No comments about 5-String Banjo - 18 Brackets.

1 comments about Rogue Travel / Starter Banjo.

1. I've been playing the guitar (casually) for over five years, and as a big fan of bluegrass music, decided to purchase one of the cheapest banjos I could find. I figured if I got the hang of the technique (such as finger rolls) and found myself still practicing it in six months, I would upgrade to a better (and more expensive) banjo. So, I went ahead and purchased the Rogue Travel Banjo.
   
   The banjo arrived in need of some tweaking. Nothing too difficult. First, the bridge does not come installed-- the user will have to tune the strings down until they are loose and manually insert the bridge (you can find where to place the bridge online). Also, the neck on my product was slanted, but just gripping the neck where it connects to the body and giving it a little twist straightens it out no problem. I also had to tighten the nuts on the tuning pegs.
   
   After getting the banjo in proper order (any good music shop should know how to do so, and any great music shop will do it at no cost since it's only a few minutes of work), it works great. It's got a nice sound to it, and although I haven't compared it with any expensive banjos since I've owned it (but I've been around them), I feel it is certainly worth every dollar you pay for it.
   
   If you need help with your banjo, do a search for "banjo hangout" and visit the forums. Members are very friendly and will be able to help you tweak the instrument to get it sounding optimal and help you place the bridge properly.

No comments about Saga SS10P Travel Pony Banjo.

2 comments about Dean Backwoods Banjo Six String Tunes Like Guitar!.

1. I've been a guitar player for over 30 years, and never played the banjo. I bought this as an experiment, as I may need it for a few upcoming shows. I wanted to get a true banjo sound, but didn't want to bother learning a whole new instrument.
   
   This "Gitjo," for the money, is a great instrument. I had to modify the bridge slightly, having to make a slightly deeper cut for the 6th string with a utility knife (it would pull off its 6th position, and move towards the 5th) and I had to place the bridge into the right position (which was a snap, since you can check positioning against harmonics).
   
   The neck is very clean. It plays very well, and is perfectly straight. It is machined beautifully, and the fret positions are perfect. The mother of pearl Dean "Wing" design on the 12th fret is very cool.
   
   The mahogany body is seated with 4 inset screws that were a little loose. I took those out (by hand, piece of cake) and hot glued the insets so they would sit firm. That took a few minutes, but once again was a snap to do. Since the body was off, I took the opportunity to tighten the drumhead a bit with the tool they provided. The instrument is now absolutely solid. BTW, the body is beautifully lacquer-finished mahogany.
   
   Finally, as a result of the experiment (for those that are curious...) the top 4 strings are absolutely indistinguishable from a banjo. The 5th string sounds like a banjo when you play it on the 7th fret or higher, the 6th string isn't all that "banjo-ey." If your going to strum this a lot, i wouldnt change much, but would focus on playing higher inversions of chords, and focus on the top 4 or 5 strings.
   
   If you are going to pick it, I would recommend the following: Replace the 5th string "A" with a guitar "B" string and crank it up an octave to the "A" a full step above the G string, and possibly will do the same with the sixth string (using a D string) to the E above the D.
   
   I would also recommend using very bright, nickle wound strings (probably medium gauge like those starting with a .10 E string). You might also want to buy a set of banjo strings for the top 4, and take a cheap set of acoustic guitar strings and use thinner strings for the 5th and 6th strings.
   
   All in all, the Dean is a great buy if you dont mind doing the last minute tweaks. I think this Gitjo is a great instrument to add to my collection and sounds great!



2. I'd read the reviews from several sites before making this purchase and knew I was taking a chance. The existing reviews ranged from, "...never buying anything else from Dean." through, "never been more happier." My own experience was that I was disappointed.
   
   When the instrument arrived, there were no instructions for setting it up. Since I'd already read reviews and have been working with stringed instruments for a while, this wasn't a big issue other than as an indicator of sloppy work.
   
   The bridge, which needed to be positioned on the drum head, looked terrible. There were supposed to be notches for the strings, but it looked like whoever did the work, used a small hand axe and chipped away at the top of the bridge trying to make those grooves. You could barely see where the grooves should be and they definitely did not hold the strings in position when I started tightening things down.
   
