Blue Cheese - Posted - 03/02/2011:  17:38:26

What are your thoughts on it?
I like the looks, nice and simple but pleasing.
Also its Walnut (1+) love the look of that resonator.
I hopefully will be able to play one as his shop is in Tulsa and I'm close by (!)

So to the real question -
I'll be buying a banjo this summer and of course have been trying to do the impossible in comparing banjo and not having played any of them. :P

How much volume (or tone) would you be losing/(or gaining) with the lack of a full tone ring?

Being that my only experience with these banjo is online I can't quite tell for sure but it seems to me that from the banjos I'm considering (Deering Sierra, Rk elite 75, Rk 80, Gold star 100, Bishline Patriot) is that Rk 75 very powerful with lots of "crack". Deering Sierra also very loud not quite as much crack and a fuller tone than the Rk 75, Rk 80 not quite as powerful as the 75 due to the shorter scale, Gold star very Gibson like, Patriot is not as loud and not very much crack but has a full tone and still sounds bluegrassy. Sound right to you guys?

Seeing that the Bishline would come with a full set-up and the other wouldn't how much of a trump does that give it?

Any other thought concerning comparing these banjo/sound clips etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-LB

mebacon - Posted - 03/02/2011:  18:44:16

I say go play a bunch of Rob Bishline's banjos and decide whether a full tone ring is important to you. The Patriot will weigh less, is really a great looking banjo, and will be built great given whose doing it and it is well priced. The are some banjos around the same price range to think about, like the Affordable series from American Banjo company. Robin Smith is a great builder.

Blue Cheese - Posted - 03/02/2011:  20:03:45

quote:

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Originally posted by mebacon

I say go play a bunch of Rob Bishline's banjos and decide whether a full tone ring is important to you. The Patriot will weigh less, is really a great looking banjo, and will be built great given whose doing it and it is well priced. The are some banjos around the same price range to think about, like the Affordable series from American Banjo company. Robin Smith is a great builder.

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Vapor - Posted - 03/02/2011:  20:46:29

My teacher had a walnut woody custom built by Rob. I can tell you that I think it is awesome. It has a wood tone ring, radius fretboard and shorter scale. It rings very nicely and I have played it, and all I can say is that when I get to the point I can play well, and if I don't build one myself, I would definitely have Rob build one for me. I plan on taking a trip to his place to play his banjos and get a better idea of what I am looking for as well.

The workmanship, and quality of my teachers is incredible. Another more advanced student of his had a tone ring custom built and I am going to be getting a chance to play it soon. My teacher told me it is an incredible tone ring banjo. I am looking forward to it.

I agree, play a bunch. You will know if it is what you want. Don't forget to have someone else play them for you, so you can tell what everyone else is hearing. It is quite different.

RBIII - Posted - 03/02/2011:  20:56:44

hi levi i guess if you bought the Bishline patriot and played it for awhile and later decide you want a full weight tone ring you probably can have the rim cut down to to accept either a short skirt or long skirt tone ring. you just want to find the right tone ring that sounds good to you there are many out there to hear. to me i like to play a banjo before i would buy one. set up is important without a good setup a banjo will not sound as good as it should. There are a few places to go in oklahoma to find a good banjo. ill list some to help. you may know of them already double stop fiddle shop guthrie, ridge banjos in pawnee, bishline in tulsa, square deal music in muskogee is a sullivan banjo dealer not for sure what model is in stock. price banjos jones, if you wanted a little longer drive over into arkansas janet davis banjo store is a great place also.

lespik - Posted - 03/03/2011:  08:37:32

I saw this on Rob's Youtube. It looks to be a very nice piece, and sounds better than it looks. The price tag is just right as well.

DantheBanjoMan - Posted - 03/03/2011:  18:41:42

I am very interested in this banjo myself. A lot of low end banjos have a simple brass hoop and for that reason it has been associated with poor tone, but I have Gibson RB 100 which has a brass hoop and great tone and I think it goes to show that a good builder can make a good banjo with this light ring as its heart.

My feeling (based on the sound clip on his website) is that Rob has gone one step further than my RB 100 and has made a truly exceptional banjo. Unfortnately, the site is down right now because it has exceeded its bandwith limit, hopefully becasue there is so much interest in these great American made banjos. It seems like Chris (lespick) found it on YouTube, so maybe you can check it out there.

I also like the fact that it has a slightly wider string spacing, which makes it easier to play and improves intonation.

The other real advantage as far as I'm concerned is that it's light in weight. I play a lot of gigs and a banjo with a heavy tone ring can be a real back breaker. My RB 100 is a great gig banjo, and if you have a light banjo with great tone you get pretty spoiled in a hurry.

I've played the Bishline Salty Dog and I loved it, and for a while I thought it might be my "ultimate" banjo, but that was before I went to his website and found out about the Patriot. I see that Elderly has one in stock and this is going to be the first instrument I play the next time I go there.

RT - Posted - 03/03/2011:  20:38:34

The one at elderly seems to be the exact same one that is on the bishline site.

banjomule - Posted - 03/04/2011:  08:06:09

I had Rob build me a custom banjo last summer and i'm VERY happy with both the banjo and the excellent service I recieved. I'm excited for this new line from his shop and wish them all the best!

DantheBanjoMan - Posted - 03/07/2011:  04:24:07

I'm glad to hear that. I contacted someone else about a custome neck, and he wanted nearly as much for a neck as Rob wants for a whole banjo. I think because Rob is also a banjo teacher he has a good feel for what players want.

Dan

andyo - Posted - 03/09/2011:  06:46:05

Hey Blue Cheese,
We'd love to have you down to pick one of Rob's new Patriots. He is finishing some this week . I think you'll be surprised at how good the banjo sounds with the flathead, bevel cut
rim and tone hoop. Also, Rob's hand shaped necks and fret jobs make it play very easily.
Happy Pickin'!

72chevy - Posted - 03/09/2011:  08:24:11

What a great option for us pickers... I am glad to see this in the "under 2K" offering for USA made banjos.
--Tommy