Submitted by mikeyes (see all reviews from this person) on 10/7/2021

Where Purchased: Bernunzio Uptown Music

Year Purchased: 2021
Price Paid: Two thousand three hundred dollars historic exchange rates / currency converter

Sound

As of 2021, this is a new style of banjo for Pisgah Banjos. It has a 12” head with a Dobson ring that is manufactured in the US. It plays with the typical Dobson sound, bright (but not too bright), complex and good volume.

It is a favorite of some clawhammer players, but my style is two finger, thumb lead. As soon as I picked it up, I knew that the feel and sound of the instrument was going to be a great complement to my style of play.

John Bernunzio, who was sitting right across from me when I started to play it, told me it was his favorite banjo. Considering that his prior “favorite banjo” (and I assume still is since he sold me this one) was one that he designed, that is saying a lot.

I was able to A/B it against around 30 other open back five string banjos at the shop. It was (literally) outstanding in that environment and it was the best sounding banjo they had for my style. (John was fondling it as I played the other banjos, but he sold it to me anyway.)

When I got home and compared it to my two classic Vegas, it was still an outstanding banjo. It is a keeper.

I’m rating it a 10 as I did have a chance to compare it and it holds up to all the other banjos in the shop.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

Pisgah ships its banjos de tuned a step and I found it that way on the shop floor. It sounded great and continued to sound great when I finally tuned it to standard.

One of the first things I noticed was the neck which felt very natural to me. Some of the other well known banjos I played were not as comfortable.

It comes with what some would consider a slightly high setup (I assume for clawhammer) that helped the sound in my opinion. Even so, it is easy to play and I have no interest in a lower bridge or any other enhancement. If you found it wrong for you, all you whould have to do is to get another bridge (or make one as I usually do.)

Setup at the nut was perfect. The Ren head was at 90 on my DrumDial, in the preferred range for me, and everything was solid and snug.

Setup was very well done.

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

This is not a fancy banjo. I don’t think Pisgah has a fancy banjo, but I was attracted to it right away as it sat in the midst of a lot of other banjos.

It is made from locally resourced hardwoods with a Richlite finger board. Everything is precisely fitted and/or made and the finish flawless. This is not a quickly flung together banjo made from random parts. Everything is top notch.

It is just not going to dazzle you with bling. It is clearly an musician’s instrument and that is both part of the charm and the makings of a really good deal.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

I have not played it enough to see if it will self destruct, but I doubt that it will. I have had enough experience making and fixing banjos to know that this is a solid well built instrument with superior parts and assembly.

Let's face it, banjos are an accumulation of parts, in this case about 120 parts which are all top of the line and manufactured to strict standards. Nothing is going to break because it was cheap or shoddy. You will have to drop the banjo first and even then it would probably hold up.

The finish is brings out the beauty of the wood. I guess I could ask them what the finish is, they would certainly tell me, but it does not seem like the finish would be a problem at all. I am sure it will hold up and others who own Pisgah instruments have said that they have had no problems.

I have backup banjos that I will play if needed. I don’t think I will need one, but who knows? Anything could happen, but if it does it will not be the fault of this instrument.

I expect this to last me a long time.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

I’ve only had the banjo a short time, but I contacted the company because I heard about how great they are to customers and I did have a practical question about putting in a spike in the Richlite board. (You have to drill the hole the same diameter as the spike and not pierce through the board. Use a dab of super glue.). They came right back and let me know that they were happy to see the banjo was in my hands and said I was welcome to come to the factory if I was ever in Asheville. All of my questions were answered.

I don’t have much use for warranties, although I love the lifetime one I have on my older Gibson mandolin and Martin guitar. I don’t have access to the Pisgah warranty right now but it is a standard “parts, etc.” type and others have told me about how all of their issues have been resolved easily.

Customer Service: 10

Components

There are no weak components.

Most of the components are made by Pisgah or farmed out to select machine shops. With one exception they are all USA made and the exception is the tuners which are Gotoh, in my opinion the best reasonably priced tuners out there.

The Dobson tone is superb. I have owned an original Dobson and this one is very similar.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

Here is the deal.  There are very few used Pisgah banjos for sale, which should tell you something.  This one lasted less than a week in John Bernunzio's shop and he was trying to keep it as long as he could for himself.  He wants another one immediately but due to the nature of the demand for these instruments, that won't happen.  There are very few shops who keep them for any period of time.

I am lucky to have this one. It is a new model for Pisgah and it is the most expensive one they make that is not a custom banjo.  Their quality and designs are both excellent and a bargain considering what you get.  One of the other banjos I played was almost three times the cost and I still preferred the Dobson Pro.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but it is unlikely you will get a chance to see one in person as they don't last very long in stores.  You can get a custom made one at a reasonable price with good terms from Pisgah if you want and they will go out of their way to make sure you are happy.

I'd buy another one but i don't have a reason to do so.

Pisgah Dobson Pro

Here is me playing it.

Overall Rating: 10