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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!
7238 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Stelling as a custom lefty
Year Purchased: 2020
Price Paid: ~5k altogether ($US)
It's amazing, loud, crisp, everything you'd expect from a Stelling maple. I don't give 10s for anything but this banjo is the one I will judge all others against when it comes to craftsmanship. Besides, everything getting all 10s all the time tells you nothing. It's the same Stelling reno played and I'm sure he could make it a 10.
Sound Rating: 9
Great, sounds perfect right out of the case even though it is a lefty and i know they couldnt break it in.
Setup Rating: 9
This is a 10. Everything about it is a work of art. far exceeded my expectations. I wanted a big golden sunburst on the resonator and they delivered.
Appearance Rating: 10
I haven't had it that long so it is hard to tell. Looks like top quality gear and so far so good but it's only been a month.
Reliability Rating: 9
Good. I had to have this made as a custom because i am a lefty and though it cost 10% more they gave me exactly what i asked for. I wanted my Golden Cross to be golden, not just brown with a sunburst and it sure is golden. They forgot to send me my customized truss rod cover with the banjo but one email and it was here in a couple days. It took about 2 months longer than estimated to get the banjo but that is within the range of what you might expect. Murphy Henry brokered this deal for me and got me a nice discount for being a longtime student and she gets a 10 for her communication and efforts to get everything perfect.
Customer Service: 9
It's a Stelling so its all the best stuff right? Everything is exceptional.
Components Rating: 9
Stellings, especially left handed custom Stellings are fairly, almost ridiculously expensive. I got a discount as a Murphy Method student which is a great way to go if you are unable to find a used one (lefty) and have to have one made but i was still over twice as much as my 2004 Hatfield. Still, if you want a lifetime banjo you can't possibly outgrow or get over what a piece of art it is, get one and you won't be disappointed. I have banjos all over the house sitting on stands and hanging on the walls but this Stelling Golden Cross stays in the case until it is time to play. It is definitely a prized possession.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Turtle Hill Banjo
Year Purchased: 2012
Price Paid: Don't Remember (bought USED)
historic exchange rates / currency converter
This Golden Cross has the archtop ring, but it has alot of possibilities with the set-up. When I got it it was set-up to sound very balanced with great power across all the strings, with a little more pop off the first string pull-offs than my flathead. I now have it set up to unapologetically peel paint off the walls!
Sound Rating: 10
Banjo sounded fantastic if it was my only banjo. I have another banjo will a very balanced tone, so I wanted to take full advantage of the archtop ring with this set-up. Changing from a heavy maple bridge back to the Stelling bridge made a big improvement. Replacing the Stelling with a Kat-Eyz Spice Floor bridge got me where I want to be and then some!
Setup Rating: 10
Outstand figure in the wood of the neck and resonator. This is my first gold plated banjo and i'm digging it. I really like the rope binding too ... probably better than the abolone on my Staghorn.
Appearance Rating: 10
Stelling quality. Will last my lifetime and then some.
Reliability Rating: 10
Geoff and Sherri have always answered my emails. Thank you!
Customer Service: 10
The Stelling archtop ring is outstanding.
Components Rating: 10
I was a little surprized how much you can get a maple archtop Stelling to sound like a walnut flathead Stelling.Alot of flexibility in the set-up of these banjos.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: 12th Fret
Year Purchased: 2009
Price Paid: N/A ($US) (bought USED)
Great sounding Banjo. This is a 1979 Golden Cross/Archtop/Top-tension with custom engraving, 2 Keith tuners and all walnut construction. It's a cannon with unsurpassed highs and a great 4th string. How can an archtop sound this good? Only Jeff Stelling can answer that question.
Sound Rating: 10
Set up was good when I got it with no buzzes, low string height and correct bridge placement. Grant knows what he is doing. Of course, I am a tinkerer so although it sounded really good right out of the box, I did my usually and took the whole thing apart, cleaned everything and put it all back together. I noticed that it had a high crown head installed which made no sense to me - not Grant's fault - it was a used banjo sold on consignment. Whoever owned this before me must have used the wrong size head. I changed it to a heavy 1970's low crown I had lying around and tightened it down to 93 on my drum dial. It went from great to fantastic just like that! I checked the old head before removing it and it was at 85 and the head bead was flush against the neck stop and couldn't go any further. The low crown gave me plenty of room to spare and 93 was easy to attain.
Setup Rating: 10
Great workmanship. I can't see any filler near the inlays. I used some Stewart MacDonald #4 swirl removed to rub out the finish and it looks as good as new even though it's 30 years old. There were 2 tiny scratches on the resonator and those are almost gone now. Custom engraving on all the parts. The armrest and tailpiece are particularly well done with hand engraving that has an almost a 3D look. The flange, tone ring and tension hoop have some hand engraving but mostly are stamped using a hammer and punch type of tool. I used never dull to get the parts clean and wow, what a difference a little elbow grease makes. I'll bet the metal was never cleaned before. The oxidation is gone!! Hardware is better than top notch and it's all brass including the flange. This is a very heavy banjo. How heavy you say - try 17.4 pounds. I might need a wider strap.
Appearance Rating: 10
Hardware, finish, sound, appearance, etc. are all second to none. There is no reason I would ever need a backup.
Reliability Rating: 10
12th fret was great to deal with. Grant was awesome and did a fine job on the setup. I would not hesitate to buy from them again. Fedex on the other hand really sucked. It took 9 days to get the banjo. Yes, it did get held up in customs for a few days but, Fedex Ground was awfully slow and updates on the website were not even accurate. I finally had to go pick it up myself at one of their locations. The rating is for 12th Fret. Fedex gets a 2.
Customer Service: 10
Everything on this Banjo is top notch. The Keith tuners are 30 years old and still work great - very smooth. I found the archtop tone ring to be very interesting on this banjo. I was always curious about the design of Stelling archtop tone rings and took it off to see what it looked like. They have a very unusual shape because of the wedge fit system. The bottom edge of this tone ring is so sharp, I could slice a piece of paper with it. Really great design and hard to machine I'll bet. No wonder it's a $150 option. I wonder if anyone has ever published a profile view of these tone rings anywhere? Some others might be interested.
Components Rating: 10
Best looking and sounding banjo that I have ever seen or played, period.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Banjo.com
Year Purchased: 2008
Price Paid: 3600.00 ($US)
So far this banjo is the Holy Grail! Its so easy to play and sounds fantastic!!! Rings all the way up the neck, very loud and crispy!!
Sound Rating: 10
Geoff Stelling personally sets each banjo up before it leaves! I did take a small amount of bow out of the neck for my liking. Not a big deal.
Setup Rating: 10
First class!! Beautiful instrument, well made! Not one flaw!
Appearance Rating: 10
If this banjo dont last your not taking care of it. IMO This is as good as it gets!
Reliability Rating: 10
Havent had any problems yet, but Im sure they will take care of any if needed! Comes with a lifetime warranty! What else could you want?
Customer Service: 10
The wood is just amazing! The neck also is a work of art! I cant find a part thats not quality!
Components Rating: 10
I would highly recomend this bajo if you can afford it! I have two other top of the line banjos and this one tops them all! I love it and if it were stolen, I would round up my buds and go kick some ####!!!
Overall Rating: 10
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