Bridges Beaver King 5/8
submitted 3/27/2009
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Submitter |
DandyRandy |
Where Purchased |
Kerry Scott (lazyarcher@rogers.com) |
Overall Comments
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I've gone through a lot of bridges in the last 2 years. I've tried Wadsworth, homemades, CatEyz, Sosebee, Snuffy Smiths, and others. Some of these are great bridges, but I thought I'd give the Beaver King a try in looking for that elusive bluegrass sound. I think I've found it! Kerry will send you one and you don't have to pay for it unless you decide to keep it. The sound is perfect for my RK. It's also a great looking bridge on top of that! |
Overall Rating |
10 |
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Palisade Bluegrass & Roots Music Festival
submitted 1/15/2009
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Submitter |
DandyRandy |
Overall Comments
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This was formerly the North Fork Bluegrass Festival in Hotfhkiss, CO. It will be held in Palisade this year and looks like it will be even bigger and better. The festival was small enough to enjoy without all of the hassles of larger festivals, but had big name performers such as the Kruger Brothers, Karrie Hassler and Hard Rain, and many others. It was peaceful with lots of jamming and camping and the jam camp was great, with Hickory Project and Chele's Kitchen. The setting was perfect and the River Bend Park on the Colorado River will be great I'm sure, with lots of shade trees. Can't wait for June 12. |
Overall Rating |
10 |
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Recording King RK-97
submitted 12/3/2007
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Submitter |
DandyRandy |
Where Purchased |
Fitch's Banjos |
Year Purchased |
2007 |
Price Paid |
1750 ($US) |
Sound
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Sounds great! Snap, crackle, pop and growl are all there. Plenty loud and great sound at high, mid and low ranges, up and down the neck. Great bluegrass sound.
I get lots of complements on the sound. I had a much more expensive Deering Sierra owner tell me that she wished her banjo sounded like mine. Also let the banjo player of Sweet Sunny South play around with it. He showed it to a friend, smiling and said "Listen to this" while making the 3rd string growl.
The best sound I can get out of it was from actually loosening the head as much as possible without a chance of the nuts falling off and putting on a Snuffy Smith III 5/8 bridge and a Fults 1934 tailpiece at just less than 1/4 from the head. It sounded great out of the box, but now it's even better. |
Sound Rating |
10 |
Setup
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Overall it was OK, except for one major problem which I'll get to.
A $125 setup and case were included in the price. Two placed spikes were $10 each.
Fitch replaced the d'Addario strings with a GHS PF-135 JD Crowe stage set, which I liked, but replaced them with cryogenics later.
A Wadsworth bridge was put on by him as the stock bridges are apparently not too hot. This cost an extra $30. He had to recut the heel as the action was too high and also had to work on the nut before shipping it out.
THE PROBLEM: The nut grooves on the 1st and 4th strings are almost in the middle of the white binder, way too close to the outer edges of the fretboard. This causes the 1st string to slip off easily. Supposedly, according to BHO threads, this was limited to the 1st 50 RK-80s and was quickly resolved. I've talked with several new owners who still have the same problem. Pretty frustrating and dissappointing for what otherwise would have been a great purchasing experience. I'll get to the end result under Customer Service. It's something that's very obvious and easy to fix, or better yet, avoid in the first place. Fitch did a good job otherwise, but because of this major problem I give setup a lower number than it would have received otherwise. It's not really a setup problem, but more of a production problem.
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Setup Rating |
7 |
Appearance
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Very nice looking banjo. Maple, nice finish, sunburst is especially nice, nice neck finish, MOP, gold and engraving all very attractive.
I personally prefer a larger peghead, not so cone shaped, and not at such a severe angle, but that's just a matter of preference.
The white neck binders have dark marks from the the strings, not oil from fingers or dirt, I make sure of that, although it's not possible to eliminate those entirely. Don't know what can be done to prevent the string discoloration other than eliminate the white binders.
There is a minor nick at the last fret on the fretboard.
Chief complaint is that the gold plating is wearing off the armrest in 2 spots after about 6 weeks of playing, but I do play a lot.
The engraving and gold are nice, but looking back I would have bought a nickel plated RK-85 and saved several hundred dollars. |
Appearance Rating |
8 |
Reliability
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Other than the gold plating, I think the hardware will hold up well. Time will tell. The finish seem like a tough outer layer, yet smooth and attractive.
The included case is sturdy and functional.
I feel comfortable using it at jams, open mics, gigs, and now recording without a backup. |
Reliability Rating |
9 |
Customer Service
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Fitch has the absolute cheapest prices for RKs anywhere that I could find, and I looked hard before buying.
The neck heel had to be recut due to extra high action, a problem with the new 97s. Cliff did not charge me for this. He also said that he did some work on the nut since they're not completely finished. He has been good to deal with and even offered to repair the nut, but I don't see sending it in to be recut without the banjo being there with it. Can't play without the nut on my banjo in the meantime. It is under warranty. Better customer service would have been to send me a new nut right away and I could have had it dealt with. As it is, I will have to drive 3 hrs. round trip tomorrow to have it done. At least this way I will be able to watch it being done and it will get done without the hassle of down time and slow holiday shipping, This is not all Cliff's fault as RK needs to tighten up on this ongoing problem. |
Customer Service |
8 |
Components
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The resonator does not fit tightly against the pot and sounds like a creaky old boat, pretty annoying. It was supposed to have settled in within a few days, but not going to happen. Felt did not help and screws are tight, just not a snug fit due to cheap resonator brackets.
Gold plating wearing off already mentioned.
