Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/408137
Anthony Boadle - Posted - 04/12/2026: 16:18:59
Advice please.... I'm looking at the Epiphone Mastertone, the gold-plated Earl Scruggs Classic model. I can't try before I buy due to distance.
Any and all opinions appreciated from owners (or anyone who's played one)...is it a good banjo and worth the money?
( about $1280 here in Ireland!)
Edited by - Anthony Boadle on 04/12/2026 16:21:28
Anthony Boadle - Posted - 04/12/2026: 16:47:16
Thanks Brian...very much appreciated, that's one banjo I won't be buying.
BHO saves the day!
Old Hickory - Posted - 04/12/2026: 17:54:40
To say I was less than impressed with that banjo when I played one at the Gibson retail store in Nashiville is an understatement.
This picture provides a detail of the neck-to-pot fit. What you're seeing is the neck makes good contact with the band of rim wood above the flange. Above that wood, the outer surface of the tone ring skirt is not flush with that wood, but set back from it. The heel of the neck therefore is not in contact there -- even though the upper lag bolt should be in that area. The light you see in that gap is sunlight on the floor. I was holding the banjo in my lap and shooting down at the heel.
Feel of the neck was pretty good, I have to admit. Sound was OK. Surprising for the awful fit.
Gibson does not state anywhere what metal the tone ring is made of. I have read descriptions online that a magnet will stick to it. That means it's steel, not brass or bronze.
For the same money the Gold Tone OB-150 and RK-35 or 36 (if new ones are still available) are better banjos, in my opinion.
slammer - Posted - 04/12/2026: 18:08:05
I had an Epiphone MB-250 and it’s the only banjo I EVER regret selling.
It was a player and volume galore!!!
Slammer!!!
Old Hickory - Posted - 04/13/2026: 11:30:21
Different era. Different instrument. A great intermediate Masterclone.
jt80 - Posted - 04/13/2026: 11:44:29
quote:
Originally posted by Old Hickory
Different era. Different instrument. A great intermediate Masterclone.
For sure. That picture made me go and look at my MB-350. There's less of a step from ring to rim, but there's a matching step on the neck heel on mine, and the fit seems fine.
Not that that prior generation didn't have issues as well, but it sounds and plays well enough after sorting them out. For mine the hooks were cutting into the head and I had to grind the ends down. I also took a router to the rim a bit (a bit too much! even) so that the ring would no longer be supported by the outer edge (per the siminoff book), and that made a big improvement.
Anthony Boadle - Posted - 04/13/2026: 11:55:26
"For the same money the Gold Tone OB-150 and RK-35 or 36 (if new ones are still available) are better banjos, in my opinion."
Delighted to read that. As a direct result of your replies I ordered a Goldtone BF150F! Used but refurbished and at a good price.
Thanks BHO members, you saved me a pile of regret (and money!)
Edited by - Anthony Boadle on 04/13/2026 11:56:54
Old Hickory - Posted - 04/13/2026: 12:58:43
quote:
Originally posted by Anthony Boadle
"For the same money the Gold Tone OB-150 and RK-35 or 36 (if new ones are still available) are better banjos, in my opinion."
Delighted to read that. As a direct result of your replies I ordered a Goldtone BF150F! Used but refurbished and at a good price.
Thanks BHO members, you saved me a pile of regret (and money!)
I think you meant BG150F.
That's good higher level type of beginner banjo. But it is not the same instrument as the OB-150 I recommended.
The Gold Tone "BG" and "OB" series banjos are two different types of instruments. "BG" banjos have rim shoes and a flat flange plate (the "F" models). Probably multi-ply rims and a brass rod tone hoop. "OB" banjos have 3-ply rims, one-piece flange, and most have heavy cast tone rings. The OB-100 has a brass rod tone hoop like the Gibson RB-100 of the 1950s and 60s.
Hope the banjo you ordered, while not the one I named, still meets your needs.
Anthony Boadle - Posted - 04/13/2026: 13:29:44
Yes, a typo... I meant BG of course. I actually chose it because of the hoop rather than a tone ring.... I recently sold my Fender FB59 because of it's weight, it was getting increasingly hard to pick up! (I'm of a certain age...)
Anthony Boadle - Posted - 04/13/2026: 13:32:03
Yes, a typo... I meant BG of course. I actually chose it because of the hoop rather than a tone ring.... I recently sold my Fender FB59 because of it's weight, it was getting increasingly hard to pick up! (I'm of a certain age...)
Anthony Boadle - Posted - 04/13/2026: 13:34:11
I posted twice to be sure, to be sure!
Edited by - Anthony Boadle on 04/13/2026 13:34:29
Old Hickory - Posted - 04/14/2026: 10:01:52
quote:
Originally posted by jt80
quote:
Originally posted by Old Hickory
Different era. Different instrument. A great intermediate Masterclone.
For sure. That picture made me go and look at my MB-350. There's less of a step from ring to rim, but there's a matching step on the neck heel on mine, and the fit seems fine.
As I look again at my picture of the current Epiphone, I see that the upper lag is just above the band of rim wood and there's enough height of heel contact there to keep the neck from tilting forward. So this slop-fit tone ring did not affect neck angle.
I assume there's an equal over-hang of the rim at the tailpiece end of the pot.
If this were my banjo, I'd shim with wood or metal behind the tone ring to bring the skirt out flush with the rim band and increase the heel's contact area with the pot. I'd let the tailpiece end be whatever resulted from that.
Of course, I think the the typical buyer of this banjo -- a beginner or player moving up from a beginner instrument -- isn't going to know about things like tone ring fit. They'll play it as-is, and be fortunate that the action is playable.
With some type of brass alloy tone ring and attention to fit, this could have been a more serious competitor -- especially since the nickel-plated version is only $999 -- $400 less than the RK 35 or OB-150, depending on retailer.
Or keep the steel tone ring (same as Deering puts in Goodtimes at this price) and fix the fit.
