Brooks Masten Custom Tubaphone Reviews

Brooks Masten Custom Tubaphone submitted 5/24/2007 Submitter Arcadian (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased maker Year Purchased 2007 Price Paid Don't Remember historic exchange rates / currency converter Sound Good volume.This banjo projects well and has a distinctive voice that's very pleasant. I attribute much of that to the tubaphone tone ring. The intonation is spot-on. Sound Rating 9 Setup 11 inch Cox Black Walnut rim and 25 + inch scale. Brooks did a fine job of setting it up but I did a lot of experimenting with bridges and strings. Presently it has a Renaissance Head, medium weight DR strings, heavy weight Moon bridge, and Price tail piece. The action is low, and extremely comfortable to play. Setup Rating 10 Appearance All Black Walnut with brass hardware--except for the tuners. Nice figure in the neck, and a fine piece of burl for the peghead veneer. I don't dislike MOP, I just like it better on somebody else's banjo, so the only inlays are simple round dots in the fingerboard. The rim is capped with ebony, and the tuner buttons are ebony. This is the first black walnut banjo I've owned and I like it. It is warm both to the touch and the eye. The satin finish lets the hand slide down the neck without resistance. Appearance Rating 10 Reliability heirloom prospects. Reliability Rating not rated Customer Service Can't say enough about Brooks. He was a pleasure to work with and busted his butt to get it right. Customer Service 10 Components Ren Head, Price tail piece, DR strings, Gotoh tuners with ebony buttons. It all looks and works together extremely well. Components Rating 10 Overall Comments A handsome, well-made, and great-sounding banjo at a good price. For me, the shorter scale and tubaphone tone ring were excellent choices. Without doubt, Black Walnut will be my first choice for the next purchase. Overall Rating 10