Tailpiece has a $8.99 replacement from RK. Is this the same as the original? Sounds good enough, looks a little cheap. I replaced it with a Fults.
Tuners are sturdy, nice looking and don't slip out of tune.
The frets are a little obtrusive at the first few frets on the 4th string, could be due to it being so close to the edge of the fretboard. I find my fingers getting stopped on slides, but will see how it goes after the nut problem is corrected.
Update. My luthier filed the first few frets as they were cut in an odd way, that in combination with having the strings so near the edge of the fretboard caused the speed bumps during slides.
The RK sticker insider the rim is nice, but fell off. Saving glue?
The tone ring is it's redeeming component.
Low rating is due to the resonator brackets, frets, gold plating and nut problem. |
Components Rating |
5 |
Overall Comments
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The sound saves this banjo from being doomed to foreign banjo hell. It is a great sounding banjo. I love the sound and can't play it enough, but the other problems make it not so enjoyable.
Unfortunately there are some quality control issues that need to be dealt with to prevent the foreign banjo image from being further tarnished, especially in the minds of "American made" purists. If this banjo had the solid feel and precision of a Stelling, combined with RK's great sound, it would be a 10 across the board. I give the sound a 10, the rest a six, especially for $1750. Looking back I would have liked to have listened to a Sullivan Festival and handled one next to a RK. I think I would have even preferred a Morgan-Monroe. After owning the 97 for a while now I have to give it a 7 given the aforementioned problems and the pain of having to deal with them on a new banjo. |
Overall Rating |
7 |
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Morgan Monroe MNB-1
submitted 4/21/2007
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Submitter |
DandyRandy |
Where Purchased |
banjoteacher.com |
Year Purchased |
2007 |
Price Paid |
399 ($US) |
Sound
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Great sound for an upper level beginner banjo. Loud, bright, good for Scruggs style, which I am learning, and carries well through the Rocky Mountains out the back door. Family hasn't even complained and I pick it a lot. |
Sound Rating |
9 |
Setup
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Lots of other banjo reviews mention how well the setup was. I was a little disappointed that the bridge was in the case in a bag. Nice case though, by the way, like a cross between a gig bag and hard case. I think it's styrofoam, padded and covered in a black cloth material. If you open it up it looks like a good quality hard case. Everything else was OK though other than the bridge. I actually learned a little because of having to place the bridge. Instead of measuring I used a harmonic method, adjusting the bridge until the 1st string 12th fret harmonic matched the fretted 12fret on the first string. It sounds pretty good, but don't know enough about the rest ot the setup to evaluate accurately. Action seems a little high for me so I adjusted it. |
Setup Rating |
8 |
Appearance
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Very nice looking banjo for the price. Some internet photos make it look orange, but it's not. really. My wife calls the color redwood . That was a main concern before it arrived, but it looks good.
Rim: 3-ply solid blocked mahogany rim
Tone Ring: Rolled brass tone ring (brass is good)
Flange Assembly: 1 piece flange
Tuners: 10 to 1 gear ratio Ashton Bailey planetary tuners (stays in tune pretty well considering newness)
Resonator: 14" Mahogany Resonator (beautiful gloss finish with faux ivory trim and circular inlay, removes easily with 4 screws)
Inlay Pattern: Abalone Heart Pattern Inlay (nice)
Fretboard: Rosewood (could probably use some oil)
Bridge Wood: Rosewood Tipped Maple Bridge (adequate, but will probably replace)
Frets: 22 Nickel Silver
Head: Frosted Remo
Hardware: Nickel (nice shine, engraved armrest)
simple tailpiece, but not cheap quality
No flaws that I can see. Good quality, doesn't have the feel of a cheap banjo.
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Appearance Rating |
9 |
Reliability
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Plastic tuner pegs look like plastic tuner pegs, but planetary tuners work well. I think this is a dependable banjo and will last a while. I wanted a little more than a Goodtime or Gold Tone Cripple Creek, but didn't want to spend a whole lot more and this was one of the few in the $350-400 price range that looked worthwhile and had good reviews. I haven't had it long, but will give it a good score for dependability and modify it later if need be. |
Reliability Rating |
8 |
Customer Service
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Have not dealt with them, but ordered late Thursday night and it arrived the next Thursday during the day. Ross at banjoteacher.com is good to deal with. |
Customer Service |
9 |
Components
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Nice looking overall. They need to work on the look of the pegs and the tailpiece, but you also have to consider the price. The pegboard is outstanding and really adds to the quality look. Someone mentioned that they thought that MM might use a sticker on some, but I don't think so. It has a high gloss finish over a beautiful design that really catches the light in a colorful way.
One negative has come up since I wrote this review, The strap hook that should be just to the left of the neck is not there! The one below the tailpiece is though. Am waiting to see what Ross at banjoteacher.com has to say about getting the piece and will update later.
OK, he got back with me. Don't need the piece for the strap, will just use the hooks.
Also, I bought a Fullts 1934 tailpiece, cost about 1/4 the price of the banjo. It doesn't fit. Be careful if you buy any replacement parts. They were nice enough to give me a refund and it was the banjo's fault, not theirs. |
Components Rating |
8 |
Overall Comments
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I recommend this banjo for someone looking for something better than a basic beginner model. It would do well in any jam or band.
If it were stolen I would buy something even higher quality as I plan to stay with the banjo, but would definitely regret losing this one.
I really like it for the price. It's very easy to play,even with a fairly high action and light strings.
I would have asked about the setup before buying it.
I have only played a couple of other banjos in shops, but this one sounds pretty good for the price. Overall, definitely worth the price. |
Overall Rating |
9 |
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