Bart Reiter Galax Banjo Reviews
Bart Reiter Galax
submitted 6/16/2006
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Submitter |
pastorharry (see all reviews from this person) |
Where Purchased |
Gryphon music |
Year Purchased |
2006 |
Price Paid |
1,170 ($US) |
Sound
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Great -"one does it all",all around openback banjo. Very loud, crisp and clear-plenty of variation in tone as you change right hand positions and move toward the neck or bridge.Sounds good any style played-3 finger,2 finger or frailed. Played hard or soft-it is an awesome sounding instrument. |
Sound Rating |
9 |
Setup
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Setup was excellent-head adjustment and bridge placement ,tailpiece heigth all right on.Action low with standard 5/8 bridge no buzz but dangerously close on a couple frets. I immediatly put on a 5/8 heavy moon bridge (personal preference), and will add a vega repro armrest-might replace the 5 star head with a renissance,however this head sounds surprisingly good and well rounded for this banjo. Stock strings seem a little light for my personal tastes, which i will change to Ome mediums. |
Setup Rating |
9 |
Appearance
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Beautiful, albeit plain banjo.Excellent star and dot inlay-no filler visable at all,nice color contrasts in the MOP.Mahogany neck and rim-painted black rim cap with tortise inside rim-coffee colored stain-perfectly done-no blotches-no sanding marks visable. Awesome job! Hardware heavy-top quality,new planet tuners-work perfectly.Perfect fret job on ebony fretboard, all workmanship A+ |
Appearance Rating |
10 |
Reliability
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Hardware-solid! Finish is satin stain-thin, which I prefer over thick-asian type finishes.May wear in time,no big deal to me. This is my only steel string banjo which I will use for everything,seems very trustworthy. |
Reliability Rating |
10 |
Customer Service
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Gryphon Music came highly recommended by none other than our own Bill Rogers, and they lived up to the rep in every way. I have to order banjos sight unseen living in Hawaii, and Tom at gryphon A/B'd two banjos for me over the phone, took time to answer all questions-very courtiously. They installed spikes for free and did a great job (Frank Ford ,HELLO??!!!) One year warrenty-Bart is well known for being very helpful if there's a problem or question. The banjo was ordered on tues. afternoon and arrived on thursday morning!!! |
Customer Service |
10 |
Components
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Planet tuners-heavy duty notched rim,waverly tailpiece, nickle silverd frets, whyte laydie tonering. All parts excellent-would only upgrade bridge and include hotdog armrest.It would also be nice if Bart gave a choice of heads-although the 5 star is just fine. |
Components Rating |
9 |
Overall Comments
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Highly recommended-after 30 banjos in 45 years. I might keep this one around. I LOVE it!!I especially love the neck-very similar to Wyatt Fawley's vega style necks,not quite as much V,a little softer, but very comfortable. Whyte Laydie tone rings rule!! BTW; what kind of a NUT would steal a banjo?? |
Overall Rating |
10 |
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Bart Reiter Galax
submitted 4/28/2006
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Submitter |
N8116B (see all reviews from this person) |
Where Purchased |
Spruce Tree Music |
Year Purchased |
2006 |
Price Paid |
1100 ($US) |
Sound
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This banjo has a very full sound. The Whyte Ladie Tone ring add a lot of punch without a lot of metal sound that I was used ot with my previous banjo |
Sound Rating |
8 |
Setup
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Item came set up and ready to play. Just a little tuning and off I went the only thing I added was of course a strap |
Setup Rating |
9 |
Appearance
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Beautiful craftmanship! Dark Mahogany drum and neck with a ebony fretboard. The back edges of the drum are painted black. |
Appearance Rating |
10 |
Reliability
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This seems like a very good and durable banjo. Bart's instruments have a good reputation for quality and this new model is of that tradition. |
Reliability Rating |
8 |
Customer Service
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Spruce Tree was excellent to deal with and very friendly. I wanted to visit personally but had to change plans at the last minute. They were very accommodating and shipped the banjo to. With teh shipping a personal email was sent advising me of the status of the shipment. |
Customer Service |
9 |
Components
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Comes from Bart Reiter with Whyte Laydie tone ring. Five Star frosted head on 11" diameter rim (24 brackets). Ebony fretboard, pearl star in peghead & dots on fretboard, planetary tuners, adjustable truss rod. Bottom edge of rim painted black. Banjo is named for the town of Galax, Virginia, which hosts a renowned yearly fiddle and banjo competition. The only thing I may add is some sort of armrest. The banjo can be ordered with an armrest as an option. |
Components Rating |
9 |
Overall Comments
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I am still a newbie but this was a significant upgrade form my Deering Goodtime Special. The sound is much more mellow but just as loud. The sustain is much greater and the tolerances tighter. I am really enjoying the upgraded tuners |
Overall Rating |
9 |
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