Backyard Music: Fireside Fretless (Assembled)

Submitted by Goodandgreasy on 12/15/2015

Where Purchased: internet

Year Purchased: 2015
Price Paid: 189 ($US)

Sound

I like to play in many styles, right now its clawhammer plus working on 2 finger style. Great sound! (for what it is, mainly a learning or practice instrument) I got the mahogany sound board and the nylon strings sound great for practicing or even a micro performance.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

Nicely set up with nylon strings, easy on the fingers. I ordered the armrest and put it on myself. No setup changes needed between styles as the fingerboard is elevated above the sound board by design (making for very easy action) and at the head the strings are well up off the head.

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

Beautiful and clever design. I got the mahogany sound board which looks and sounds great.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

This is a great practice instrument and would work great as an introductory instrument for youngsters. It is very sturdy but not for a toddler. The hardware is cheap but sturdy.

Reliability Rating: 6

Customer Service

The folks are very friendly and responded to me quickly.

Customer Service: 10

Components

This is a unique instrument. The design is clever and is kind of related to the dulcimer. The amazing thing is the neck is more stable than a conventional instrument. The pot is cardboard but with the wooden soundboard and "all the way thru" neck it makes up for the material of the pot and is very sturdy.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

Ok, my picture is still upside down (the flip side of banjo?).  My grandson is a budding musician and likes to play on my banjo when he's over here.  He's only 3 1/2 and I sent my old very beater guitar over to his house and that didn't last long.  So I'm looking around for an instrument for him and came across Backyard Music's website.  After talking to David Cross via e-mail I decided to get him the junior dulcimer which comes with 2 books by David and Sarah Morse.  It is set up with numbers on the melody string to go along with tunes in the book.  Now I know he would love the banjo, but I decided that I always wanted a fretless so I decided to get one for myself and he can play it when he's over here (meanwhile I'll see how it goes with the little dulcimer which is very sturdy, also beautiful and sounds great!)  Now I am using it for a practice instrument which really works great as I can practice without driving my wife nuts (unlike the bagpipe) and it is just a hoot to play! Full size fingerboard too!

Overall Rating: 10