Submitted by okbluegrassbanjopicker (see all reviews from this person) on 12/9/2017

Where Purchased: Received in a Trade from Betty Stienbarger, Mendon, Michigan

Year Purchased: Nov. 21, 2017
Price Paid: Don't Remember (bought USED) historic exchange rates / currency converter

Sound

Really great sound, absolutely wonderful. Terrific tone all the way around the neck. I believe in about two years this banjo is going to sound even better!

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

The banjo was not set up when it arrived, but I had it set up by Brent Entz, a good banjo-picking friend of mine. I replaced the head with an AMB, got the head good and tight. Setup was complete when I added a Purcell Select Maple bridge and put the strings at 1/4 action.
Update: The AMB head was punctured and replaced with an older Five-Star head which really brought out the bounce!

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

This banjo has the old "Gibson banjo" look to it. Pearl inlays and really good quality nickel-plated hardware.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

All hardware is nickel plated. Good finish.
This instrument is definitely stage-worthy and I would never hesitate to use it in a jam or any performance.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

Good customer service.

Customer Service: 10

Components

The banjo was upgraded at some point from its original chrome-plated EB-88 pot assembly to a 60's Bowtie RB-250 nickel-plated assembly with a Gibson Crowe 20-hole tone ring.
I have replaced the original, bent flange with a Recording King Gibson-style reproduction nickel-plated flange.
No weak parts on this banjo!

This banjo was owned by an anonymous owner for its first years, then it was most likely passed on to Jim Chamberlain (BHO member Sonhouse) of Boston, MA. Jim sold or traded this banjo to another individual who removed the original pot assembly and put a different, unknown-age Gibson pot assembly on it. This "newer" Gibson pot was from a Gibson banjo which Nick White (of Cadillac, MI) bought from the Music Barn (Greensboro, NC) and then subsequently sent the banjo to Sullivan Banjos (Louisville, KY) to have the rim cut for a Gibson Crowe ring and to have the neck fixed so it would note true. At some point, the pot assembly was separated and then attached to the current Epiphone neck. This Epiphone/Gibson banjo (no longer an all-original EB-88) was then transferred to the ownership of Betty Stienbarger who owned it until Nov. 23, 2017, at which point it was traded to me for my "Deering Golden Classic Copy."

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

I am really pleased with the banjo. I could have never asked for a better instrument. As Gibson Kalamazoo-made Epiphones are very rare, I couldn't pass up the offer to trade for it. I am so very happy with it. Now I know why "Only a Gibson is Good Enough!"

 

Overall Rating: 10