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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!
7232 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Diect from Sonny
Year Purchased: 2013
Price Paid: 4350 ($US)
Sounds like a prewar Mastertone. Loud, woody with the right amout of midrange hollowness and pop
Sound Rating: 10
Couldn't be better
Setup Rating: 10
Perfect in every way
Appearance Rating: 10
I any imagine any issues ever coming up that would make me doubt this banjo
Reliability Rating: 10
Sonny said he intened for the Chief banjos to be the best of everything that was available. He backs that up in evey was. He said if i ever had any issues with anything on the banjo to email or call him and he would take care of it. I don't think you can get a better warranty than that.
Customer Service: 10
I don't intend to change a thing
Components Rating: 10
I took up most of Sonny's Saturday but he truly didn’t seem to mind a bit. He wanted to make sure I got the banjo that was right for me. I really wanted to get the gold plated maple Chief that was the copy of his Granada. I really liked all the bling. But the sound just wasn’t right to my ear. He also had a used mahogany version of the same banjo that he would have been perfectly happy for me to get, but it still didn’t fit quite right. When I tried the mahogany Rocky top, it was just right (beginning to sound like a familiar story). We probably spent the next 2 hours going back and forth talking, and me playing those 3 banjos again and again. I just kept coming back to that Rocky Top model. I really wanted the bling, but the sound of the Rocky Top overcame everything else. We both ended up agreeing that the Rocky Top was the banjo that fit me. What more can you say about that.
I can’t say enough about the time that Sonny spent helping me find the right banjo that I plan to be with me the rest of my banjo playing life. It’s not often you find someone who is truly more interested in helping you find the right product, than simply selling you something. And I can’t say enough great things about the time I had sitting and talking with Sonny about things related and unrelated to banjo playing. That’s a memory that priceless.
The Rocky Top banjo is absolutely great, and I will treasure the time I spent with Sonny in a one on one environment.
If anyone is looking for their top of the line forever banjo, I highly recommend that they contact Sonny and check of the Chief line of banjos.
Overall Rating: 10
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