ironhead - Posted - 04/28/2018:  18:02:59

I have multiple 11 inch open-back banjos, but have never played a 12 inch rim banjo. Would like to explore that rim size. I have an 11 inch Reiter Bacophone that I quite enjoy, neck is awesome, so thought I would try a Reiter 12 inch Buckbee. All things being equal (head type, tension, strings, etc), what can one expect sound wise from a cherry neck compared to more common neck woods like walnut, mahogany or maple. I am going to purchase either a cherry or walnut neck Buckbee. Perhaps Ceemonster or one of the other Reiter aficionados has some advice. Thanks for any comments!

Edited by - ironhead on 04/28/2018 18:04:08

pastorharry - Posted - 04/28/2018:  18:50:12

It would be nice if you could play them both first, but for my taste I like walnut a lot. To me a brings a bit richer,warmer tone. Cherry is great, strong, used in many of the earlier banjos,perhaps more fundamental sounding, (to me) . I would put cherry closer to maple and walnut closer to mahogany.

ironhead - Posted - 04/28/2018:  19:03:11

Thanks Pastor Harry. You're right, it would be ideal to play them first, but since that's about a 2000 mile trip, opinions from helpful people like yourself is second best. Interesting that cherry is more on the oak than mahogany side of the sound spectrum. I think overall Reiter banjos are a bit on the crisp, bright side, which is to my taste, so maybe Walnut is the way to go, just to get a bit of warmth without changing head or swapping steel strings for nylgut. Good info and thanks again.

rubicon - Posted - 04/28/2018:  19:05:57

quote:

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Originally posted by pastorharry

It would be nice if you could play them both first, but for my taste I like walnut a lot. To me a brings a bit richer,warmer tone. Cherry is great, strong, used in many of the earlier banjos,perhaps more fundamental sounding, (to me) . I would put cherry closer to maple and walnut closer to mahogany.

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Hit that right on the head walnut 12 imho have a great warm sound .

hweinberg - Posted - 04/29/2018:  06:35:36

I believe that others can hear differences that I miss, but I haven't found that neck woods make much of a difference on openback banjos. Pot wood and dimensions and tone ring are, of course, a different matter. With so much possible variation in the setup -- head material, head tension, action, bridge material/shape/height, action, tailpiece type, strings, and optional stuffing behind the head, I would put neck wood type farther down the list in terms of tone. But as I said, I can believe it could matter to more discerning ears.

ceemonster - Posted - 04/29/2018:  09:47:06

This is like wine parlance, it's very subjective. But I place both cherry and walnut between mahogany and maple on the brightness/darkness scale, but I experience walnut as having more sustain and a tad more of a 4th string, and experience cherry has having less sustain/more fundamental, and a tad more of a midrange.



I have a 12-inch walnut Reiter Buckbee and am delighted with it.

Edited by - ceemonster on 04/29/2018 09:49:14