Drum Dial Drum Dial submitted 5/11/2008 Submitter davey (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Talkin' Headz ( UK ) Overall Comments I recently used a Drum Dial to set the tension on my RB12 to 89 across the head. My banjo sounded very good before... it sounds even better now. Not cheap, but if you desire the BEST from your Banjo... get one ! Overall Rating 10

Stage Mate banjo stand submitted 4/25/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased :Manufacturer's website Overall Comments ...this is an excellent stand, strong yet light and also small; very portable...also very stable and solid; also, you can't beat the price... Overall Rating 10

Banjo stands Sosebee Banjo Stand submitted 4/15/2008 Submitter eagleisland (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased banjo.com Overall Comments I'm of the belief that a banjo should either be in its case or (preferably) in your lap - and generally, that's where mine is. But there are times when this isn't practical, and gigging is one of those times. With that in mind, I did some research for the sturdiest, safest banjo stand available. That appeared to be the Sosebee, so I ordered one. Unlike most stands, which are metal and collapsible, the Sosebee is more or less a sturdy wooden box about 6" high, 18" wide and 8" deep. The top is cut out to accept the shape of a resonator banjo. Inside the box is an adjustable pad, by which you can shape the angle with which the instrument sits. It serves its purpose very well. These things aren't cheap - a little over $100 ordered through banjo.com (plus shipping). Frankly, at that price I was rather disappointed by the fit and finish of the device. It's not exactly fine furniture, and it's obvious that they're assembled quickly, with little regard for appearance. The '8' rating is a combo. Functionality is a 10. Finish work, at this price, should be much better - I'd charitably give that a 6. Overall Rating 8

Pegheds Banjo version submitted 4/12/2008 Submitter dimndawg (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased from maker - pegheds.com Overall Comments I had Tim Smith (savethebanjos.com) switch out the old friction tuners on an old SS Stewart banjeaurine. I wanted to use steel strings vs. nylgut. The old tuners really weren't made for steel strings and they "slipped". These "pegheds" have internal gears. They work very smoothly and actually "hold" the tuning much better than the old tuners. Also, they look very "authentic" for the period. My pegheds are black (vs brown as shown on pegheds site). Overall Rating 8

Finger Picks Perfect Touch submitted 4/12/2008 Submitter The Josh (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Given to me Overall Comments These are incredibly comfortable they stick to your fingers without any slipping BUT the middle pick does put some pressure on the skin on the side of the nail maybe thats just me but apart from that they are great. Overall Rating 8

Zoom Hard Disk Recorder H-2 submitted 4/12/2008 Submitter The Josh (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Solid state sound (I think) Overall Comments This is a great recorder it is really light and surprisingly small, it looks a little like an old microphone but the quality of recording is very much up to date. It is incredibly easy to use and it comes with everything you need. The only thing is is you will need SD cards it will go up to a 4GB HCSD card which will offer 64 hours or so of recording, the batteries run down reasonably quickly too but I found this isnt such a big problem. Overall Rating 10

Price Fiberglass Banjo case submitted 3/29/2008 Submitter Banjocoltrane (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased banjo.com Overall Comments I have had this case for two months now. I like the looks of it better than any case on the market...leaves people guessing what instrument is in it. The thing is build solid as a rock. Having the ability to open up the compartments without taking the banjo out is a major plus. It IS heavy, but one can't expect something made like this to weigh 2 pounds. I highly recommend it Overall Rating 9

Bart Veerman Bridge straight bridge submitted 3/28/2008 Submitter Richard Dress (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Bart Veerman Overall Comments Having tried several kinds of regular bridges, I chose the Veerman bridge for both my banjos. The volume, clarity, and tone were superior. Overall Rating 10

Shubb Sliding 5th-String Capo submitted 3/28/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased www.shubb.com Overall Comments I was leery of having even little screw holes drilled into the neck of my banjo, but I bit the bullet and had it done because I wanted to give this capo a try. A professional luthier did the installation. I'm really quite happy with the result. This capo operates on a different principle than spikes and you can adjust the pressure downward on the string so it doesn't go as easily out of tune as sometimes happens with spikes. Keep an open mind! Overall Rating 10

Thumb Pick Showcase Torti-PIck submitted 3/26/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Bill Stokes / Showcase Overall Comments Bill makes these himself using water buffalo horn bonded to pearloid plastic. Expensive but worth every penny of the $16.95 price. Very strong, but not too rigid, and very comfortable, plus they have gotta last for many, many years. Contact Bill by email: bill@billstokesshowcase.com. At the very least, the perfect gift item. Overall Rating 10

Half-moon bridges by Randy Stockwell submitted 3/21/2008 Submitter Richard Dress (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Randy Stockwell Overall Comments I've used the Stockwell Moon Bridge for decades with great success both on my archtop and on my flat-top to cure intonation problems. They are the best compensated bridge on the market. But a weird thing happened: I recently tried Black Diamond strings and had to go back to a straight bridge on both my banjos. Can anyone explain that? Overall Rating 10

