Overall Comments

I bought two of Tony Pass' Thinskirt rims, one for my bluegrass banjo (with JLS #12 tone ring), and the other a Thinskirt "Woodie" for my openback banjo. (The Woodie has the tone ring as an integral part of the rim, roughly similar to the original Deering Goodtime.) I cannot speak too highly of these rims. They made a remarkable improvement in tone and volume to both instruments.
When my openback instrument was set up with a Goldtone Whyte Laydye tone ring and 3/4" thick multi-ply rim (from a Gold Tone custom kit), it sounded kind of mediocre to my demanding ears. The rim & ring was replaced with Tony's rim. The volume increase was remarkable. A man in our house church heard the previous set-up, and with the new rim, he commented "Boy that thing is LOUD!" The tone quality increase is as remarkable as the volume is. This is - in my opinion - now the gold standard for open back banjo sound.
My bluegrass banjo was originally made from a Gold Tone OB250+ kit, which utilized a "professional" three-ply maple rim. As stated, after upgrading to the Thinskirt, I appreciate the superior quality of machining, tone, and volume that the Tony Pass gives me. Also of note is that, previously, my Fults BlueRidge Parallel tailpiece was kind of muddy sounding when my strings aged only a few weeks. With the Tony Pass rim, the Fults BlueRidge really comes into its own, and gives a quality, deep tone with good volume.
The rim apparently gives its bass tone enhancement out the back of the instrument, where the rim obviously is. I ended up removing the resonator off my bluegrass instrument to get all this glorious tone. If I perform publicly, I can reinstall it, to project the sound out.
Tony's Thinskirt rims are like comparing a Stradivarius violin to a commonly-available high quality violin. The Stradivarius is noted for power and tone, and very possibly utilized submerged wood, as Tony Pass does.
To obtain ideal tone, my set-up is:
Remo WeatherKing heads, tuned to 88 (Drumdial tuner) with the JLS #12 tone ring, and 89 on the Thinskirt Woodie. As a rule of thumb, JLS rings take a loose head, and Woodie rims take a tight head, for ideal sound.
Tailpieces: Openback: Fults 1934 Parallel; Bluegrass: Fults BlueRidge Parallel (custom order).
Strings make a huge difference in set-up; I use only Gibson Earl Scruggs strings. Currently I am using light gauge, although I will try out the medium gauge strings. Incidentally, my common practice with both banjo and guitar is to have my strings detuned one fret (the G string is tuned F sharp.) This practice gives me more sweetness and resonance to the sound of the instrument. Both banjos are loud, even though detuned in this way.
In closing, I recommend the Tony Pass Thinskirt very highly. For me, the difference was immediate. Tony says that many folks have a delayed effect ("bam effect") in which the boost in tone doesn't come until after playing for a period of time. For me, it was immediate.
I hope this helps in your selection of a rim. Tony Pass is the best.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Yesterday I submitted a review in which I mentioned a 4th string buzz caused by the Shubb 5th string capo. Later, I discovered that the capo had a loose screw on the bar that attaches it to the instrument.It appears to be OK now that the screw is tightened. It is actually a good capo; just be sure to have snug attaching screws.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

The latest creation from Bob Fults! When I custom-ordered it a month ago, reviews were not yet back from his team of banjo testers. It is basically a BlueRidge tailpiece in a parallel design, giving the benefit of all strings being at the same height. Like the original BlueRidge, it allows the use of tone pins and kicker pins (explanation on his site, www.banjotailpiece.com).
I purchased his following models:1933 (bright sound; apparent predecessor to the 1934); 1934 Parallel; and the BlueRidge Parallel with optional lead and silver (special order) tone pins. I tried the BlueRidge on my open-back banjo, and it cut out some tone. When I put it on my Goldtone kit OB250+ bluegrass banjo, it improved the tone, taking out the sharp annoying tones I otherwise had. (Incidentally, the 1933 became my choice for my open-back instrument...great tone).
The result? I highly recommend the BlueRidge Parallel, with the tone pins I selected. Tone pins contact the tension hoop of the banjo, and alter the tone according to the material they are made of. The silver tone pin gives a clarity to the tone, which I like. The lead pin deepens the tone, for a more mellow, sweeter sound. A brass “kicker pin” came with the tailpiece, and is basically a tone pin that is short and doesn’t make contact with the tension hoop. Without these devices, the tailpiece gives a lot of sustain, with very good tone. With the kicker pin, the tone is a bit more focused, with less sustain. This flexibility of tone control is of significant benefit. It is because of the option of these pins that I prefer this tailpiece over the Fults 1934 Parallel.
Incidentally, other tailpieces I have tried on my bluegrass banjo are the Goldtone Straightline and the Kersner. It is my opinion that the Fults BlueRidge Parallel (and 1934 Parallel) are vastly superior.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

