I'm a big Huber fan as many of you know, but have had an interest in vintage Gold Stars for several years now. I've played a few over the year on a very limited basis (in a music store or at workshops), but never in a setting that would allow me to really get a sense of the true potential of these banjos.
How do they compare tone and volume wise to Hubers or other "premium" banjos currently on the market?
What do you look for when evaluating vintage Gold Stars? Which years are better than others, if any?
7 Comments |
 | Banjov1 says:
3/21/2011 8:12:49 PM
I've got a Huber Lancaster with an HR 30 ring and an 85 Goldstar GF100. I did a lot of A/B comparisons when I first got the Huber. As far as sound goes, I think the low end on my Goldstar is just as deep and has a similar spring (at least that's how I think of it) as the Huber.
But the top two strings have a lot more clarity on my Huber than the Goldstar, especially up the neck. I've put in a banjomate tone enhancer and that helps, but the higher strings still don't ring as well as the Huber.
I think my Huber is slightly louder than my 85 Goldstar, but not by much
Also the neck on Goldstar is like a tree trunk. It's really thick. I'm a big fan of wide necks but deep/thick doesn't cut it for me. I'm also wondering if that might hinder the tone I mentioned on the 1 and 2 strings.
I played a 79 Goldstar GF100 a while back and remember being very impressed with it. More so than my 85. But I do think the guy had replaced the neck. Also I didn't really do any specific side by side comparisons of the two banjos. I just remember playing it and being really impressed.
I've heard that the earlier 78 and 79 Goldstars are supposed to have a bit of an edge. But I'm sure there's good and bad banjos in every lot. In fact I've played a newer (2005 maybe) GF 85 that had great tone on all the strings. But most of my experiences with the newer models I haven't liked as much as the older ones.
Also for all the Gold Stars I've played (and that would be quite a few at this point) I don't know anything about the setup except for my own (and my friend's GF85 actually) which we've faithfully had setup and tweaked by Mike Munford every couple of months.
I think what I like most about the vintage Goldstars is the general quality tone and volume that you can get for a $1,000-1,500 banjo. It's hard to beat the price for quality that you get out of these old Gold Stars.
Keep in mind these are all just my subjective opinions.
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 | Forrest says:
3/21/2011 9:27:04 PM
Thanks Tony. I recall reading somewhere that the earlier Gold Stars (76-82) had thinner necks than the later ones (83-86). I don't know if this is true or not as I have little to no personal experience as I previously indicated.
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| Banjov1 says:
3/22/2011 2:57:28 AM
I've got a Huber Lancaster with an HR 30 ring and an 85 Goldstar GF100. I did a lot of A/B comparisons when I first got the Huber. As far as sound goes, I think the low end on my Goldstar is just as deep and has a similar spring (at least that's how I think of it) as the Huber.
But the top two strings have a lot more clarity on my Huber than the Goldstar, especially up the neck. I've put in a banjomate tone enhancer and that helps, but the higher strings still don't ring as well as the Huber.
I think my Huber is slightly louder than my 85 Goldstar, but not by much
Also the neck on Goldstar is like a tree trunk. It's really thick. I'm a big fan of wide necks but deep/thick doesn't cut it for me. I'm also wondering if that might hinder the tone I mentioned on the 1 and 2 strings.
I played a 79 Goldstar GF100 a while back and remember being very impressed with it. More so than my 85. But I do think the guy had replaced the neck. Also I didn't really do any specific side by side comparisons of the two banjos. I just remember playing it and being really impressed.
I've heard that the earlier 78 and 79 Goldstars are supposed to have a bit of an edge. But I'm sure there's good and bad banjos in every lot. In fact I've played a newer (2005 maybe) GF 85 that had great tone on all the strings. But most of my experiences with the newer models I haven't liked as much as the older ones.
Also for all the Gold Stars I've played (and that would be quite a few at this point) I don't know anything about the setup except for my own (and my friend's GF85 actually) which we've faithfully had setup and tweaked by Mike Munford every couple of months.
I think what I like most about the vintage Goldstars is the general quality tone and volume that you can get for a $1,000-1,500 banjo. It's hard to beat the price for quality that you get out of these old Gold Stars.
Keep in mind these are all just my subjective opinions.
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 | danielburdett says:
4/11/2011 8:39:41 AM
I have a 79 GF-100 and it has a small neck. It took me some getting used to. I really like it though. Sometimes I still mess up while trying to hammer onto the 4th string. I do love the Gold Star though. I plan on getting another on in the future.
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 | jbanjoist says:
5/1/2011 7:13:06 PM
Forrest I have a 1984 JD Crowe. If I am ever down your way with it you can take it for a test drive.
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 | O.D. says:
3/2/2012 1:38:35 PM
I had a gf100 i got in 1984, new. I believe it was the best sounding banjo I ever played. i sold it because I just had to have a JD model. My bad. I wish i still had the 100.
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 | steve davis says:
6/26/2012 5:21:10 PM
I've never played a Gold Star with a neck that wasn't very comfortable.
I found a barely ever played '79 GF85 last year and I'm waiting for it to open up,fully.
I need to play it more,but I can't stop playing my conversion long enough.
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