Vintage Z Bridge Elite 5/8ths Standard spacing submitted 3/19/2008 Submitter banjoken (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Directly from Scott Zimmerman Overall Comments I bought a Vintage Z Bridge from Scott and I received it over the past weekend. I wanted a bridge to do a specific thing for my banjo and I contacted Scott to tell him what I wanted. He said he knew what I needed and I placed an order. I have had quite a few bridges on the banjo and I have to say this is by far the best one I have used. It did everything that I wanted it to. It really balanced the tone of each individual note and it evened up the volume up the whole neck. In addition to the great sound the bridge looks amazing. Attention to detail is all there. Extremely smooth everywhere, beautiful wood, the best string slots I have seen on any bridge, etc. If he makes this bridge look and sound like it does I can imagine how his banjos look! I fully recommend his bridges and he was a pleasure to deal with. I am going to order a few more for my other banjos. Ken Overall Rating 10

Huber Capo Huber Capo submitted 3/17/2008 Submitter eagleisland (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Direct from Huber Overall Comments Could a capo possibly be worth $135? Because once you add in a couple of extra sleeves shipping and handling, that's about what these puppies cost. Beats me as to why. From a design standpoint, these are very similar to the Paige, which is available at roughly 20% of the price. There are some subtle mechanical differences, but the upshot is that they both work the same way: a U-shaped fitting that surrounds the neck, a padded bar across the fingerboard, a fitting that goes against the back of the neck, and a knurled thumbscrew to tension that fitting. The truly key differences lie in the sleeve material on the fingerboard bar - it's considerably softer than that on the Paige - and the way the fitting is padded - with a thin strip of leather. All that said, the Huber capo is beautifully made and performs flawlessly. I had some intonation problems with the Paige; I find myself retuning much less with the Huber. I also found that the sleeve on the Paige tends to wear out a lot faster than the Huber (you can order more sleeves from Huber - but you can also get the same material a lot cheaper at large hardware stores). This last puts me to the ponder. I would assume that the tubing used on the Huber is also a stock type of tubing, although I don't know what that might be. Still, one wonders if a Paige with the same tubing Huber uses might be just as effective and save one more than a hundred bucks. It is for this reason I gave the capo an 8 rather than a 10 - because the Huber DOES in fact perform perfectly. BTW - I ordered the capo by phone, and Steve himself answered the phone. He radiused the capo for me and shipped it promptly. It was a very pleasant buying experience. Overall Rating 8

Price Price Straightline Tailpiece submitted 3/17/2008 Submitter dhoenisch (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Hatfield Music Overall Comments I purchased a gold Price Straightline tailpiece fr my Fender FB-59 banjo to replace the clamshell tailpiece my banjo came with since it rattled, and you needed three hands to change the strings. The Price is a nice, solid, heavy tailpiece which alligns itself with the notches on the bridge. I swear it gave me a little more volume to my banjo. Mainly though, I just love the ease of changing the strings. I was originally going to buy the Gold-Tone version of this tailpiece, but was deferred from them since I was told the metal was too thin. Anyhow, I do not regret the purchase of the real thing. Also, the gold plating is really thick on it. Overall Rating 10

Huber Capo Huber Capo submitted 3/17/2008 Submitter speedocoolguy (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Huber Banjos Overall Comments I purchased it when I went to pick up my Lexington. I love this capo, it seems as if it works the best of any I've ever tried. Overall Rating 10

Half-moon bridges by Randy Stockwell submitted 3/14/2008 Submitter LParker (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Janet Davis Music Company Overall Comments I was thinking of buying a new banjo because of the tunning problems. Then I tried a moon bridge by RandyStockwell. I have only had it a week and this new bridge has brought brought it back into tune again. Wow. I am a new convert. I would reccomend this bridge to anyone with tunning problems Overall Rating 10

Elliott Capos Elliott Push Button Banjo B Capo submitted 3/13/2008 Submitter pgboyd (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased elliottcapos.com Overall Comments This is a very nice capo - easy to use and beautiful craftsmanship. I paid $120 for the stainless steel which is a ton for a capo, but this thing is almost like a piece of jewelry. Overall Rating 10

Nechville Nechville Enterprise Bridge submitted 3/13/2008 Submitter bananaman1415 (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Wintergrass at the Nechville Booth Overall Comments This bridge completely transformed my banjo, it sounds really big now! Overall Rating 10

