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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: FOTW
Year Purchased: 2005
Price Paid: 3100 ($US)
I am a Scruugs style player and this banjo has the sound I always wanted. It has a great balance of sound and will really pop if you dig into the strings.
Sound Rating: 10
I changed the head tightness a bit (tighter) and got some more volume but maybe lost a bit of tone fullness. It settled in and the tone came back. The tailpiece is a Presto and was down on the stretcher ring but angled up a bit. I drilled and tapped an 8-32 into the tailpiece for angling it down but this resulted in muting the banjo a bit. Let it go back to original and it brightened back up.
Setup Rating: 9
Very sharp looking banjo. Curly Maple neck and resonator. Resonator was busted at the neck when shipped. It was replaced with another by Crafters in a pretty timely fashion. It has a slight defect in the resonator finish that Ron said will be fixed as soon as I send the resonator back.
Appearance Rating: 9
The hardware is the good stuff and is without flaw. It seems like it would be tough to hurt it much in regular use.
Reliability Rating: 10
Ron and Mark have been good in replacing a busted resonator. Very friendly and helpful people. They have stood behind this banjo since day 1.
Customer Service: 9
Beautiful overall banjo. I would sure like to be able to play with a more adjustable tailpiece and may put a Futz on it soon. Who knows what may pop out if given the perfect set-up
Components Rating: 10
I definately recommend this banjo. The price was fair for a great instrument with a full factory backing. If it was stolen I'd have to say I'd be wanting another one with the insurance check. It out-pops my old RB250 and sounds great up the neck too.
Overall Rating: 10
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