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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: purchased second hand
Year Purchased: 2009
Price Paid: (bought USED)
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This banjo was a huge improvement on my Goldtone but is five times the price so should be. It is loud but not too bright. I'm using it for scruggs style and melodic. It is hard for me to rate as I have not played many high end instruments but compared to the Goldstars and Deerings I have had the opportunity to try it does have a superior sound all the way up the neck. After adjusting the tone ring to rim fit and adding a different bridge I'm giving this banjo a 10
Sound Rating: 10
When I first received this banjo I must admit it did not jump out at me but now I have set it up for the sound I was after I am very happy. I bought second hand and had to adjust the coordinator rods. I have added a scorpion bridge as recommended by another retro 4 owner, wow what a difference! I have given an average rating as I believe it could have been set-up far better from the outset which I believe is a common problem with Gibsons.
OK It's 01/07/2011 I took the banjo apart this week and tried to take the tone ring off. It was on solid. I heated it up with a hairdryer as per Steve Huber and gently pried it off and scraped the rim back with a razor for a better fit. NOW it rings like a bell.
Setup Rating: 5
Love it, beautiful timber, the blue chrome finish is superb. Screams quality.
Appearance Rating: 10
So far seems very reliable and sturdy. Faultless finish.
Reliability Rating: 10
Have not had to deal with Gibson so far
Customer Service: not rated
I would give it a 10 but for the bridge. For the price paid new for Gibsons they really should look at quality bridges like the scorpions.
Components Rating: 9
This banjo is my baby and will satisfy my needs for a long time to come. I will probably continue to tweak her here and there but everything I play on her sounds great to my ear!
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Fuller's Vintage Guitar
Year Purchased: 2006
Price Paid: 4900.00 ($US)
The banjo has a very bright tone in the treble range and the bass is full and rich, not pinched or mushy sounding. It has a definate walnut tone quality with the expected snap to the notes.
Sound Rating: 9
The setup was perfect. Of course the head tension did need touching up as new heads will, but everything else was on the mark. I have the head tuned to an A or just shy of it. The action was 7/64" as advertised and there are no rattles or buzzes. The neck is fit so the third string tracks down the center of the neck (below the 5th fret) which I like to see in a banjo.
Setup Rating: 10
This is one fine looking banjo. The fiddle peghead shape and the Mastertone inlay below Gibson is really a great touch. The pehead finish is antiqued to give it a really beautiful effect. The binding is antiqued as well and it adds a great matchup to the walnut finish. The finish is flawless inside and out. The resonator has two concentric rings, but they are not the wood purfling style. The walnut in the resonator is figured but not what I would call burl walnut. It looks really nice with the antiqued concentric rings. The neck wood is really nice and mine has a some figure to the wood up by the fifth fret. The Chrome metal plating is very very flashy. It is well done and really stands out on the walnut. I think just about anyone would say this is a fine looking banjo.
Appearance Rating: 10
I'd owned the banjo 4 days and played it at one of our regular jobs on a Friday night. It was exceptional sounding over our PA and I was very happy with the way it stayed put. I didn't have any tuning problems as sometimes happens with new banjos. The banjo was absolutely perfect with and without the capo. There are no dead spots.
Reliability Rating: 10
The standard Gibson warranty applies.
Customer Service: 10
The neck on this banjo is absolutely perfect. It has the smaller fret wire and they are perfectly fit and shaped to play comfortably with the low action. The neck has a very comfortable feel to it and it feels a little smaller though I haven't actually compared it to my other banjos to be sure. Regardless, the neck is as good as any neck I've ever played. The neck to rim fit as mentioned above is superior. Whoever did it took care to get it right which I appreciate very much. The tone ring is what I believe to be the now standard Gibson issue as are the flange, stretcher band and Presto tailpiece. I did not take it apart to verify this, but it sounds much like it. The chrome plating is really well done and it really has that blue luster you expect from a good chrome plating job.
Components Rating: 10
This is one fine new Gibson banjo and one I think Gibson will sell out of the 40 unit run pretty quickly. This is how a new banjo should be in every way: woods, fit, finish, sound and playabilty. In a word, it is a classy banjo and it sounds as good as it looks.
Overall Rating: 10
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