Auto Tuners MetroTune MT9000 submitted 3/9/2008 Submitter Do335Dave (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Fazio's Frets And Friends Overall Comments Combination tuner, metronome, and tone generator. It's a bit sensitive to background noise, so if you're going to be tuning up with a group of musicians you may be better off with the clip-on style that tunes by vibration. As a relative beginner most of my tuning is done solo so the MT9000 works well, and the LCD readout is very nice. The metronome feature is proving handy in developing technique. Overall Rating 9

banjomate armrest protector banjomate armrest protector submitted 3/6/2008 Submitter markdonc (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Little Mt. Music Perry Ohio Overall Comments If you have a pre war Gibson & would like the armrest to stay as nice as possible or if you have an allergic reaction to nickle plating than this product is for you Overall Rating 9

Intelli MT500 submitted 2/22/2008 Submitter ac5aa (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Janet Davis Overall Comments This little tuner is just barely adequate. It will get your tuning in the ballpark but you'll still need to do final tweaking by ear. Works better on a banjo and a mandolin than on a guitar - it has real trouble with low E. And the buttons rattle, so you won't want to leave it on the instrument while you play. Overall Rating 6

Price Fiberglass Banjo case submitted 2/21/2008 Submitter redspruce43 (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Chief Banjo Overall Comments Well made and beautiful, but with some fatal flaws. First, it weighs at least 10 pounds more than my Calton. Second, it does not balance properly at the handle -- it tips forward. Third, it apparently does not firmly hold the heaviest part of the banjo (the neck, rim, tone ring, etc.). My new Chief resonator was broken when I opened the case the first time -- broken at the neck end, suggesting that there was enough movement at the heel of the neck to drive the weight of the banjo through the resonator. I think this type of damage could also happen with a Calton, but I prefer the lighter weight and better balance of the Calton case. Overall Rating 5

Kateyz bridge Kateyz submitted 2/21/2008 Submitter Leigh (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Direct From Kateyz Overall Comments This bridge and particularly the height, (9/16") made my GF-85 explode with both great tone and fantastic action. On the plus side, Mike is a good guy to boot. Easy to deal with. Overall Rating 10

Fielding-Cutler Banjo Mute submitted 2/20/2008 Submitter Mr. Disco (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Bud Bennett of BHO Overall Comments I have a 0.5-inch bridge on my Iida. I was searching for a way to mute the banjo that would allow me to still enjoy good ringing musical sound while it's muted. Bud Bennett was great to deal with and the mute was what I was hoping for. He sent great pictures because I was a bit uncertain of how it would work with a shorter bridge. In fact, it was clear from the photos Mr. Bennett took of the mute on a 0.5-inch bridge that the screws would need to be swapped out for shorter screws or I would be in danger of denting or puncturing the head. I believe the Gold Tone mute would work perfectly on a 5/8-inch or taller bridge but on my short bridge the brass and velcro was always in contact with at least some of the strings and really made the muted banjo sound plunky or dead. By contrast the Fielding-Cutler mute sounds good and I want to continue to play. It also is more quiet than the Gold Tone on my banjo and that is important to my current situation. Note that my Fielding-Cutler mute does not have the name on it but Bud Bennett believes it to be a Fielding-Cutler. It certainly looks like one. Also, I modified it with shorter screws so that the screws were not pressing into the head thanks to the short bridge. A mute is critical to me so I wish I had a straight-line tail piece so that the mute could sit more securely without stressing one or more strings so close to the bridge when I'm trying to not mute it but keep it on. Also, for the price of the mute, Fielding-Cutler should save you a trip to the local hardware store to buy shorter screws if you're using a 0.5-inch bridge. They should include shorter screws. If it were up to me to improve this mute I'd sell it with shorter and longer screws so that the proper length could be selected with respect to bridge heights. Also, I'm now on a quest to mute the banjo just a bit more but still have it sound as good. Seems like it would be possible to add another piece of metal on top of the mute piece or make the mute weight twice as wide. I have seen mutes very similar to the Fielding-Cutler except for using nylon screws. -- Not certain if the threading of the metal would allow nicely for metal screws, I took a flyer on these other mutes. The metal on the mute is fairly heavy and I have it fairly tight. Also, I anticipate tightening and loosening the mute quite a bit. It's good the Fielding-Cutler uses metal screws. All that said, I should end with saying this is by far the best mute I've seen or heard and I cannot imagine there a better mute out there for quiet and good quality sound. Overall Rating 9

Reunion Blues Gig Bag Leather, Resonator Banjo Model submitted 2/20/2008 Submitter Woolpersteve (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased Janet Davis Music Co. Overall Comments I agree 100% with the previous review . I had seen the leather Reunion Blues bag and thought it would be handy to have , finally buying one from Janet last year.I was so surprised and impressed with the heft of this gig bag. Padding is so thick . I wanted it to use going into small venues or houses , since I seem to bang doors .Plus my hard case takes up a fair amount of room. I have only used my hard case once since owning this bag. I wouldnt stowe it on a plane but it a great quality product and very handy to have. JDMC ...always tops. Overall Rating 10