Overall Comments

As mentioned in my review of my Recording King at this site, this book - no kidding - saved my banjo! At the risk of sounding overly opinionated, I believe every banjoist should have this book and refer to it to set up banjos to their preferences and to obtain the best out of any given banjo. When should a beginning banjoist buy this book and start setting up? When you learn that you can get a different tone out of picking near the bridge as opposed to near the fret board - it's time. True, some banjo work is beyond the average owner, like neck cutting, and this book will not teach you how to do that, but discusses it. You should know what is going on (might help you determine problems of a banjo you plan to buy) and Roger tells you why these angles are important and how to tell if there is a problem. He also describes how sound travels, how it resonates, and broaches the subject of tap tuning. However, where this book really shines, and the focus of the book, is on set up and getting the best sound possible. We all should know how to set up our banjos and this book does the best job I've ever seen of teaching you how to do so. Roger's easy to understand explanations, directions, and descriptions are unmatched in any other technical book. I recommend keeping records of your own set up on the final few blank pages - with references to the cognizant page. With this book, and a few basic tools, there is no reason not to set up your banjo properly and to reset your banjo when weather or time change it. Still under $20.00, this book is a must! From Hal Leonard Publishing; ISBN: 0-7935-8998-3.

Overall Rating

10