All Banjo Reviews (By Submitter)

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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!

7108 reviews in the archive.

Rover: RB-20

Submitted by wayfarer on 12/23/2004

Where Purchased: Colorado Springs

Year Purchased: 2002
Price Paid: 135 ($US)

Sound

For what it is, the sound is not bad. Each note rings true without any buzzing. Not real loud and a bit hollow, but that's to be expected from this open back banjo

Sound Rating: 7

Setup

I think I adjusted the action down a little, but I just like the action lower than most people do. Other than that the basic setup was fine. I added a 5th string slide capo, but didn't like it and eventually put in spikes. But the banjo itself played very, very well.

Setup Rating: 9

Appearance

Very plain looking with no fancy inlays, but overall looked pretty nice. I didn't care for the squared peghead (like a guitar) and the guitar tuners, but then that's one of the reasons it was so inexpensive. It has a nice rosewood fingerboard and mahoganny neck. The neck is very thin which gives the banjo a slender delicate appearance. The pot is made of fiberglass, which makes it very lightweight, but is not unattractive.

Appearance Rating: 6

Reliability

I never had a problem and played it every day for a year and a half. It stayed in tune very well except the G (3rd) string which needed slight adjustment after every other song or so.

Reliability Rating: 8

Customer Service

I didn't really deal much with the store that sold me the banjo since I moved away shortly after buying it.

Customer Service: not rated

Components

It comes with a friction peg for the 5th string which I replaced. It also has guitar tuners on the peghead, but they work fine. All the hardware is bottom shelf, but worked just fine. It has a "No-Knot" tailpiece which is a little akward if you don't change the strings one at a time, but then again a presto or clamshell would be overkill on this particular instrument and merely jack the price up.

Components Rating: 7

Overall Comments

I actually really was fond of this instrument. It was my first banjo and played great. You could not ask for a better beginner banjo. Compared to all the banjos on the market I would rate it as maybe a 3 or 4, but compared to the entry level banjos out there and to other instruments in the same price range it stands out much higher.

Overall Rating: 9