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The banjo reviews database is here to help educate people before they purchase an instrument. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself!
7232 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Turtle Hill Banjo
Year Purchased: 2012
Price Paid: Don't Remember (bought USED)
historic exchange rates / currency converter
This Golden Cross has the archtop ring, but it has alot of possibilities with the set-up. When I got it it was set-up to sound very balanced with great power across all the strings, with a little more pop off the first string pull-offs than my flathead. I now have it set up to unapologetically peel paint off the walls!
Sound Rating: 10
Banjo sounded fantastic if it was my only banjo. I have another banjo will a very balanced tone, so I wanted to take full advantage of the archtop ring with this set-up. Changing from a heavy maple bridge back to the Stelling bridge made a big improvement. Replacing the Stelling with a Kat-Eyz Spice Floor bridge got me where I want to be and then some!
Setup Rating: 10
Outstand figure in the wood of the neck and resonator. This is my first gold plated banjo and i'm digging it. I really like the rope binding too ... probably better than the abolone on my Staghorn.
Appearance Rating: 10
Stelling quality. Will last my lifetime and then some.
Reliability Rating: 10
Geoff and Sherri have always answered my emails. Thank you!
Customer Service: 10
The Stelling archtop ring is outstanding.
Components Rating: 10
I was a little surprized how much you can get a maple archtop Stelling to sound like a walnut flathead Stelling.Alot of flexibility in the set-up of these banjos.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Ebay
Year Purchased: 2009
Price Paid: Don't Remember (bought USED)
historic exchange rates / currency converter
This is my go-to banjo and the one I judge others sound by. Hard to put in to words though. Sharp Stelling sound. Good balance across the strings. Crazy amount of power when you want it.
Sound Rating: 10
The Staghorn came with an old Snuffy Smith bridge that it sounds great with. It also came with Keith D-tuners - these are the first Keith's I've had and they are fantastic. I had originally planned on taking the banjo apart when it came to give it a good cleaning, but it sounds so good I figured I better just leave it together as is.
Setup Rating: 10
I like the Staghorn inlays. Walunt resonator is more figured than alot of the walnut Stellings you see.
Appearance Rating: 10
Haven't had a bit of trouble with any Stelling
Reliability Rating: 10
Geoff and Sherri always email me back when I have questions.
Customer Service: 10
This has the Stew-Mac 3 ply rim. At one time I owned a Stelling with a Pass rim. I dont know that the rim is the reason, but I never warmed up to that banjo like I did this one.
Components Rating: 10
Outstanding banjo. Hard to go wrong with Stelling
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Bishline Banjos
Year Purchased: 2010
Price Paid: Don't Remember
historic exchange rates / currency converter
This banjo has amazing tone. It's very bright (almost archtop like) and sounds great all the way up the neck. It has great power on the 3rd and 4th strings and does not sound thin at all. Huge overall volume and will keep up with the Stellings i've owned.
Sound Rating: 10
I had told Rob to set it up like the Midnight Moon he plays on the video on his website. He gets great volume and tone out of the banjo with the action set fairly low so it's super easy to play. I plan to keep it exactly like it is.
Setup Rating: 10
This banjo is exactly what I wanted and even more than I hoped for. I asked for highly flamed maple finished blonde. When Bishline emailed me photos of the finished resonator I almost fell over, more beautiful than I could've imagined! I also asked for an ebony fretboard with diamond shaped inlays like the Deering Deluxe or Stelling Whitestar and that was no problem to get done. The real special thing about this banjo is the headstock. I raise donkeys and mules and asked if they could do an inlay of my jack on the peghead. I sent Rob a couple pictures and they did an amazing job on the inlay!
Appearance Rating: 10
I've been playing it daily for six months and it looks the exact same as the day it arrived. I'm confident it will last the test of time. It came in a Guardian fiberglass case which will help protect it when not being played.
Reliability Rating: 10
Customer service is very important to me and one of the major reasons I went with Bishline for this banjo was thier incredible service. The guys at Bishline were amazing. Emails were answered very promptly. Calls were always answered. They emailed pictures of thier progress on the banjo throughout the process. It was very cool to follow each step along the way.
Customer Service: 10
Rob let me fully customize how I wanted this banjo bulit. I chose his block rim and his tone ring, based on clips I'd heard of him playing a midnight moon. I am very happy with the fit and finish on everything.
Components Rating: 10
I waited 6 months after I got this banjo to write the review. I'm just as happy with it today as I was the day it arrived. It is exactly what I wanted in a banjo and it will surely be passed down when i'm gone. I would highly recommend talking with Rob if you're even thinking about having a custom banjo made. He is very easy to work with and will strive to build you the exact banjo you want. All at a price very favorable to other builders stock banjos. Thanks Rob!
8/4/20 - just wanted to give a 10 year update on this banjo. It has done nothing but get better over the last decade. The sound is incredible and I've yet to find a better playing neck. Thanks again Rob!
Overall Rating: 10
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