Dowel - Posted - 11/15/2025:  01:10:58

has anyone got (or had) one of these?

I'd be interested to hear peoples thoughts, comparrisons etc.

I found a few old posts about them but nothing recent.

thanks

Bawheid - Posted - 11/15/2025:  03:10:09

I thought it sounded too bright, thin and very harsh relative to the vintage models it is a copy of and even of other modern offerings from other makers, thats with a similar setup. I preferred the Gold Tone mm150 for a budget whyte laydie.

Dowel - Posted - 11/15/2025:  03:22:22

thanks.

maybe a skin head would help.

Silver_Falls - Posted - 11/15/2025:  06:59:18

skin head helps any banjo -- up to a point

A Drum On A Stick - Posted - 11/15/2025:  09:48:51

I have one. I set it up with nylon strings and a fibreskin head. I wanted hide, but couldn't manage to get it mounted due to the very low clearance between the tension hoop and the tone ring. I tried a couple hides, but no luck.



If you're looking for recordings, Willi Carlisle has one that he plays live and on some recordings

 

dthompson40403 - Posted - 11/15/2025:  10:22:42

I got one and was pretty disappointed in it for quite a few years, in comparison to my vintage Tubaphone. The sound and feel was OK, but it seemed a bit thin and dull. I liked the fact that it was pretty easy to switch between the two instruments as the size and shape of the neck was so similar. It keeps its tune (one time I didn't play it for 2 weeks and it was in tune right out of the case!), which is a plus. I kept playing it, using it for a second instrument in a different tuning when I was performing. I played it a lot for several weeks on tour and it started to open up so I am happier with it now.

Dowel - Posted - 11/15/2025:  11:19:45

thanks guys.

apart from a skin head, what kind of strings might help? light or medium?

pinenut - Posted - 11/15/2025:  12:14:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dowel

thanks guys.



apart from a skin head, what kind of strings might help? light or medium?

---

I am not willing to do the maintaining of a skin head on my main banjo (skin sounds really good when conditions are just right, mylar is decent all the time).  My Electric tone ring plays well with a frosted top (tension=89), compensated bridge and a Kershner tailpiece with 10-12-14-22w-10 strings; good  baseline setup.  notes:  I would recommend a Presto tailpiece, Hawk tailpieces are ~okay, no-knot tailpieces have too much overtone, Amber heads are ~okay, Suede heads are a little too heavy,  Fiberskyn will choke it dead.

String sizes will relate more strongly to your play style.  Bigger strings usually need a heavier hand to extract the maximum tone and volume... 

Tens on the first and fifth with your preference in-between is a good place for most folks.

Edited by - pinenut on 11/15/2025 12:30:59

Dowel - Posted - 11/15/2025:  13:20:26

thank you! much appreciated.



 

Edited by - Dowel on 11/15/2025 13:21:54

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 11/15/2025:  15:21:46

I had one for awhile and like it fine.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 11/15/2025:  16:09:25

I have a flush-fret one. It gets limited use, but I like it just fine.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 11/15/2025:  18:48:57

I had one, wrote a review that is still on BHO.

It was made for wire so I had to use a tall bridge. I thought about having the neck reset to the correct zero angle but decided it was too small for me and I sold it.

Had Bernunzio made it 11” x 27” (yeah, yeah, Vega called it “11 inch” no need to correct with the exact fractional they were) I would likely still have it.

But at 10-3/4” and sub 26” it is below my preferred minimum size for regular banjos.

Dowel - Posted - 11/16/2025:  12:10:26

I didn't realise it had no neck angle (interesting)

Joel Hooks - Posted - 11/16/2025:  12:55:34

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dowel

I didn't realise it had no neck angle (interesting)

---

Sorry, it DOES have back angle as it was made for wire strings.  That was the problem for me.  I do not use steel on any banjo and for nylon the correct neck set is zero angle.

jbalch - Posted - 11/17/2025:  11:22:07

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dowel

thanks.



maybe a skin head would help.