   And one last thing I'd noticed on first inspection was that the cover to the neck tightening nut was very scratched up.
   
   I called the customer service folks at Dean and the reviews about their customer service being very good were substantiated. I was offered replacements for the bridge and nut cover, along with a faxed copy of the setup instructions coupled with sincere apologies for the shoddy work.
   
   In any case, when I got the instrument home, I started doing the initial setup. One important step was to do an initial tightening of the drum skin tension. To do this, you need to remove the resonator to gain access to the tightening nuts. When I removed the resonator, two of the mounting blocks that were glued to the resonator body just fell off. A third was barely hanging by its staple. The fourth was solid. The problem seemed to be that either the glue used to secure the blocks didn't get sufficient penatration or the wood itself was just too soft to support the loads.
   
   Also, I had to adjust the neck tension since there was a significant bow to the neck. When I tried to remove the cover to the tightening nut, the screws were already stripped from the wood.
   
   I've talked to several Dean owners (different instruments) and Dean quality is generally quite good. This was not the case for this instrument. If there are people happy with their 6-string banjos, good for them. But something happened to the quality control between then and now. I sent emails to Dean describing the problems and hopefully some executive will be sent to China, where these things are assembled, and kick some butt because what they're putting out now just ain't working.

No comments about JB Player 5 String Banjo.

5 comments about Deering Goodtime Banjo.

1. This is the best inexpensive banjo on the Market. It was my first banjo. The key thing is that it is built to sound like a real banjo, hold together and make an appropriate sound. Deering used some technologies that are not standard for a five string banjo to do this, which may make this not look as nice as comparable models put out by Rover or even the Gold Tone lower end models which are not bad. However, this banjo sounds and plays very good.
   
   I was about 52 when I got my first Good Time, but I was like a kid, taking it to bed with me. Even after I acquired a fine Bacon Belmont vintage banjo, I found that there were tunes and applications that I prefered the Good Time for. It had a bluesier twang and worked better for slide playing.
   
   Moreover, if you follow the banjo literature on banjo-l listserve and other places you will find that there are many modication plans to improve the Good time by adding a skin head, changing the bridge etc. This is like the Volkswagen Beetle of banjos with a whole sub culture of people working to make it even better.
   
   I have two more expensive banjos now that my Good Time was stolen, but if I had the extra money, I think I would buy a Good time for travelling.



2. I have been playing Bluegrass and Clawhammer banjo for a number of years and have owned quite a few banjos. Once I discovered Deering's Goodtime, I got rid of all my other banjos, I was smitten. Owning a Goodtime raised the bar for me in regards to quality of sound and playability.
   
   The Goodtime banjo has a great sound, is easy to hold and easy to play. It has a very natural feel to it. I use this banjo as my work horse. I have since bought other higher end banjos ($1000+) that sound good too but I always fall back to my Goodtime.
   
   My daugher and son are starting to learn the banjo too, and I've found that the Goodtime is perfect for them. Because they are children, I use a capo on the 4th fret of the neck and then retune the banjo to open G (as I say to my kids, "just like a parents banjo") and then they are off and running.
   
   Banjos will come and banjos will go but in my little stable of banjos, the Goodtime will alway be present.



3. Bought one of these as a raw beginner a few months
   ago, and am very happy with it. My main concern
   in buying a banjo, as an amateur, was to avoid a
   crummy "student" instrument. This ain't it.
   
   The Deering is well made, sounds great, and plays
   really well. I'd buy this model again in a heartbeat.



4. I agree with all the reviews. I decided to try learning banjo at age 53, after playing guitar for 30 years and mandolin and fiddle for 2 years. I took classes at the Old Town SChool of Folk Music in Chicago, and rented a Goodtime from them through a couple class terms. My family wanted to buy me a good banjo for my birthday and I said I'd rather just pay the rest of the cost and keep the Goodtime. I'm no master player, and I'm still learning, but this is a good solid banjo and sounds and plays great.
   
