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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: Backyard Music
Year Purchased: 2018
Price Paid: $143 ship & armrest ($US)
As a total newbie to banjo, it sounds quite nice to me. I'm a hobbiest and not a performer so quiet is good.
Sound Rating: 8
I built this from the kit. so setup only required placing the bridge.
Setup Rating: 10
I love the looks and my aesthetic additions. If I had it to do over, however, I would have used a darker and glossier finish than the recommended matte natural Watco oil. The paint job on the rim was already done, and not the best. Overall, though, it looks pretty good.
Appearance Rating: 8
Tuners work well without any slipping and hold a tune really well. The bridge looks and functions fine. The action is just fine for me. The nut works well, but is not attractive. :)
Reliability Rating: 10
Shipping was quick, and it was well packaged. I did not need to contact customer service apart from sending them a pic of my build.
Customer Service: 10
The design is ingenious. There were minor flaws in the wood components here and there, but nothing to get overly concerned about. It's a kit afterall. There were no flaws I couldn't live with.
Components Rating: 8
Overall I am very pleased. My first foray into banjo was a used Rover open back, which was old, well used and did not sound good, and was virtually impossible to tune.
I am no judge of banjos, as I am an old guitar player and tune and play a banjo pretty much as if it were a guitar. I"m kinda old to start over. But I love this thing. Even more than the Jameson I bought. If I had done this build first, I wouldn't have even bothered with the store bought Jameson. I play only for glee and to keep myself off the streets in retirement. This project does bring me lots of glee.
I'll try to post a picture of my build with this review. If I have any advice to give on the building, proceed slowly and double check all alignment before going to bed and leaving the glue to dry. The problems in the build were all my own fault for getting impatient and not checking and double checking before I called it good.
I named this banjo my CATerwauler.
Overall Rating: 9
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