This device is not a gimmick. I recommend it without reservation. For the small cost, it improved the tone a noticeable amount.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mike Smith’s Katzeye Pegged Top banjo bridge. For my Goldtone kit OB250+ bluegrass banjo, I got the 5/8” old maple wood, with medium width, ebony top. This bridge gives better tone than all others I have tried (Snuffy Smith compensated; Sosebee; Sampson walnut old wood). The Snuffy Smith may have been a bit louder, but the tone was noticeably improved with the Katzeye. For my open-back banjo, I am using the 11/16”, old maple wood, wide width, snakewood top. This beat out the Sampson Walnut old wood bridge for tone, although the Sampson did have some good “old timey” sound to it.
I believe that these pegged-top bridges give the best tone of any bridges in current production, and I recommend them without reservation. Save money and go directly for it, instead of buying a bunch of other bridges first.

Overall Rating

10

Sound

With the parts that came with this kit, the instrument was only so-so on sound quality. It had an annoying brightness (I ordered it with the same Sosebee bridge that comes with the ready-made OB250+; that bridge is thin and does not contribute to a Gibson Mastertone" sound). After replacing a number of parts, the sound quality was exceptional. See the "components" section of this review for the parts I swapped out.

Sound Rating

9

Appearance

The maple wood is nice. I finished it with alcohol-based stain obtained locally, with the finish being Tru-Oil Gunstock finish from Walmart. This was recommended by Kimerer on his excellent Goldtone assembly website, www.thekimerers.com; (Google search will possibly find it easier.)

Appearance Rating

7

Customer Service

Goldtone said the gap in the seating of the tone ring on the head would make no difference in the final sound. This is contrary to Steve Huber's policy of tone ring mating to the rim at all points around the top of the rim. (I shimmed the head to give proper mating surface to the tone ring.)
As to the mis-cut heel on the banjo neck, Goldtone offered to re-cut it, but didn't offer to pay for the shipping to do so. I did the work myself, by hand.

Customer Service

5

Overall Comments

The Goldtone Deluxe case I ordered with this instrument is a great case, except that I had to make a rod to hold the top open! The top of the case will not stay open on its own.
This OB250+ banjo kit was not a bad deal... and the banjo has good sound... but if I had it to do over again, I think I would buy a pot assembly (high quality tone ring, precision mated to a Tony Pass rim) from Janet Davis Music, buy an OB250 Goldtone neck, and assemble this myself. That would give me the "guaranteed best" tone, for only a few hundred dollars more.
One advantage of building this kit is that it taught me how to be a banjo luthier. I would not have that skill today if it were not for my building a kit banjo. However, I do not recommend a banjo kit for anyone who is not mechanically minded. This thing does not just bolt together; the frets have to be installed by hand; the holes in the neck for the lag bolts have to be drilled with precision.
I spent 40 hours in construction, and another number of hours and expense in replacing parts, as I searched for that ideal sound.

Overall Rating

7

Overall Comments

This is a great capo, but I just discovered that the abnormal sound I thought was a loose tension rod in the neck turned out to be the Shubb 5th string capo! It rattles when the 4th string is played on the banjo. Still, I like it, and I will put some device on it to keep it from rattling.

Overall Rating

7