---

I've made a few skin heads for these banjos.  It does help the sound.  They are 10 3/4" diameter so a standard pre-mounted head won't fit. They should be custom-mounted on the rim. 

However, I won't make them any longer because the hardware on these banjos is flimsy. I found the tension hoops to be especially fragile.  Unfortunately they can break very easily.  After breaking one while installing a head for a client, I discovered that replacement parts are difficult (maybe impossible) to source ... and expensive.  So if you self-install a new head ... be careful.  

Otherwise they are very cool looking banjos and can sound great - if set-up properly.

Edited by - jbalch on 11/17/2025 11:23:54

Joel Hooks - Posted - 11/18/2025:  08:13:53

jbalch , interesting, I would have never guessed that. I did change the head on mine and pulled it all apart just to look at it. All the hardware looked well machined and finished. And the fit of the parts to each other was perfect.

That said, I replaced plastic for plastic.

I'm guessing they used some kind of soft or brittle brass to make the parts? I know that the "no knot" tailpiece that came with it was the best copy I have seen.

jbalch - Posted - 11/18/2025:  18:28:45

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

jbalch , interesting, I would have never guessed that. I did change the head on mine and pulled it all apart just to look at it. All the hardware looked well machined and finished. And the fit of the parts to each other was perfect.



That said, I replaced plastic for plastic.



I'm guessing they used some kind of soft or brittle brass to make the parts? I know that the "no knot" tailpiece that came with it was the best copy I have seen.

---

Joel:

The outer lip on the grooved tension hoop broke.  The brass appeared very cheap and brittle. 

I had previously installed a small number of heads on these banjos - without issue.  But after that experience I refuse to do any more. 

When this one broke, I replaced the tension hoop for my customer - at considerable expense. 

Even more troubling, I'm not even sure they are available as replacement parts at all now.   I just won't take the risk.  There are too many quality banjos out there for me to fool around with something like this. 

My advise: BE CAREFUL!

Eastman tenion hoop

 

Joel Hooks - Posted - 11/19/2025:  05:41:15

jbalch , thanks. I was not questioning you, just surprised. The hardware on the one I had LOOKED very nice. But I guess they could have work hardened it to the point of being brittle.

Broken off bits like that is something I've not seen before, and I have seen some pretty chewed up stretcher hoops over the years on classic era banjos.

jbalch - Posted - 11/19/2025:  11:46:37

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

jbalch , thanks. I was not questioning you, just surprised. The hardware on the one I had LOOKED very nice. But I guess they could have work hardened it to the point of being brittle.



Broken off bits like that is something I've not seen before, and I have seen some pretty chewed up stretcher hoops over the years on classic era banjos.

---

Joel - I didn't take it that way. 

I posted my reply not to dissuade folks from owning and enjoying their banjos. 

I meant my comments as "words to the wise".   If and when maintenance is needed .... be very careful.  Also to say that I can't accept orders for heads to fit them.  i just don't want to risk damaging someone's banjo.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 11/19/2025:  11:55:19

Forewarned is forearmed. Thanks John & Joel for the information and discussion.

Silver_Falls - Posted - 11/19/2025:  12:32:07

jbalch , did you reach out to John Bernunzio about the hardware failure on the banjo? This Eastman "Whyte Laydie" homage project was very significant to him. My sense is that he would have wanted to help owners to be well served by the intrument.

jbalch - Posted - 11/19/2025:  19:05:44

quote:

---

Originally posted by Silver_Falls

jbalch , did you reach out to John Bernunzio about the hardware failure on the banjo? This Eastman "Whyte Laydie" homage project was very significant to him. My sense is that he would have wanted to help owners to be well served by the intrument.

---

I didn't speak with John.  But I called the store, told someone there what had happened and said that I needed a replacement hoop.  I ended up buying the part from them. 

They told me at the time that there were very few spare parts available.   That was a few years ago.  I don't know if spares are  available now or not.

Dowel - Posted - 11/20/2025:  23:07:07

thank you.

