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camurnes - Posted - 12/02/2024: 16:35:20
I am considering buying a Randy Wood Featherlite banjo as I am looking for a resonator that is lighter than my Mastertone. For you guys who have owned or played these, what do you think? Playability, quality, tone.
LukeL - Posted - 12/02/2024: 17:36:49
I own two of them. A 2019 Featherlite and a mini version he built for me in 2021. I live five minutes from Randy so I might be biased but I think Randy builds the most comfortable 5 string neck out there these days. The Featherlites are great sounding lightweight banjos and feel great to play. Mine sounds great with an 11/16" bridge and the head tuned to about an A#. Randy is a great builder and I know you'll be happy with one of his banjos.
Pigeontown Banjo Co - Posted - 12/04/2024: 07:14:47
I have one and both the previous owner (who ordered it from Randy) and I were pretty underwhelmed by the overall fit/finish.
It's definitely a cool idea and sounds nice but the build quality is nowhere near the standard I'm used to with Ome/Stelling, etc.
BlackhawkBanjo - Posted - 01/10/2025: 21:13:36
Late to the party but I have a full size one, Im mainly a Scruggs player, but ventured into claw hammer today.. sounds wonderful on both styles. Playability is as slick as any other Gibson (Or other brands) ive played, tone is (to me) is equal or louder than my style 3 (with a Sullivan AT to FH ring, Also purchased from randy with one of his necks on it.), both with light gauge strings. His necks are great! As both my banjos have them I can only compare them to my old RK-36, they are a little wider than a traditional C shaped neck, but not hard to get used to. Quality is definitely top notch, randy is a wonderful craftsman, I played one of his shortly after starting banjo in 2018 and knew I needed one, to me, i actually prefer my RW over my Style 3. Of course i take both to jams and have preformed with both, they both hold their own. I don't feel with either one that I was missing out on tone, dynamics or playability.. the sound different obviously one being all wood and one wood with a tone ring, and one is 1929 vs 2021, but they both do sound great, RW is SO much lighter. Also Ive found using different bridges may help you narrow down the sound you want with his, I had a dotson old wood bridge on it for a bit, it was good, but Im currently using the original one that came with it. The dotson seems to fit my style 3 better, so it resides there. Ill be more than happy to answer any questions, hope that helps a bit! I know how hard it is to decide on a product based on just forum posts and YouTube videos.
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