Stealth: Custom

Submitted by Thor on 6/16/2004

Where Purchased: From Scott

Year Purchased: 2004
Price Paid: 3800+ ($US)

Sound

Fabulous sound!
It sounds great for everything from traditional --> new/jazzgrass.
I'm using an ART Tube MP preamp and a Shure PG-58 mic for recording to hard disk. Sounds great.

Rich/Full sound? Yes.
Loud? Yes.
Bright sound? Yes.

Even though the bridge is closer to the center of the head than on a traditional banjo, I'm amazed at the range of sounds that can be be acheived by going from x-position to y-position. Just listen to Scott's playing.

Variety? In spades.

Likes? The sound
Dislikes? Having to stop playing it to go to sleep at night.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

Scott's guages were a little too "slinky" for my tastes: .011-.012-.013-.022-.011
I played them for about a week and a half, and put a set of D'Addario J61 mediums on it. I'm happy with the mediums.
I asked for 3/32" action at the twelfth fret. That's what I got.
The tailpiece bracket was a little bit crooked... easily fixed.
The 2" string spacing of the 3/4" high Stealth bridge, and the radiused fretboard were a new experience for me. I was used to this after the first day of playing, and playability is superb.

The Stealth bridge that came on it seemed to have been slotted for a Presto style tailpiece, which was causing some problems with the Price tailpiece's wider spacing. I mentioned this to Scott, and he's sending me a replacement.

Getting used to the unorthodox way that the strings wrap around the tuning pegs has been interesting.

Setup Rating: 8

Appearance

I really like the looks of this banjo.
It's a walnut banjo with black translucent stain. (You can see the grain through it)
I also got triple black chrome plating on all the metal parts-- including the Price tailpiece that I requested. I really didn't expect the tone ring and coordinator rods to be black chrome--- but they are. Cool!
I DID expect the rim to be finished like the neck/resonator (perhaps black walnut stain and gloss finish)--- instead, it is flat black. (Which isn't a huge deal, 'cause only about 1/4" of the rim is visible unless you take the resonator off, or use a clear head.)
I did not expect the top edge of the resonator to be unbound. It really should be in my opinion.
The black head, and ebony fretboard, and black bridge add to the Stealthy goodness.

A couple of very slight finish flaws on the resonator (in the lacquer).
The black plating on the undersides of the resonator brackets was flaking off.

I honestly can't take off too many points for anything that I've listed here.
Overall, I think it's a great looking instrument.

Appearance Rating: 9

Reliability

All top-notch hardware.
All visible black chrome plating looks flawless.

I don't like the resonator mounting brackets (they are the style that attach to the rim with 2 screws each). They just don't make sense to me. I'd rather have seen the flange-mounted style, and I told Scott this.
I can't take points off for this, because they are easy to replace.

If it ever starts to fall apart, I'll be sure to let you know.

Reliability Rating: 9

Customer Service

Scott was a pleasure to deal with.
Great guy, great communication throughout the order/build/delivery process.

Delivery took slightly longer than estimated (13 weeks total)

I believe the Stealth comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty

Customer Service: 10

Components

Kulesh-McPeake tone ring
Cox 3-Ply rim
Price tailpiece
Gotoh 16:1 mini guitar tuning machines. -- Whew! They should include a string-winder with the Stealth. =)
I miss my Keith tuners. =(

TKL Pro series archtop case.

See "Reliability" section above for comments on the resonator brackets.

Components Rating: 9

Overall Comments

I would recommend a Stealth without hesitation.
If it was stolen, I'd get another just like it.
I love it. Fave feature: Soundplayabilitylooks.
Before buying, I asked everything that I could possibly think of. I don't think I missed anything.

I don't have any experience playing any "Professional-level" banjos. This is my third banjo: Crappy Harmony to start with, intermediate Korean Masterclone for almost 20 years, now the Stealth. No comparison.

Although I can't predict the future, I expect that this Stealth will be my "axe for life".

Before buying the Stealth, I had never seen or played one. My only experience was from Scott's playing and from pictures. I knew several years ago that this was the banjo for me. I was right.

Please note: This review is totally biased. You should not base your buying decisions solely on a review by some stranger on a web site.

Overall Rating: 10