1four5
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| Joined: | Sat Oct 30th, 2004 |
| Location: | Wichita, Kansas USA |
| Posts: | 1107 |
| Instrument Interest: | Bluegrass Banjo, Guitar |
| Status: |
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The following review is a C&P of a review I did for the Banjo Hangout website.
Submitter
Dean (1four5)
Where Purchased
Music 123
Year Purchased
2005
Price Paid
$319/also bought the HSC with it for $79
Sound
I've waited for 6 months to write this report, so I've gotten the chance to play the snot out of this banjo. It just keeps getting better. It's tone is a little shallow compared to a $1000+ banjo, but it is crisp and bright and loud, and a GREAT banjo for jamming hard with my friends. Like I said, with a little tweeking, this banjos keeps sounding better and better. I play it hard for about 2 hours a day.
Sound Rating
9
Setup
It's set up was terrible from Music 123. The tail piece nut was ratteling around inside the resonator. The bridge had fallen over. The neck had a fair bow and the action was unacceptably high. I can do my own set ups, and it was easy to get it right. The worst aspect of this banjo was the tail piece mounting bracket hit the resonator, which in turn, would not let the resonator tighten against the resonator brackets. I had to take a dremel with a sanding drum, and make a cutout on the inside edge of the resonator, for proper clearance. Once doen, there were no more problems in this area.
Setup Rating
5
Appearance
This banjo is just down right pretty. The fake marble plastic tuning knobs are a little gorpy looking, but hey, they work. I got the guitar style tuners, so my head stock has ugly ears...oh well. The fret marker inlays are really nice for a banjo of this price. The matte neck is awesome for playability. I love the light blond wood. The stain on the fretboard is a little thin...and I'm already wearing through it in high traffic areas...but hey, that gives it soul.
Appearance Rating
8
Reliability
I have used it in a gig without back-up, with no problems. It's a trooper. I've played it in all day jams, with no problems. I've swet all over it. I've banged it around. The tuners look very chincey, but thay keep tune WAY BETTER than average, and have held up superb. The 5th string geared tuner had been flawless. I did have one bad malfunction wth the resonator threaded inserts. I started getting a rattle, and when I took the resonator off, I found one of the insert blocks broken off and the insert loose. I tried all 4 inserts...AND EVERY ONE PULLED OUT WITH MINIMUM EFFORT  . I used 5 minute epoxy to glue everything back in place, and have had no problems since. The plating on the metal parts cleans nicely and hasen't stained yet. I installed a strap button on the neck heal, and this banjo balances great with a guitar strap. This banjo is light weight (7 1/2 pounds) so I don't need to see the Chiropractor after playing all day. It's fun to sling around, and sometimes I get crazy. In the 6 months I've owned it, I've had to tighten up the head 3 times to keep it at a G-G#. I've tried several expensive bridges on it, but have yet to get the balanced tone I get with the original, so it's back on.
Reliability Rating
8
Customer Service
I haven't had a need to contact Gold Tone
Customer Service
not rated
Components
The tail piece mounting bracket hitting the resonator is something that Gold Tone should look into and fix, terrible design oversight. The resonator threaded inserts came loose way to easy...but were also easy to glue back in. I'm a mechanic by trade, so these were little things to correct. To a non mechanic, these could have been a big dissipointment and repair bill. The standout is the matte finish on the neck, and with a truss rod adjustment, action and playability of this banjo is every bit as good as my "expensive" banjo. I also really really really like the straight line tail piece, and the good bass and even tones it gives when adjusted slightly above level.
Components Rating
7
Overall Comments
YES!!! It's worth every penny. Although I had to fix a few things, no big deal, and it's water under the bridge. If this banjo was stolen, I would replace it immediately with the same model. It is my fun banjo, it is may practice banjo, beat around banjo, swet on it banjo, and I'll use it at gigs if conditions are less than favorable and I don't want to use my Deering Sierra. My favorite feature is it's light weight with bright volume, making it perfect for hard jams. I would describe it as a "happy" sounding banjo, where as my Sierra is a "serious" sounding banjo with only slightly more volume and deeper tone. I wish this banjo would loose the "entry level" tag it's gotten, because with a little tweeking and tune up attention, it can hang in there and be a real work horse for anyone, without breaking their back, or bank account. I LOVE IT! My overall rating of 10 is for enjoyment and satisfaction, dispite the problems I've mentioned.
Overall Rating
10
Last edited on Tue Jan 3rd, 2006 10:10 am by 1four5
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These are the good times!
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It's ashame, such a good banjo, such soft frets. I've had some people tell me on another forum that it's just normal, and to that I say bull, I have played guitar a lot harder for a lot longer with heavier strings with less fret ware. 
