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!
7232 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Ryan Hardison
Year Purchased: 2025
Price Paid: ($US)
Nice clear sound, not sharp like many "master clones" do. It still bites but without bass muddiness. My wife says it's very loud.
Sound Rating: 10
Banjo was set up beautifully. Neck shifted a little during shipping but Ryan Hardison made good on that.
Setup Rating: 10
Beautiful walnut banjo. Straight grain walnut neck, Walnut veneer body with curly maple binding. Looks like a monolithic walnut back to the resonator. It has mother of pearl inlay, Richlite fingerboard and head lamination.
Appearance Rating: 10
It came with Prucha hardware and a full sized Sullivan tone ring.
Reliability Rating: 10
Ryan was real easy to work with. Highly recommend working with him for a custom build.
Customer Service: 10
Everything was top notch
Components Rating: 10
Ryan Hardison is a to notch custom build luthier. His craftsmanship is superlative. It took a couple of weeks for the parts to settle in but now this banjo sounds awesome (it was great when I first received but now its even better). I wanted a walnut banjo and RRyan did an excellent job on mine. Highly recommend. What I like the best is the bass sounds clean and clear - not overwhelmed by the higher registers. PERFECT!
Overall Rating: 10
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Privacy Consent (EU/GDPR Only)
Copyright 2026 Banjo Hangout. All Rights Reserved.