I think I will replace what looks like a Renaissance stock head with a Frosted head.

MaineGeezer - Posted - 11/21/2025:  08:01:30

I had one. I wrote a review, which may or may not be worth reading. I eventually gave it to a guy who from all reports absolutely loves it. I didn't care for the tone. As others have said, it sounded sort of brittle and without much depth to it. I contemplated a fiberskin head to see if that would help, but I got rid of it before doing so.

RE: chipping pieces off the tension ring. Putting on my dusty engineering cap for a minute here.... Brass work hardens. That is, if you start with a piece that's soft and bend it, roll it, or otherwise form it, it will get harder. Keep it up long enough, and it will get to the point of being brittle, and break if you try to bend it. I have no idea if that is the case with the chipping tension ring, but it's a possibility. One can annel (soften) hardened brass by heating it to a dull red and letting it cool. One can dunk it in water to speed things up; unlike steel, brass doesn't care about how fast it's cooled. In theory, that should make the brass soft and ductile again.

I'm not sure I'd try that stunt with a good tension ring. For one think, it would probably mess up the nickel plating. It might also make the ring too soft. There needs to be a certain level of hardness to resist the force of the hooks. But if one has a damaged ring lying around, it would make an interesting experiment to see if practice had any relationship to theory.
There is also the possibility that it is simply poor-quality brass, or a poorly-chosen alloy for the purpose. The term "brass" includes dozens of different alloys, and the manufacturer may have picked one that isn't up to the job.

Dowel - Posted - 11/21/2025:  23:22:04

Well, I stripped it all down, masked and polished all the bright work (as it was badly tarnished) it now looks near perfect. I fitted a frosted head (medium crown height) and some new light gauge strings.

It does sounds bright. I think a renaissance head would help but they aren’t available in the uk.

Maybe a fiberskyn head would be better still (I usually don’t care too much for this head but maybe it would balance things out here) but again 10 3/4 is hard to find in the UK.

The ring and pot are a very close fit and so I’m not to sure a skin head would fit.

I was impressed with all the hardware IMO they seem like good quality.

Getting each shoe nice and snug was a little fiddly but I got there.

Dowel - Posted - 11/22/2025:  04:04:39

I refitted the stock head as the frosted one sounded a little bright for my liking. (Plus it looks nicer)

I might also swap the strings for medium gauge.

 

writerrad - Posted - 11/22/2025:  10:03:52

I played the prototype they sent Bernunzio about 2012 or 13 and the neck they use on it seemed too clubby.  Curiously,  I bought a conversion big pot 1923 Tubaphone that Bernunzio put the same neck ontoin 2016 and it is my favorite banjo.  The next does not seem too clubby on the Tubaphone,

The prices for these Eastmans seem to be pretty good for the quality of the instrument they provide.  Personally,  I find them to be a little bit warmer in sound than actual Fairbanks or Vega Whyte ladies.   

I considered getting one as a travel banjo years ago and played several of them in different stores when I was traveling, and they seemed to be quite nice for the price.

I cannot understand why the neck felt clubby on the  Eastman prototype, but does not seem clubby to me on a bigger banjo that I have come to love as my main banjo for nearly 10 years?

writerrad - Posted - 11/22/2025:  10:09:57

 I have owned the full scale WL-250 since 2003.  LOL it appears in my BHO foto.   I love that banjo and for the price it is really a nice and versatile banjo.  The 150  or the 2t0 for that matter are afforable banjos which to me is a value because I spent much of my life on a limited budget and I detest when someone goes online telling folks to buy banjos that most people cannot afford,

 I dont see it as being in any comnparison to an actual Vega or Fairbanks Whyte Lady, but then I dont really like the tone of of the vintage Whyte Ladies, it is too metallic and not warm enough for me/

Dowel - Posted - 11/22/2025:  10:56:51

It cost me £850 with a nice bump case (which I think is a lot of banjo for that kind of money)

It hasn’t made me sound like Roscoe yet (give it another week or two) ??

