Crafters of Tennessee Limited Edition Classic Curly Maple Reviews

Crafters of Tennessee Limited Edition Classic Curly Maple submitted 3/25/2007 Submitter BanjoJim1 (see all reviews from this person) Where Purchased EC Miller (from the factory) Year Purchased 2007 Price Paid 3200 ($US) Sound This baby is a MONSTER! I had to Work with the set up for a while and I'm still dialing it in. But she truly rocks! I pick Scruggs style and it has excellent note separation, good sustain and good low end. Sound Rating 10 Setup Like I said, I had to work with the setup some, but I had to do very little else. I adjusted my tail piece (put a Fults 1934 replica Presto on it). Adjusted the action SLIGHTLY and relieved the head tension about 1/4 turn and it came right in. Setup Rating 9 Appearance This is a GORGEOUS banjo!!! The inlay is amazing. Abalone and MOP combination that you just don't see on every banjo. And they used excellent wood selection for outstanding results. The finish is to die for!! TRuly flawless!! Appearance Rating 10 Reliability Built as good as anything I've picked up 20 years of pickin'! The finish is still TBD because it's so new. But on the front end it appears to be good enough to last for a VERY long time! Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service Now we come to the bad part. This is a limited edition model. I ordered it 3 months ago and I'm still waiting on the limited edition truss rod cover and engraved arm rest. The banjo was NOT delivered when they said it would be. It took them 4 weeks longer to get it to me than when they promised. I've been told you have to stay on them. Appears to be true. Customer Service 4 Components ALL of the components seem to be high end. The tone ring is as strong as any I've ever heard. The Tennessee 20 is a real beast! Looks like the rest of the components are Gibson compatible or actual Gibson stock. I've not found any better (except for the tailpeice, and maybe the rim, an old growth rim might help some). Components Rating 9 Overall Comments I love this banjo!!!! I would recommend this to ANYONE!! It's good enough to play at ANY venue! Excellent price and tremendous quaility. Customer service seems to be the only flaw on this brand. If you're patient enough you'll get one of the finest quality banjos available. The Curly Maple model is much stronger than the Mahogany. YOU WILL NOT GO WRONG with one of these bad boys!!! I had a 1990 RB-4 that did not sound this good! If this banjo was stolen, I would hunt the culprit down and make him eat grits the rest of his natural life. Or I'd get another one! Overall Rating 9