Submitted by dpeters (see all reviews from this person) on 11/27/2008

Where Purchased:

Year Purchased: 2008
Price Paid: Don't Remember (bought USED) historic exchange rates / currency converter

Sound

This banjo has what I would describe as a full and rich bluegrass sound. It has a powerful bottom end with a bright bell like quality up the neck and a real consistency of sound from the lowest to the highest notes. I believe that the Huber philosophy is one of attempting to recreate that pre-war sound and I have to say the end product is, to my ear anyway, quite authentic.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

This banjo came to me second-hand and had some minor alteration from the original set up. The bridge had been replaced with a Kats Eye and it has GHS strings on it, although they are the same gauges as the original Huber strings 10, 11, 12.5, 20, 10. Other than that nothing has been altered from the factory spec. I’m really impressed with the action, low enough to be very playable, but no buzzing if you dig in a bit. Between first and fifth frets the neck is slightly narrower than my last banjo. This took some getting used to but I think it has increased my speed and I really like it. One annoyance was the finish on the back of the neck. Beautiful to look at and sticky as glue! I guess a speed neck is the answer, but the problem was solved by dulling the finish with 1200 glass paper.

Setup Rating: 9

Appearance

The banjo has a mahogany neck and resonator, beautifully finished and stained to a warm red/brown. Inlay is very similar to a traditional early Gibson pattern (Bows and leaves I think, but don’t quote me) with a nicely finished rosewood fingerboard. Metal work is nickel and beautifully deep plated. I can’t fault the Huber guys, their construction and workmanship is flawless.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

Although purchased second hand, this banjo was manufactured in 2008 and so its reliability is yet to be seen. That said, the workmanship is great and it’s obvious that quality materials have been used. Two exceptions; The fifth string peg has about half a turn of slop in it, which I’ve tracked down to the gearing and appears to be as a result of the button screw being cross threaded during assembly. While replacing the strings the nut fell out, handy if you want to replace it, but easily fixed.

Reliability Rating: 8

Customer Service

I have not dealt with Huber directly, so I can’t comment, but those I know who have speak very highly of them.

Customer Service: 8

Components

Timbers are beautiful, some mahogany banjos are very plain, but not so with this one. The tuning pegs appear to be two band Waverlys. The first to fourth string perform well, with the very nice addition of leather friction washers making them very smooth and accurate to use. The fifth string peg, as already mentioned, will need to be replaced. All of the parts on this banjo appear to have been chosen for authenticity, this approach has certainly helped to create the fantastic sound this instrument has.

Components Rating: 8

Overall Comments

This instrument had hardly been played when I purchased it and in the short time I’ve had it the sound has opened up beautifully. It has amazing dynamics offering endless variation of shade a colour. I have had numerous comments about how great the banjo sounds, I’d like to say it’s my picking, but I have to give the full credit to the Huber team. I would definitely recommend this instrument to anyone chasing an authentic bluegrass sound.

Some follow up... It's now November 2011 and this Lancaster has opened up into a really great banjo. The tone is mature, very even all they way up the neck with that typical mahogany sound. After four years of daily playing everything still functions as it did when new and overall I'd recommend Huber to anyone.

Overall Rating: 10