Dave Jakubiak submitted 10/18/2007 Submitter onlinemike Overall Comments Amazing teacher with amazing talents. Great patience and a superior game plan. He has all of his own materials they are nicely organized on DVDs for you to take home and print out. He has really gone out of his way for me. Before I even took one class with him he placed countless calls to get pricing for banjos for me and answer every question I had. He is top notch, so if you are in the Jupiter Florida area I would give him a shout for a fact. His phone number is 561-309-8616. His BHO link is http://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/home.asp?id=7016 Overall Rating 10

Auto Tuners Korg AW-1 submitted 10/18/2007 Submitter onlinemike Where Purchased Sam Ash Music Overall Comments This tuner is real nice in terms of size and weight. It is small enough it fits easily into my case. It comes in its own plastic case which houses the piezo mics. One for stringed instruments and one for wind. It can tune at any frequency but defaults at 440. It hits (picks up vibration) way faster than the Intellitouch tuner. The caveat is that the tuner gauge is tough to determine if it is perfect or not. Where the Intellitouch leaves no doubt. Overall Rating 8

Finger Picks Sammy Shelor Stainless Steel submitted 10/5/2007 Submitter onlinemike Where Purchased Janet Davis Overall Comments Ok these are extremely comfortable. Tone is good, but I do notice some additional string noise from these that I was not aware of with the nickel plated nationals I have. I had them on for 2 hrs straight. No finger tip soreness or tenderness, but yet they never felt like they were slipping because they were lose. The is no burring or sharp edges to them. The finish is great (I would hope it to be for $30+ bucks a set). Overall they are pretty nice and I'll keep them as my main set, but a little pricey. Overall Rating 9

Gold Tone Orange Blossom OB-250 submitted 10/4/2007 Submitter onlinemike Where Purchased BHOM Year Purchased 2007 Price Paid 650 ($US) (bought USED) Sound The banjo is full and loud. It sounds amazing for the price. The tone ring shines in this model. I'm a noob to the banjo but to me it sounds great. Sound Rating 10 Setup The banjo came set-up from the BanjoHangout Member I bought it from. I have had it a week now and I'm going to change the strings. Other than that I can think of nothing. Setup Rating 10 Appearance I is a pretty Banjo for sure. For a rig under a grand, she looks great. Nice finish, parts seem solid. I spotted a few burs on the tailpiece but it is casted. Appearance Rating 9 Reliability It is a solid ride. I expect it to last a very long time. Reliability Rating 9 Customer Service Gold Tone was amazing. I noticed one of the resonator screws was missing on arrival. I called Gold Tone they shipped one right out and for free. Then I decided I wanted to get capo spikes. I called Gold Tone again, said if I was to drive to them could they install them while I waited. They said no problem tell them the day I wanted to drive up and they would make sure the fella who does that would be there for me. Phenomenal! Customer Service 10 Components Nothing I can think of or notice at this time. Components Rating 10 Overall Comments I love this banjo. It plays sweet and didn't cost me a new mortgage to buy. I would definitely get anther if it was stolen. All I need to do is get a instrumet polish kit so I can keep her shiny! Overall Rating 10