Gold Tone: BG-Mini

Submitted by Mark Stonecipher on 11/25/2007

Where Purchased: Ciderville Music

Year Purchased: 2007
Price Paid: Don't Remember historic exchange rates / currency converter

Sound

Pretty good for a little 8 inch head. I was really surprised by the tone, not a lot of low end but with a tone chamber that small I would expect that. Comparing it to a regular banjo isnt really fair.

Sound Rating: 7

Setup

action was about where I would like to see it, head was a little loose, not bad though. The place where I got it doesnt really do any setup on anything,

Setup Rating: 5

Appearance

Great wood, really nice dark color. the finish is good, binding looks great too.

Appearance Rating: 9

Reliability

seems to be well built, I doubt that I will be wearing it out anytime soon. I would think that it would even stand up to a child playing it as long as they take care of it.

Reliability Rating: 7

Customer Service

It does have a warranty and have never dealt with the folks at Gold Tone

Customer Service: 5

Components

The tuners are very touchy, better tuners would be welcome.
I was glad to find out it does have a tone ring. even a rolled brass tone ring is better than nothing for a bluegrass type banjo.

Components Rating: 9

Overall Comments

Having never played a banjo this size I cant really compare it and comparing to a regular bano isnt fair. I would recommend this banjo to anyone that travels much, it is small, the TKL hard shell case would easily fit in an overhead compartment on an airplane as carry on.
For being as small as it is it still sounds like a banjo, it might not ring like a regular sized one but I would not expect that from it. This banjo is not a toy banjo, it looks, feels and plays like a regular banjo. I have a 5 year old daughter that keeps bugging be to teach her but a regular banjo weighs more than she does. The BG-Mini is lightweight but built solid and balanced pretty well, the neck does want to rotate downward a little but much. I would use this banjo on stage for some tunes that require a different sound.

Overall Rating: 9