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The banjo reviews database is here to help educate people before they purchase an instrument. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself!
7210 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Guitar Center
Year Purchased: 2024
Price Paid: 299 ($US)
Sound Rating: not rated
Setup Rating: not rated
Appearance Rating: not rated
Reliability Rating: not rated
Customer Service: not rated
Components Rating: not rated
I play clawhammer. I've been playing a Gold Tone AC Traveller for a while: composite rim, 23.5" scale. 11" head. I bought it to experiment with a shorter scale banjo. I like that scale for comfort and to play in open A with fiddlers. The tone and volume are OK for playing in the parlor. I just opened the box and took out my new AC12 A-scale banjo, same scale, 12" head, wider neck (1.375" at the nut), scoop. The composite rim is a little deeper than the Traveller. And the sound is really different. I can only conclude that the 12" head accounts for the difference. It has more low frequency, as you might expect, and is significantly louder than the Traveller. I really like this banjo. It hits my sweet spot with regards to neck width, scale length, and tone. I know a lot of builders are moving toward the short scale banjos, 12" pots, and wider necks; Gold Tone just made one that is mass produced and inexpensive. I'm not saying it is comparable to a custom hand-made banjo, only that I think it is going to be good enough for me until my hands are too arthritic to play (which really isn't that long from now).
Overall Rating: 8
