MikeVB - Posted - 10/10/2008:  14:43:58

This will no doubt open a can of worms and cause some scuffles, so play nice....

I've owned three banjos - two Reiters and one Enoch tradesman. My one and only current banjo now is a Reiter Roundpeak with a Scorpion Crowe-spaced bridge and calfskin head with which I'm very happy with the tone (head made this banjo IMHO).

But, I've been wondering about the banjos built by Ramsey, Lee, Ome, Enoch that often seem to cost about 50-100% more than Bart's similar style models. Aside from their Gold Tones, which I understand several famous players endorse, I notice many of them play these brands of banjos, but don't often see one playing Bart's.

What's the deal? Are those banjos really significantly better instruments than his? Frankly, I'd be hard-pressed to believe that the fit, finish, and general craftsmanship were any better than the two Reiter's I've owned.

Just curious. Honestly, no offense intended towards any player, builder, etc.

P.S. Please don't give me a lesson in basic economic theory and the way the market works, blah, blah, blah - been there and done that in college.

Michael
http://www.myspace.com/mikevanbrackle

Bill Rogers - Posted - 10/10/2008:  14:58:44

Bart has not done custom work for years; the makers you mentioned all do--and many of the pros want that. Bart Reiter's banjos are as good as it gets. But they aren't fancy and there are few models. Bart's old custom banjos bring premium prices. For a long time he was the premier re-necker of old Vegas, but has quit doing that. I think he likes to be able to offer his banjos and let players buy them or not, without having to deal with anyone wanting modifications from what he does. He's set up to make a lot of banjos for a one-person shop [150 or so per year] and they seem to move rapidly off dealers' walls. The great crash of '08 might change that, but that won't be because of Bart's work.

Bill

KE - Posted - 10/10/2008:  15:08:48

I agree that the fit and finish of Reiter banjos are nigh unto perfect. But those other makers offer some alternatives, many cosmetic, some functional, that are of value. All of those differences have a very high labor component and that is the difference in cost. Are they better? That's a subjective call you're free to make for yourself. But if you've ever seen and played a high-end Enoch, or Lee, or Ome, you can begin to appreciate the value of the extra labor that goes into them.

Oldpiper - Posted - 10/10/2008:  15:13:51

John Balch plays several Reiters on his CD Hot Biscuit Jam and has highly recommended them to me. He convinced me to buy one and I'm totally happy with it. My Romero is fancier and has great workmanship, but the tone isn't much, if any, better than the Reiter.

Fred USN(SS) Ret.

Galante_K4 - Posted - 10/10/2008:  16:18:36

I love my Reiter Whyte Laydie. I also have a Vega Pete Seeger but its the Reiter I play 90 percent of the time.

"Admitting to yourself that you have BAS is the first step in recovery."

tom clunie - Posted - 10/10/2008:  16:28:08

Really great necks but I have never cared for the 5/8" rims but isn't your roundpeak thinner? Also the tone has been way to clangy in the ones I have come across but I bet a skin head would fix that.. Very good banjos! TC

MikeVB - Posted - 10/10/2008:  18:28:34

Well, I haven't had my Reiter Special for over a year, so I'm going on memory here. But if the Roundpeak rim is any thinner it's not very much at all.

I love the calfskin head I bought from Bill.

Michael
http://www.myspace.com/mikevanbrackle

bvh - Posted - 10/11/2008:  03:19:26

Hey Bill.......I know exactly how Bart feels. I have been building my version, of the modern Dobson, for a couple of years. A well known Old-Time musician ordered one, from me, at Clifftop in '07, and I took it to him this summer, at Clifftop. He played it for a while, then told me that the first string buzzed, at the fifth(nobody else could hear it), and it didn't have enough "bottom". I told him that the "buzz" could be fixed quite easily, and the only way he would get more bottom, than this banjo, would be to get a Cello banjo. Anyhow, I sold that banjo, and a similar one, that afternoon. That incident soured me, on custom building. All those phone calls and emails, for nothing.

Bill