to find a comfortable way to hold my new (old) 1/4 ton banjo until I acquired a 3" Buffalo hide cradle strap. Picked until bedtime much to the dismay of my neighbors.

Price was more then fair considering the quality and the savings on future Chiropractor fees. And the fact they make them on the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux Indian reservation (the poorest county in the US). They say "The purchase helps provide income for people on the reservation. Truly a 'cottage' industry, Lakota Leathers straps are assembled in living rooms and on kitchen tables of the people who make these wonderful straps."

Planning on buying additonal straps for my guitar, dobro, and mandolin.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I have attended the Ghost Ranch Bluegrass Camp for three of the four years it has been in existence. As a chronic low intermediate banjo player, I wanted to increase my speed, improve my singing, and get to be a better ensemble player, and the faculty has been a great help to me in these endeavors. Ghost Ranch (the home of Georgia O'Keeffe) is an incredibly beautiful, serene place in Northern New Mexico about 2 1/2 hours from Albuquerque.
The faculty has done an incredible job in bringing a "family feeling" to this camp. Mike Finders (guitar), Erin Youngberg (bass and vocals), Aaron Youngberg (banjo) and Ryan Drickey (fiddle) play in the Fort Collins, CO band Finders and Youngberg. Gregg Daigle (guitar) heads the Gregg Daigle Band in Albuquerque. Matt Flinner (mandolin) is a Grammy Award Nominee from Nashville TN. I cannot say enough about how warm, friendly and encouraging they all are. Campers feel that they are not only instructors but friends.
Ghost Ranch Bluegrass Camp will be an annual event each May (the weekend before Memorial Day weekend). If you are a "closet picker" or someone who wants to become a better jam player, I strongly recommend this camp.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I am a banjo builder/repair and setup guy in North Carolina.
Wanted to submit a review of a gentleman that is doing all my pearl cutting as well as inlaying for my neck builds.
His work is as good as I have seen and since he cuts each pc by hand, he is able to produce nice intricate sharp points and delicate sized cuts that capture the prewar look, which up to now I have never been able to get from my other vendors that were using a cnc process.
He gives me a super quick turnaround unlike the 2 month wait period I used to have to endure.
His inlaying is very tight, as good a job of hand cutting and inlaying as I have seen.....
His pricing is very competitive and he is a gentleman to work with in every way!
I am truly glad to have him team up with me as my main supplier and to anyone that is needing this type of service, I highly recommend your contacting him for you inlaying needs!
You won't be sorry!
His name is Clifford Seales and he goes by petemonster.334s

Don Bryant NC Banjo Luthier

Overall Rating

10

Sound

A variety of voices. You really had to "dial in" the tone that you wanted. With a loose head it sounded "plunky" (I imagine an Amber Elite head would really make it sound good this way) and with a tight head the sound was piercing. With a tighter head the sound was piercing. It really had a bark and a pop but it wasn't overly loud and powerful. Not mellow exactly either.

Cut through a mic and recorded like a dream. No unpleasant overtones whatsoever. When you hit it you got just what you needed. Barley needed to play it to make a sound. Very even up and down the neck. This banjo was also good for clawhammer believe it or not. Very versatile and pleasing banjo. Crisp and clear.

Sound Rating

8

Appearance

Fit and finish was spectacular. Beautiful traditional inlays. The stain was done to perfection. However in this price range I would expect some fancier binding, perhaps even of abalone. The fit and finish and traditional appearance are good enough keep it from being a seven instead of an eight. Mine had the older black "flange" (not really a flange) which was different and not what some people prefer. They now make them to look like a regular flange. It looked pretty good to me though.

Appearance Rating

8

Customer Service

Just call Tom and he will bend over backwards.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

This is one I'd still like to have in the stable. With it's tuning capability, reliability, versatility, construction, and sound it would be a great performing banjo.
IMHO the fact that the rim is more shallow than other banjos and the fact that the neck does not contact the rim sacrificies the volume of this banjo. To me those are two of the strongest components in a banjos sound. Overall still a great banjo as the price reflects.

Overall Rating

8

Overall Comments

This is a great Mute. I can play in the next room and the wife cant hear my jo at all. Get one!!!!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Top notch CNC program and cut of pearl and other. Check out photo's of Randall's artistry and work on my homepage. Simply put it is professional and precise. Above and beyond willingness to tweak until you are satisfied and kindness unheard of in today"s world.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

If any members need a product made by Randall Wyatt by all means go for it. I have nothing but praise for his worksmanship,his help in other banjo matters. Are all BHO members this nice? Thanks ,Randall

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I've tried them all, and for the beginner, or advanced beginner, Geoff Hohwald is the BEST. He takes you by the hand and leads you through the lessons at your speed. As you advance, he takes you up a notch to the next level. It doesn't get much better than this. Even better, the price is right! Give Geoff a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Dr. Gerald Calvin

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Cons: It is expensive ($70)
Pros: The strobe readout is the antidote for all those cheaper tuners that drive me crazy. You know, the ones where the needle or the lights waver from sharp to flat. Very accurate tuner.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

I love it the sound was better than I expected. My instructor said that it has
Got the brightest and best sound that he has heard come from a banjo and he's
Been teaching 40 years. I considered buying a 7 or 8 thousand $ banjo. I'm so
Happy with ob 250 arch top. Thanks go to Mr Ross!

Sound Rating

10

Appearance

Fine wood mother of pearl inlay just a perfect instrument

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

Lifetime warranty to me and 5 years to the person I sell it to, but it's not for sale

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

Try a arch top banjo and I think gold tone has the best for the
Money. And do check out mr Ross Nickerson he has the best banjo lessons!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I wanted to let everyone know I am a new banjo player but I have played guitar for years. not prof. but for fun. I had been looking at banjos for a long time and decided to get a Recording King RK R20 to start with. Need less to say I am hooked! After learning to play for the past few months I noticed that my banjo sounded a little flat, so i decided to put on a new set of strings I figured that it might brighten it up again. After I installed the new strings I found that it helped but it sounded to me that my banjo sounded a little bassy. So aftering reading some reviews and getting some tips I decided to buy one of Don New's Dam spillway bridges. I got the Maple with Rosewood cap 5/8" with Crowe spacing . I installed the new bridge as soon as it came in. Man I can tell you this has brightened up the sound on my R20. It took the bassy sound down a couple of notches and brought up the high notes. I will also say it appears that the Crowe spacing on the new one has helped me with a problem I was having with my thumb pick catching 4th string. I know I don't have alot of experience playing but I know great sound when I hear it. I recommend this bridge to everyone. My little Recording King is not the most expensive on the block but I believe she sure sounds like it.
The buying experince with Don is great, if I get another banjo in the future I will definetly be getting another Dam Spillway (maybe the 3 pack) just to see what the others will do.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

Great, bright traditional sound. Plenty of volume.

Sound Rating

9

Appearance

It's gorgeous!

Appearance Rating

10

Customer Service

Really a nice transaction. Quick answers to questions, and quick processing and shipping.

Customer Service

10

Overall Comments

My first open-back. Don't think I could have made a better choice.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I had Ron refret my old rb100 with new wire. And, man it made a huge differance. I have lost all my buzing issues and my note are a lot clearer. Ron has been my go to guy whenecer I have questions in general as well. He does outstanding work and I highily recomend him to anyone. The best part he will explain what does to your things to make you are getting what you want. He is a down to eath person and I will be going back to him in the future.

Overall Rating

10