Armrests: Dr. Arm

Submitted by PKM on 4/3/2017

Where Purchased: OnLine from Manufacturer

Overall Comments

I just received my Banjolit, Dr.Arm Mini armrest, and am very pleased !!  It is a simple, elegant design that is easy to install in minutes. Beautifully crafted and very comfortable.  I prefer it over the original Mastertone style bracket which can rattle at times and is cold nickle.  The Dr. Arm mounts very solidly, and is lighter.                                                                                                                                                 I also have a Nechville on one of my other banjos, and have tried the Thinline. All are very good armrest and comfortable, but I prefer the minimalism of the Dr. Arm Mini.  The Thinline's design provides the option to be installed on all banjos regardless of bracket spacing, but if you have a Mastertone style banjo, the Dr.Arm is preferred over the additional brackets and somewhat convoluted attachments.  The Nechville is awesome and feels great, but I like the smaller footprint and less bulk of the Dr. Arm Mini.   I just ordered another one.                The only downside to the Dr. Arm is waiting 10 days because it comes from Slovakia.  Small price to pay IMHO.   

 

Overall Rating: 10

John Boulding

Submitted by PKM on 11/2/2016

Overall Comments

I sent my mahogany banjo neck to John to do a speed neck on. the price was more than reasonable, he was fast, thorough and just a wonderful guy to deal with.  I am particular about the esthetics of my banjo and did not like the looks of most of the speed neck I had seen. John assured me that he could feather into the finish, re-stain to match and it would look very nice.  The job he did was absolutely beautiful and the neck plays so much more smoothly and like butter.  I haven't stopped playing it since it arrived and I reassembled it this morning.  In the future, I will use John for any, and all of my banjo luthier work.     Thank you, John

 

 

Overall Rating: 10

Tailpieces: Price Straight line

Submitted by PKM on 10/5/2014

Where Purchased: Janet David

Overall Comments

The Price Straight line, ( not to be confused with the Gold Tone copy) is a heavy, very well made, adjustable tailpiece. One of the reasons I tried it on my 1993 Gibson RB-4, and then again on my Hatfield Custom Mahogany, to replace the Presto, was because it seemed less likely to break, was adjustable and placed the strings in straight line as they meet the bridge.

 

There were so many reasons that I wanted to love this tailpiece, but on my 2 banjos it choked the tone much more than the Prestos. My original Gibson Presto broke, so I replaced it with the Price. No matter how much I adjusted the height, it never regained that open sound all the way up the neck. I changed it out for a Prucha Presto.

 

My Hatfield came with a Prucha and just out of curiosity, I tried the Price on it. I certainly wasn't unhappy with the original tone of my Hatfield.  It sounded best with the tailpiece adjusted just a little higher than perfectly parallel to the head, but still some of that wonderful Hatfield clarity up the neck was lost.

 

Putting the Price tailpiece didn't create a tone that was horrible by any means. It was still nice, but there was a slight decrease in clarity.

Overall Rating: 7

Digital Tuners: JT's Snark Adaptor for Banjo

Submitted by PKM on 4/26/2013

Where Purchased: JTs Serious Pix

Overall Comments

I just received my Snark tuner adapters from Jim and they work very well. I got one for my Gibson RB-4, one for my Hatfield Custom and will order more for my other Gibsons and for some friends.. If you order the tuner with the adapter, Jim sends one of the black Snark Super Tight, which look great on the banjo when performing since it isn't as obvious as the bright red or blue ones.
I prefer this arrangement because I have broken Snarks by having them knock around in the case pocket. Jim's adapter keeps the tuner in place the whole time. My strap still wraps around the the pot well enough to fit into the case. I suppose if you had a very thickly padded strap, you might have to locate the tuner close to the neck. All of my straps are the Shelton leather straps.
It is a simple, well-engineered, design - Thanks Jim.

Overall Rating: 10