writerrad - Posted - 11/22/2025:  11:05:31

quote:  Roscoe Holcomb used a Tubaphone on most of the recordings he made starting in the 1960s.  Mike Seeger and John Cohen prevailed upon the the Vega company to donate one to him and that is what he used for most of his recordings after he got in contact with the old time revivalists.   Earlier he played a resonator Kay banjo he is ofte pictured with in the standard picture of him that John Cohen took during his first "discovery" trip to visit Roscoe in the late 1950s.,

---

Originally posted by Dowel

It cost me £850 with a nice bump case (which I think is a lot of banjo for that kind of money)



It hasn’t made me sound like Roscoe yet (give it another week or two) ??

---

Dowel - Posted - 11/23/2025:  03:15:31

playing overhand the 5th string is really ringing.

aside from technique, is there anything else that might lesser the ring

its strung with D'Addario light phosphor 9, 11, 13, 20, 9

would a 10 help on the 5th?

Dowel - Posted - 11/23/2025:  03:38:56

fixed...tightened the no-knot tailpiece down a little.

(my still experiment with a thicker 5th)

writerrad - Posted - 11/23/2025:  07:00:52

quote:AS i recall he got the prototype that I played back in 2012 when I was in Rotchester playing with the Ebony Hillbillies.  This is good to know insofar as I have been toying with buying one as a spare or travel banjo since then, since I prefer your skin heads on my banjos,

writerrad - Posted - 11/23/2025:  07:05:27

Interesting.  from playing the prototype they sent Bernunzio in 2012 to other times I have played them,  I did not like that neck,  However around 2016 I bought a conversion big pot 1923 Tubaphone Bernunzio had put that same neck on and I love that banjo,

russtul - Posted - 11/25/2025:  11:30:39

I own one of the first ones in country. John made me a hide head about a year in and it's still going strong. No problems at all. It has a very pleasing neck and over the years has developed into a really nice sounding banjo. I use medium Martin strings. I have John's hide heads on all of my banjos. His work is superb and ,in my opinion...every one who plays clawhammer should beat a path to his door! I have Reiters, Ramseys, Ome , A Vega Little Wonder with an Eastman Neck conversion and an Ozark Banjo Co. All sound great with John's Heads.

Dowel - Posted - 11/29/2025:  04:56:31

thanks all.

I re-strung it with some D'Addsrio medium phosphor which has had a possitive effect.

it now has a depth of range. It rings in a controlled way and I can also tease out an old-time cluck.

I have no doubt a real head would improve things more.

goat or calf?

and what would I use to mount it on?

MarTay6 - Posted - 12/04/2025:  05:22:04

I do know that Eastman mandolins are infamous for the tabs breaking off the tailpieces on their mandolins- at least the lower line ones... it would appear Eastman doesn't have a good grasp of their casting techniques.

exvagabond - Posted - 12/04/2025:  06:08:00

quote:

---

Originally posted by jbalch

quote:

---

Originally posted by Joel Hooks

jbalch , interesting, I would have never guessed that. I did change the head on mine and pulled it all apart just to look at it. All the hardware looked well machined and finished. And the fit of the parts to each other was perfect.



That said, I replaced plastic for plastic.



I'm guessing they used some kind of soft or brittle brass to make the parts? I know that the "no knot" tailpiece that came with it was the best copy I have seen.

---

Joel:

The outer lip on the grooved tension hoop broke.  The brass appeared very cheap and brittle. 

I had previously installed a small number of heads on these banjos - without issue.  But after that experience I refuse to do any more. 

When this one broke, I replaced the tension hoop for my customer - at considerable expense. 

Even more troubling, I'm not even sure they are available as replacement parts at all now.   I just won't take the risk.  There are too many quality banjos out there for me to fool around with something like this. 

My advise: BE CAREFUL!

---

I have an Eastman neck on a Little Wonder pot and love it. However, a new hole for the tailpiece had been drilled 1/4" above the original, and I wonder why. I have read that during the 1920s Vega suspended production of 5-string necks. Is this relevant?