I'm considering ordering/buying a new/used Prucha banjo. Unfortunately, they're not easy to find in my area! Is there anyone in this community who lives within a few hours of Mid-Michigan, owns a Prucha, and would consider letting me take a look at it? My hope is to have a few in my hands in the coming months so I'll know which model works best for me. Alternately, if anyone knows of a place in the Midwest where I could play a few of them in one visit, I'd definitely consider driving. The dealers Prucha recommends are 20+ hours from me, which is a last resort (besides flying to CZ!).
Thanks in advance for your thoughts/suggestions!
I’m assuming you tried Elderly in Lansing???
Slammer!!!
It's not close, but Greg Boyd in Montana deals in Prucha parts and has Prucha banjos on hand. Check their website.
There are only two Prucha dealers in the US - Greg Boyd in Missoula MT, and Sullivan Banjo in Alabama (I suspect Sullivan deals in Prucha parts, not completed instruments).
The mack daddy of music stores in Michigan is Elderly. Did a quick check on their page - they don't appear to have any used Pruchas in stock.
There does appear to be several bluegrass music associations in Michigan. Both have Facebook pages. If you don't get a response here that's useful, you might try joining those pages if you're on Facebook. Otherwise, you might try a web search, finding their sites, and sending a query that you're looking for a Prucha owner who'd be willing to meet with you to see the instrument.
I don't own a Prucha, but I've been fortunate to play roughly half a dozen of them - different models and price points. They were all superb.
Thanks for the replies so far!
slammer: Yep, I visit Elderly (~20 min drive) often, and am checking their stock regularly. A former manager there told me he only saw 2 Pruchas in 10-ish years.
The Old Timer: Yep, They do have 3 Pruchas on their website, but Greg Boyd is 28 hours from me. Hoping to find something closer if at all possible!
eagleisland: Good idea on the FB pages! I'll try there if this forum doesn't yield other options. I contacted Prucha directly before posting here, and they recommended Boyd's in MT and Penny Lane in southern FL -- both 20+ hour drives. Of all their US dealers, only Boyd currently has stock.
Edited by - bhsocko on 01/27/2023 09:24:25
Here's another thought. Call Greg Boyd. If there's a Prucha within shouting distance, he probably knows both the owner and how to contact that individual, and may be able to hook you up.
And if you're as impressed as I expect you'll be, you should order and/or purchase the banjo through his store. Doubt you'd save much money ordering direct anyway, once shipping and import duties etc. are figured in.
BTW, allow yourself some time for the call. Mr. Boyd is a loquacious fellow. Your conversation will probably take you up and down numerous side channels. You will find none of them uninteresting, and may find some of them extremely valuable.
You might also PM Mike Stanger, who goes by the user name Stanger here on the hangout. Mike owns a magnificent Prucha; he and Greg were at IBMA the first year that Jarolslav Prucha showed up. Mike was pickin' on one of the banjos and Greg was blown away by the sound. He made a deal that night to be Prucha's first US distributor, and is still the primary one.
You CAN fly into Missoula, via SLC or DEN - which would save you a lot of travel time, as long as there's no reason you can't fly. These are premium instruments and candidly, if you can afford one, you can probably spring for the trip.
But you should touch base with Greg Boyd either way; Prucha builds instruments in small batches, and it doesn't crank out large numbers of instruments each year. Greg gets new inventory once or twice a year, and knows when the next shipments are coming in (and the models in that shipment). If you go that route, I think your best bet would be to find out when the next batch will arrive at his shop and time your visit accordingly.
Does it sound like I'm a Prucha fan? Yup. Prucha and Hatfield. I have a Hatfield and adore it. If I ever hit the lottery, I'd order two additional banjos: another Hatfield, and a Prucha.
quote:
Originally posted by eagleislandThere are only two Prucha dealers in the US - Greg Boyd in Missoula MT, and Sullivan Banjo in Alabama
There are actually three...Penny Lane Music Emporium in Fort Lauderdale is listed on the Prucha site.
eagleisland: Excellent additional suggestions -- thank you!
OP:
If you want a Prucha, you've probably got 2 choices:
1. Buy unseen (and on faith),
or
2. Make the trip to Greg Boyd's (where you may have the opportunity to see more than one.
quote:
Originally posted by eagleislandBTW, allow yourself some time for the call. Mr. Boyd is a loquacious fellow. Your conversation will probably take you up and down numerous side channels. You will find none of them uninteresting, and may find some of them extremely valuable.
I was very impressed with the time Mr Boyd spent with me on the phone, and yes it was not all about the sale, just a really nice guy.
