Framus N/A Review
Framus N/A
submitted 3/25/2008
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Submitter |
Hedge Hog (see all reviews from this person) |
Where Purchased |
Canton New York (college town) |
Year Purchased |
1980 |
Price Paid |
135 + trade ($US) (bought USED) |
Sound
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I purchased this banjo to learn on, loved it from the first time I saw it, money was hard to find, but I never regretted it a bit. This is a arch top resonator 5 string with little in the way of inlays or fancy stuff in the Rose wood fret board, there is a very ornate rolled engraving on the res. flange and arm rest, the chrome is very bright, but after 30+ years its pealing a bit.
The sound always was big and bright, but with the addition of a Remo bluegrass head the old girl barks. However as others have said, the 4th string is a bit weak.
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Sound Rating |
not rated |
Setup
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I've been told that there is no banjo in the world that is easier to set up than the Framus, no muss no fuss, a simple screw adjusts the neck, you can't do that on any other banjo, head tension is done from the top, the extremely sturdy tail piece is easy to manage. |
Setup Rating |
not rated |
Appearance
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Well this is a tough one. This is a German banjo after all and they have a much different spin on what's attractive, at least when compared to a North American made banjo. However this banjo looks much different from when it started out, sort of Americanized. The original color was very bland on the neck, the back is a nice mahogany (sp) with a single white strip. The frets are nice and wide and the fret board is Rose wood. The tuning head was rectangular and the tuners were garbage.
I did quite a bit of work on her. The tuning head was re-cut to a nice fiddle head design, the top and bottom surfaces were laminated with Rose Wood, the tuning pegs were replaced with Gold Tone tuners, the whole banjo was refinished to a much darker color, I replaced the resonator binding with two slightly wider bands one on top, one on the bottom . I have always loved the old girl, after the mods I really love her. ..... if her neck were only a bit wider....
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Appearance Rating |
not rated |
Reliability
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Absolutely reliable. the laminated neck is not beautiful, but it is strong and straight and will never break. The tuners could be better though and are easily replaced. This banjo has always been completely reliable. |
Reliability Rating |
not rated |
Customer Service
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Framus has been out of the banjo business for quite a few years ... decades now. But in their time I bet with German workmanship being what it was, they were great ....... |
Customer Service |
not rated |
Components
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All are solid and robust .... except for the tuners, even those served the banjo well for many decades. |
Components Rating |
not rated |
Overall Comments
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The Framus banjo is old, it's funky, it's solid as a rock. They are undervalued in the used market and play far better than similarly price banjos. If you are looking for a decent inexpensive used banjo with some out of the ordinary personality definitely look at a Framus you get a lot of playing for your money. |
Overall Rating |
8 |
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