Buckeye Custom 12" WL Banjo Reviews
Buckeye Custom 12" WL
submitted 7/15/2008
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Submitter |
tridentum (see all reviews from this person) |
Where Purchased |
Directly from Greg |
Year Purchased |
2008 |
Price Paid |
1550 ($US) |
Sound
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Ok. I've had this banjo for a year now, and here's the straight skinny - its sound is exactly where I want it - good bottom end with clarity on the hight end. The balance I prefer. Check out my sound clips for an example. |
Sound Rating |
10 |
Setup
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Action was set up perfectly and this banjo is a joy to play. I made some significant changes to set up to suit my personal taste and the skin head has finally settled in for the winter. Greg sets them up nicely but with a skin head you're going to spend some time in the first few days tweaking. I did swap out his bridge as it appeared to choke off some of the sound. and response - at least to my ear, but now I am back to it as the head has tightened to a point where a light bridge was counterproductive. I'm sold on his bridges now as it has settled in nicely. Anyway, I didn't need to change much to move it along - some head adjustment and I ditched the light gauge strings for Ome heavies, which are the only strings I'll put on this banjo. Skin head is now at home and happy. |
Setup Rating |
9 |
Appearance
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An absolute beauty. We went with dark-stained walnut no inlay (by the way, Greg does some beautiful inlay work). Square headstock with routed corners, walnut verneer on the rim and a beautifull ogee at the 5th string; black knobbed tuners. All of the work is flawless. Can't say enough about the neck. Greg's stuff really reminds one of the classic open backs of the late 19th and early 20th century. |
Appearance Rating |
10 |
Reliability
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Solid banjo, built well, with good components. Should be a horse. |
Reliability Rating |
10 |
Customer Service
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Greg is a fine banjo maker and a swell guy. Communicates well and understands what you want. Plus he tosses in a free t-shirt with your banjo. |
Customer Service |
10 |
Components
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All comnponents are of the highest quality. Love the Gotoh tuners. |
Components Rating |
10 |
Overall Comments
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Another small-shop banjo maker who is really making a name for himself. This must be the golden age of old time banjo making because there are a host of these guys out there. What separates Greg is his customer service and price range. A custom 12" WL for under $2K is unheard of among the established makers, and Greg's work is outstanding. Do yourself a favor - check out his website and see what he is doing. You cannot go wrong with a Buckeye banjo. Excellent workmanship, great sound at an outstanding price. Well done, Greg! I've had it for a year now and it keeps getting better. If I can scrap together some dough, I'll have Greg make me a Dobson with some of his super inlay work. |
Overall Rating |
10 |
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