Mastercraft Bluegrass Maple Sunburst
submitted 5/27/2006
|
Submitter |
chrisbellamy |
Where Purchased |
banjohut.com |
Year Purchased |
2006 |
Price Paid |
279 ($US) |
Sound
|
I bought the banjo to learn to play Bluegrass style. This is my first banjo (as well as my first stringed instrument), and I'm no expert on sound, but it sounds good to me. I'm sure there are better sounding instruments out there, but I'm very happy with the sound. |
Sound Rating |
9 |
Setup
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The banjo was set up nicely, with a nice low action, and almost perfectly in tune. I spent about 1 minute with the included chromatic tuner making sure everything was tuned just right, and I was ready to go. There was a little buzz in the 3rd string, but a 2 minute search on Google got me the information I needed to easily fix it. The tuners were a little loose, but 10 seconds with the included screwdriver fixed them right up. |
Setup Rating |
10 |
Appearance
|
Very pretty sunburst finished maple banjo, nothing fancy, but very nice for the price. The original banjo I received had a crack in the finish on the side of the rim. I called banjohut the day I got it, and they shipped me a new one out the next day, allowing me to keep playing the one I had until I got the new one. New one was perfect. |
Appearance Rating |
8 |
Reliability
|
The finish and hardware seems very nice. The chrome plating is nice and smooth, and there are no obvious flaws in the finish. I think this one will last until I reach a point where I am ready for a much more expensive banjo. As far as using it on a gig, I am so far from playing a gig I can't really answer that question. |
Reliability Rating |
9 |
Customer Service
|
Banjohut was great to deal with. I placed my order on Wednesday,and had the banjo in hand on the next Monday. As I mentioned, the first banjo I got had a crack in the finish, and the people at Banjohut were very easy to get in touch with (800 number) and sent me a replacement immediately, without even requiring me to send the original banjo back first. The banjo has a lifetime warranty. All in all, I couldn't be happier with my experience dealing with Banjohut. |
Customer Service |
10 |
Components
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The banjo has a nice low action, and a very comfortable neck and fingerboard for someone who has never played a fretted instrument. The rolled brass tone ring makes the banjo nice and loud, and it has that real banjo sound that was missing in some of the cheaper (~$100) banjos I tried at local music stores. The only thing I might replace is the bridge, just because they are fairly inexpensive and I've read they can drastically improve the sound. Considering the price of the banjo, I was surprised at the quality of the hardware. Instead of a flange, it has 4 brackets and thumbscrews that attach the resonator. Because of this, it would be suitable to take off the resonator and brackets and use it as an open back as well. I also liked the package that it came with, which included a nicely padded gig bag, fingerpicks and a thumb pick, wrenches for the banjo, the Janet Davis book "You Can Teach Yourself Banjo" with DVD, nylon strap, and electronic tuner. The tuner was kind of cheap, and I've since replaced it with a $20 Korg chromatic tuner, but it is as good as I expected in a package deal. |
Components Rating |
8 |
Overall Comments
|
I would definitely recommend this banjo for the price. It is by far the nicest looking one I saw in that price range, and has features like the maple rim and rolled brass tone ring that I didn't think I would be able to afford. If it were stolen, I would definitely buy another one just like it from Banjohut. I really love playing it. I've been practicing 1.5-2 hours every night for the nearly 2 weeks I've had it, and I'm actually beginning to make bluegrass-like sounds come out of it! Compared to the other cheapie banjos I tried at local music stores, I'm both surprised and happy with the quality I got for the money. Given the opportunity to choose again, I would make exactly the same choice. |
Overall Rating |
10 |
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