Backyard Music: Fireside (Kit)

Submitted by guitarsophist on 4/20/2017

Where Purchased: Backyard Music (Online)

Year Purchased: 2017
Price Paid: 129 ($US)

Sound

This banjo is unique. It has a wooden disk for a soundboard. It plays like a banjo, but sounds a bit like a quiet dulcimer. It is not loud, but that is part of the charm. I would say that it is not for jams or performance, but for personal practice and noodling. I am a guitar player who recently took up banjo. I have learned a lot from playing it. You could probably play this at 3:00 am without waking anybody up, but it still has a satisfying sound.

Sound Rating: 8

Setup

I bought this as a no mess, apartment friendly kit. That means you put the parts together, but they are already finished. The design is quite innnovative. It is a neck-through design, with a mahogany neck and a composite resonator. Mine has a plywood top, but you can get solid tops. I ended up putting extra coats of polyurethane on the disk, mostly because I used too much glue and created a bit of a mess, so I had to refinish a bit. Then, after everything had dried a couple of days, I strung it up and moved the bridge around until the intonation was right. It is easy to get it set up.

Setup Rating: 5

Appearance

It is basic. Mahogany neck. Spruce plywood top. Frets are quite good. Brass nails for side markers. The holes are all pre-drilled. You could decorate the top however you wanted.

Appearance Rating: 7

Reliability

The hardware is basic, but quite serviceable. Guitar style tuners. The fifth string goes through the slot of a brass screw as a sort of bridge. Very clever.

Reliability Rating: 7

Customer Service

David Cross was quite helpful throughout the ordering process. Real human beings there.

Customer Service: 10

Components

I think the neck design is brilliant. It serves as neck, tailpiece, and support for the resonator. It is very efficient, solid use of materials.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

I play this almost every day.  The small resonator makes it a bit difficult to keep in the right position on your lap, but it comes with some screw eyelets for a strap.  It is so light that I found that a pair of sturdy shoelaces tied together was enough of a strap to solve this problem.  I also have a Goodtime Americana for when I want to be louder and play for people, but the Fireside banjo is just the thing for practicing, especially if you are just noodling around and exploring while you are watching Netflix or something.  It's fun.

If you buy a kit, it is worth looking at the YouTube videos that are available.  The current kit has evolved a bit, but they are still helpful.  If I had looked at those first, I would have used half as much glue and save myself a bit of trouble.  The kits are very cool though.  Even if you just stick thing together, you end up bonding with the instrument more and you are more likely to keep playing it.  

Overall Rating: 9