Pulled the trigger on a Bart Reiter A Flat Scale Standard

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Bart Reiter Banjos

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From emmabeth on 6/8/2015 6:26:51 PM

I was pretty sure right from the start that my upgrade from my Gold Tone CC-OT would be to a Bart Reiter. I originally thought Buckbee--it's the cheapest, after all--but then sold another instrument, which gave me a little wiggle room in the budget, and confused everything terribly. ;-)

I recently started a thread in the shopping forum where I blathered out my thinking points on a few different Reiter models, primarily the Buckbee and the Galax. In the course of the discussion, several people mentioned and praised the A Flat scale Standard, which hadn't been on my radar, and I kind of got intrigued...but in the end, I came to the conclusion that I wanted a Galax. There aren't really any out there for sale at the moment, but I put my name down for right of first refusal on the next one to come in at Elderly (should be there in about a week, for anyone who might still be hunting).

Well...woman's prerogative and all that.

I've spent a *lot* of time in the last week listening, reading, and (over)analyzing how I play, what I play, and where and with whom I'm likely to play. And you know, that comfortable short scale and the woodier sweetness of the brass hoop ring on the Standard just kept picking away at me.

In the end, I changed my mind and canceled my hold on the Galax. Instead, the Bart Reiter A Flat from Spruce Tree Music will be winging (or trucking) its way out west. Thanks go to Fairbanks for making me aware of that one.

Should hopefully arrive next Monday. I may not sleep until it gets here. May not sleep much after it does, for that matter.

