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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!
7235 reviews in the archive.
Where Purchased: Grizzly.com
Year Purchased: 2005
Price Paid: 158 ($US)
Nice plunky sound, softer, and less treble ( darker) but warm compared to a Gold Tone CC-100/MH which is very similar except: Maple neck, wider neck, 24 standard bracket vs. 12 Hex for the Grizzly. I modified the Grizzly to be almost identical to the Gold Tone (24 brackets). Construction review to be posted in the “building part of the web site.
Sound Rating: 8
You the builder do this. Match the hole in the rim to the hole in the neck for the coordinator rod, and it’s almost perfect. Stock 3124 kit provides a ½” bridge, was a bit low so I used a std. 5/8 Grover. No buzzes, good action.
Setup Rating: 9
Mahogany wood takes nice finish and I used Deft brushing lacquer.
Pics posted at “song of the woods” eventually. Did custom inlay of a “star” in peghead and dual marquetry rim strips in rim. Stock kit will come out fine. Recognize that mahogany is much softer than maple so use care in handling the wood before finishing. The sound of mahagony wood is why I built this. Gives a mellow plunky tone and wonderful redish color to the banjo.
Appearance Rating: 9
Modified:
There were too many issues in other web posting about the small footprint Hex brackets holders, so I bought 24 standard from Stew Mac. The No. 12 bolts will be to long so cut to shorten or buy ¾” length. Put on a SteMac no-knot tailpiece. No issues with the planetary tuners after two months playing. Holds tune.
Reliability Rating: 8
About 8 of the bracket hooks had poorly cut threads and the nuts did not fit. I had ordered another 12 hooks and nuts to upgrade the banjo to a conventional 24 bracket format. Once I found the problem it took Grizzly three days to fix. To order the 12 extra took almost three weeks. Email support good. Overall, ok service.
Customer Service: 8
In some ways the weak area, but I changed the kit supplied brackets to StewMac parts. Tail piece too. Bridge is "my" Grover variation with missing center support or foot. No sag after 1 year on the Gold tone. Grover sells a 2 leg maple that I use on another banjo (Hoab) with great success. See Reliability section
Components Rating: 7
If you are comfortable with tools, wood finishing, filling dings, etc, and LOVE the reddish color of mahogany and the tonal characteristics, you will enjoy this kit. I had lots of “pucker factor” doing a freehand inlay of star in the peg head, but it came out fine (I did it 6 times in scrap). My next challenge is to go a banjo builders workshop. I practice on this banjo now more than my other 2.
Overall Rating: 9
Where Purchased: Union Music
Year Purchased: 2004
Price Paid: 279 ($US)
Nice plunky sound, good action, well set up. My Model CC-100/MH
Sound Rating: 8
Bridge good, head tension good, tuning buttons a bit "tight" . ready to play after tuning it up. Wayne at Gold Tone does a nice job.
Setup Rating: 9
Plating excellent, wood finish excellent, overall construction excellent.
Appearance Rating: 9
Brand new, so far so good.
Reliability Rating: 9
Carl and Jim ( the manager) made several calls to Gold Tone while I was customizing the CC-100. I settled on getting the planetary tuners as my only upgrade. Very Nice for $50. I replaced a Deering GT2 with a consigment "trade" ( 10%) Carl, the owner, at Union sells for less than most anyone in the greater Boston area. Best prices I'd seen including mail order. 508-753-3702
Customer Service: 9
Seem fine so far. Plating looks better then some parts on my Hoab.
Components Rating: not rated
I'd recommend Union Music to anyone in the greater Boston area. Great prices and nice people.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Janet Davis Music (JDM)
Year Purchased: 2004
Price Paid: 464 ($US)
The first time I heard the legendary Hoab was via Wayne at Gold Tone, over the phone. It has a nice plunky presence and a wonderful, clear bell -ring ( e.g. Dan Levenson’s Flying Indian on the second part) to each note. Bass is clear and without buzzing, even with light strings (it comes with medium strings).
Sound Rating: 9
I can’t give a fair assessment for the setup because UPS trashed the box so badly, the neck had twisted CCW from the ring. After a few frantic calls to JDM, and to Gold tone, (they were not in the office , Hurricane Francis was coming) I recalled that Zepp music had posted a note on dissembling a banjo, and I had "Banjo Repair" by Sandberg. It was relatively straightforward to align the neck properly to the rim with these guides. I had two RR pegs installed for the fifth string and they seem flawless. The head seemed too tight for clawhammer, and I loosened it about ¾ turn and raised the tail piece to almost ¼ “.
Setup Rating: 8
It is a blond and black banjo with chrome hardware accents, and a very nice walnut insert built into the rim at the tailpiece. This does not show up on web page pics. The rim is a thin, about 3/8” with a double thickness reinforced section at the tailpiece. Finish is flawless, but the tailpiece castings exhibits a porous surface on some of the less visible edges.
Appearance Rating: 9
Brand new, holds tuning well between sessions, too new to rate
Reliability Rating: not rated
I originally was undecided between the Whyte Lady and the Hoab. While I could hear a WL locally, I could not hear the Hoab. Janet returned my call and assured me that if I did not like the sound she would exchange it for a small fee.
Wayne at Gold Tone played the Hoab for me over the phone and provided its colorful history. I was sold.
Customer Service: 10
The Hoab seems like it has good components. Only time will tell.
Components Rating: 9
I am very pleased with the sound and the feel of the Hoab. It is taking a bit of time to get comfortable moving between my 11” and this 13 “ banjo. I use the 11 to learn new songs in different tunings. I keep the Hoab in “G” so I can practice my repertoire with its enchanting sound.
Overall Rating: 9
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