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7232 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: http://www.banjoshop.com/
Year Purchased: 2008
Price Paid: 599 ($US)
Nice and mellow, but can still hold a bluegrass edge. I bought this as a lighter, openback travel banjo. The whyte laydie has a nice pluncky (yes, pluncky) sound to it.
Sound Rating: 8
Needed some minor tweaks, but it was the dead of summer so things could have been loose from the heat/humidity.
Out-of-the-box it is more of a clawhammer banjo, but a quick bridge swap gave it enough of a personality change to be scruggsy.
Setup Rating: 8
Very nice walnut look and feel.
The engraved metal has a cheaper look/feel to it, but given the price that makes sense.
Appearance Rating: 8
Solid enough to be considered a travel banjo in my book, so it must be ready for some abuse and bounces.
Reliability Rating: 7
http://www.banjoshop.com/ is absolutely excellent
http://www.morganmonroe.com/ were also good: they sent me a free truss rod cover when the original cracked.
Customer Service: 9
Some of the hardware was kludgy, barely fitting, and/or poorly matched. For example, some of the bracket holders were loose, but tightening them up pushed the screw through to the channel and prevented the brackets from being properly set.
Components Rating: 5
Yes. I would recommend more for a clawhammer player, but it is definitely sufficient for a bluegrasser as well.
Overall Rating: 7
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