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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!
7197 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased:
I have had a set of Pegheds on my John Bowlin banjo for around 7 years.
Today, when replacing the fifth string, I noticed the entire mechanism was turning instead of just the shaft that's intended to turn. In other words, the glue had broken lose and the entire thing was spinning in the hole.
The tuner, of course, fell right out. Then I tried to turn the turner while holding the aluminum housing, and the thing seems completely frozen up. No movement at all.
I called the manufacturer, thinking, "no big deal, anything can break or wear out."
The owner, John Herin, IMMEDIATELY claimed to know exactly what had happened. He said it was installed incorrectly, and not glued in the hole. I politely told him it was--I was looking at the remnants of glue on the walls of the hole and on the Peghed housing. He continued, insisting that it was nothing wrong with his product, and that it was installed incorrectly. He then told me that since I was not a luthier, I had no business taking the Peghed out of the hole. And furthermore, since he designed the product, he could not possibly be wrong about the installation.
But he then offered that if I included a post paid envelope, I could send the tuner to him and he would repair it. But wait--he just said that he was certain the problem was not his tuner but the lack of glue in the hole. Which is it?
And then he hung up on me. (In his defense, the volume of my voice was rising by this point).
Wow.
They're a good product. I like them. But even good products can go wrong sometimes. Rarely have I felt more put off by such an attitude towards ones customers.
Overall Rating: 5
10 out of 10 is for real. Ron was a SUPER guy to work with. He made a neck to fit my rim. I've never had a luthier to begin a project so quickly. Mine was a neck with some special requests, and Ron went above and beyond to produce what I asked for. He sent over pictures at every phase of the project. Plus his prices were very reasonable. You've got a return customer!!
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: From Steve
Extremely high quality. Produces a rich and interesting tone.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: From Nate
Year Purchased: 2011
Price Paid: 500 ($US)
Low and rich. Very pleasing.
Sound Rating: 10
Strings a little close together for my taste, but it was my fault that I did not specify when I ordered.
Setup Rating: 9
First rate. One very small glue mark from the head on the rim, but this is really first class workmanship.
Appearance Rating: 10
The banjo has no hardware, but unless I abuse this banjo, it looks like it will last forever. Very good construction.
Reliability Rating: 10
Excellent. Nate produced this banjo during a time when his wife was giving birth to a baby. He managed to work around that and finished it on time. He patiently answered all my questions, and produced exactly the banjo I asked for.
Customer Service: 10
None.
Components Rating: 10
Excellent tackhead for a great price. I would buy again from Nate without hesitation.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: from Fults
The tailpiece is a work of art, but as far as improving the tone or harmonics, it had the opposite effect. The website assures the buyer that it will improve tone, it did not. It also assures the buyer that it eliminates retuning issues when changing to an alternate tuning, because it holds the tailpiece in place as one string is tuned. This also did not happen. When I contacted Bob, he would not take the tailpiece in return. The website does not mention either way if returns are allowable. There's a reason why there's always 3-5 Fults tailpieces for sale on the hangout classifieds. I give it '5' just because it's well-made.
Overall Rating: 5
Where Purchased: 7/11/11
Save the extra $4. I could tell absolutely no difference between these and the regular nickel Pro Piks that I use (except the Cobalt is shinier). The Cobalt picks are supposed to last longer, but on the other hand, I'm still using the same nickel picks I was using 7 years ago.
Overall Rating: 6
John did a basic setup. I was also having some trouble with the neck width of my Huber. John suggested a repair that not only worked great, it was less expensive than I would have expected. He did the work in very quick fashion, and even met me with the banjo on his way to a show, saving me another drive to his shop. I'm completely happy, and will definitely use him again.
Overall Rating: 10