   Pros:
   * It's light and well balanced so it's a pleasure to hold and play.
   * It has good solid feel and quality construction, with heavy nickel plating on the hardware, nice light laquer, and clear maple in the neck.
   * The neck and frets are dead on balls accurate so the notes sound good all the way up the neck.
   * The tuning machines (open gear guitar style) are modest, but don't slip and work fine. Fifth string has a good geared tuner.
   * The tone is surprisingly loud for an open back banjo, so I get plenty of volume doing Scruggs style, and even have to damp it a bit with some folded foam behind the head for clawhammer style.
   * There's a nice harmonic point right where your hand falls for clawhammer, which gives a nice meaty "pop/ring" sound for clawhammer.
   * It's relatively humidity- and cold weather- tolerant without needing a lot of retuning.
   
   Cons:
   * No arm rest! I didn't mind it so much for Scruggs style but got bruises from the brackets when I switched to clawhammer, until I bought an armrest (They have them at Elderly Instruments for $18, and it's easy to attach with a small wrench by loosening two of the brackets and sliding it through them.)
   * The already-mentioned cheesy peg head design, which some have called "Art Deco" but I call Ronco. But what the hell. You could always go for the Special model that has a more traditional shaped peghead.
   * The nut has sharp corners which can make for sore hands when you hit it a lot with the pad of your index finger. But maybe that's a sign of poor form on my part.
   
   All in all, I see no need for a fancier banjo for quite some time. I did fine with a Sears Silvertone guitar for ten years, so maybe I'm easy to please. But maybe I'm unimpressed by showing off wicked instruments too. (My mom had a pre-war Gibson five string but my grandpa donated it to the USO during WWII. So people bragging about their Gibsons just stirs up pain from before I was even born, and I slowly back away.)
   
   By the way, I agree that it's best if you can to buy a banjo from a friendly neighborhood music store, where they can help you get it set up and adjusted. The Different Strummer at the Old Town School beat the price here by quite a bit, cause they sell a ton of these things for Deering, to their students.



5. I bought a used goodtime 2, removed the flange, resonator, tighten the head, changed the strings, and WOW, what a great sound. I can not let it down. I am a clawhammer/frailing banjo player. I have an old open back ODE, a Jubilee Open back, a Baldwin Long neck, and they all sound great. The Goodtime feels so natural, almost like an extension of my hands for playing. I noticed that the sound quality has improved over time (a few months). I changed the tuners to more traditional geared banjo tuners and now it is a great sounding banjo.
   
   Good job Deering.

No comments about 6-String Banjo.

No comments about Neotech Acoustic Guitar and Banjo Adaptor Loop.

2 comments about DVD-Beginning Bluegrass Banjo.

1. This tape/dvd is an outstanding piece of work. I think it is essential for people starting out on the banjo to have training such as this. Homespun has split screen so you can see the picking/strumming and also see the fingers on the fretboard. If you enjoy 3 finger Scruggs style, buy this lesson now and start to play a mean banjo!



2. I've been picking the banjo for 16 years and owe it all to starting with this incredibly clear, well organized, and accessible bundle of lessons. I first bought it as a video and went through it with a fine tooth comb. Many fine hours of jamming and playing in bands have ensued. Pete is one of the finest teachers out there...you'll be rolling and grinning before you know it!!

3 comments about Saga Appalachian Full Size Five String Resonator Banjo.

1. The banjo is not the quality that I expected, but good nonetheless. The price that I paid was unbeatable, so I really have no complaints. Thank you.



2. My son wanted to learn to play a "different" instrument. He chose the banjo and narrowed his purchase to this one. It is a quality instrument but not expensive. The sound is great and it appears it will last a long time. He's very happy with it.



3. Dear fellow shoppers,
   When I recieved this banjo via UPS, I took it out of the case very carefully and noticed two long cracks in the neck of the instrument. There is enough dammage here that I have to return it. I'm sure that I would have been glad to get it, had there not been dammage done to the neck. I would like to warn anyone who considers buying something like this to be very careful, because it's very likely that yours too could get dammaged like mine did. I know that people who work in the facilities where they ship things and things like that are not necessarily careful with the shipments. And, I'm sure any large item like this is likely to get dammaged when being mailed to you. I just want to warn you to be careful what you buy on the internet.