13 Comments
	boondocker53 says: 6/8/2015 4:12:18 PM Loved my Ab (Bart called it an A scale back then), should never have sold it. I'm sure that you will really enjoy it.
	emmabeth says: 6/8/2015 8:07:08 PM I am ridiculously excited. Got the tracking number now! Hopefully I can refrain from checking it every five minutes for the next week.
	cuz says: 6/9/2015 12:55:44 AM Reading yor post made me laugh. I've just been through the same thing trying to find the right banjo for the job. I ended up getting a round peak and absolutely love it. Sure you will find the same with the Ab!
	RWJonesy says: 6/10/2015 8:50:35 PM Your welcome! I'm sure your going to love it.
	emmabeth says: 6/16/2015 8:20:18 PM Apologies, this is going to get long... My Bart Reiter A Flat Standard arrived yesterday afternoon. Spruce Tree did a fine job of packing, and either they or Bart Reiter himself took the time to mark the proper bridge location in pencil, which I appreciated. Made it easier to get up and running. It's a lovely thing. Has a walnut (?) cap on the rim, and it's just understated beauty all the way around. I added a few pictures to my profile--not sure how to link to them here. It's pretty lightweight, too--not much heavier than my Gold Tone CC-OT, while still managing to feel much more solid. It came in a nice brown Superior bump case. The brown surprised me a bit. I rather like it, and being less common, it'll stand out so I can find it easily after a jam...but I couldn't help laughing when I first saw it, thinking it'd make it rather hard to hide a new acquisition from a spouse, for them what might wish to do so... About the tone. Hm. It alarmed me at first. In retrospect, I think it takes a little while for a bridge to settle--I noticed this with my Gold Tone, too, both when I first got it and when I upgraded to a slightly better bridge. Couple that with new strings and ears used to Fiberskyn on a quiet beginner instrument and my very first impression of the new banjo was that it was terribly jangly and loud. Brash. Big noisy notes crashing into each other every which way. It played easily, but I could hardly stand to listen to it. Through some combination of the bridge settling in, the new strings mellowing out after a few hours of playing, a small rolled up sock added behind the heel, and my ears adjusting to a different, more complex sounding instrument, it sounds better now. Still loud and brassy compared to the rather meek Gold Tone. I really can't imagine playing something with lots more volume. How do the bluegrassers do it? But it has a nice classic banjo sort of sound. I don't know how else to describe it. It has a fair amount of overtones and sustain, which is both good and bad. Playing in, say, Double C, the whole thing just sings out in a really cool way. On the other hand, some of the ring is a bit much for my ears, especially on the trebles. A minimal amount of stuffing did tone it down somewhat. I'd be curious to hear what a skin head would sound like on this little guy. The shorter neck is requiring a little adjustment, mostly because (confession) I tend to leave the Gold Tone capoed to the second fret, but the Reiter sounds good tuned to G and capo-less. This actually puts me a fret down from my usual position. But it's very comfortable. I like the shape of the neck, too--it's not too thick, not too thin. The scoop is bigger, and somehow my hand lands more over it than it does naturally with my other banjo. This may be partly because there's no armrest. I want to leave things that way for awhile as an experiment. I think it's actually more comfortable having my arm at a lower angle like that, but I might make myself an arm sock to protect the finish. The strings don't feel floppy when tuned to G, but they are a bit less tense. Well, duh. Anyway, it feels a little different--not bad, just different--and I need to play more so I can adjust. Right now I'm fumbling tunes I can usually play well, and I think it's partly just the different feel, plus the different angle without the arm rest. Now the bad: I had Spruce Tree go ahead and put railroad spikes at 7 and 9, since I've gotten attached to that method of capoing the 5th on the Gold Tone and I don't know when I'll next have access to a decent luthier. I'm not sure that was the wisest move. For one thing, because the pip is pretty high on this banjo, the spikes pull the string down a lot. Also, Spruce Tree put the spikes in facing toward the edge of the neck, which I guess kind of makes sense considering where you're pushing the fifth string when clawhammering, but it's not what I'm used to. And then, when I went to try out the one at the 7th just to see how hard it would be to use, it pulled straight up out of the fingerboard immediately. I'm trying not to feel sick about this whole business. I'm not sure if I should just tap it in a bit harder, put glue in the hole, pull them both back out and try to fill the holes, or what. I haven't asked the shop about them yet, since it just happened this afternoon, after their closing time, and I'm not entirely sure what to ask. All in all? It's certainly a quality banjo. It's taking me a little time to warm up to it, and to adjust to the new sound...but keep in mind, I'm the kind of gal who once bawled when my poor flute teacher tried to help out twelve year old me by polishing my tarnished flute, and the difference was just too much for me to handle. ;-) This is a big step from my Gold Tone. Give me a few more days to fall head over heels.
	RWJonesy says: 6/17/2015 3:04:45 AM Nice review Emma. You have an amazing instrument in your possession that is capable of many setup variations. I am also not a fan of "jangly" or "brash" tone. A John Balch skin head, different bridge, and medium strings will remedy the tone. Check out my videos and you will get an idea of what kind of tone I am getting from my Reiter just to hear the potential you can gain from a different setup. I also stuff my pot with a clean sock. Bart' s banjos are set up a bit bright in my opinion but don't get nervous you can change the tone to what you desire! The hangout has many good folks who will help you with any technical problems you feel you are having, like the railroad spike issue. Keep your head up and remain positive....your Reiter banjo experience is only going to get better! :)
	emmabeth says: 6/17/2015 8:03:07 AM The spike issue is the one thing that really has me worried. The other tweaking should be an interesting experience. I work in tech support and troubleshooting, and trial and error to dial in a desired result is part of what I do...but broken hardware is not my thing at all. I'm sure there's a solution, but it still makes me feel queasy that this happened to begin with.
	emmabeth says: 6/17/2015 9:02:38 AM But I'm guessing it may be as simple as a bit of the right sort of glue. I just over-think things!
	boondocker53 says: 6/17/2015 2:18:11 PM Emma, if it was me, I would forget about the spike and simply tune up and down between G and A. That's what I do with my Reiter Round Peak. I have a Reiter neck on a Vega pot, and the neck has spikes at 7 and 9. The 5th string nut was cut deeper by the previous owner, I assume to accommodate the use of spikes. I still prefer to tune up to A on the 5th string rather than use the 7th fret spike. YMMV>
	emmabeth says: 6/17/2015 2:29:01 PM You may well be right. For the most part, I don't need to go above A, and with the shorter neck, tuning up isn't so cringe inducing as it is on a longer scale. I think my initial "I've spoiled everything!" panic is wearing off. ;-)
	boondocker53 says: 6/17/2015 3:22:05 PM Oh, and to cure overtones on both of the banjos, I stuffed an old worn out REI expedition merino wool sock between the head and dowel stick, between the neck and bridge. It tamed the overtones and deepened the bass.
	emmabeth says: 6/17/2015 4:46:28 PM Heh...you know, I think I have access to one of those very socks. Since you've spoken so highly of their tonal qualities, I might just have to dig it out.
	emmabeth says: 6/18/2015 8:51:03 AM Yeah, I think I'm officially hooked now. Here's to many years together!
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