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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: Banjoteacher.com
Year Purchased: 2024
Price Paid: $1399 ($US)
I just love the sound of this banjo. It has a crisp banjo twang to it. I'm a bluegrass banjo player and this banjo holds its own no matter where or how I play it.
Sound Rating: 10
I bought this banjo from Ross Nickerson at Banjoteacher.com and he has a close relationship with Gold Tone. I did not like the looks of the Terminator tailpiece and I am familiar with the Presto style tailpiece. Ross had the banjo sent to me straight from Gold Tone assembled with the Presto tailpiece installed in place of the Terminator and with the 7th, 9th, and the 10th fret stakes installed there at the factory. They also put it together with a Snuffy Smith bridge for me. The setup was spot on. It is a very playable banjo straight from Gold Tone.
Setup Rating: 10
It is a beautiful banjo with wood binding, a zero glide bone nut and planetary tuners. There was no blemishes. Someone did a review some years ago and found blemishes in the inlays and on the frets, so I checked mine over thoroughly and couldn't find a single problem with them. All and all, it is well made and well finished. I'm proud to play it.
Appearance Rating: 10
I had the Terminator tailpiece switched out for a Presto style tailpiece at Gold Tone before it was shipped to me. The hardware appears to be top notch. I don't like to do a review until I've played an instrument for a while. I've been playing the OB-250 now for four months, gigging and jamming regularly and it is rock solid.
Reliability Rating: 10
I have bought two Gold Tone banjos from Ross Nickerson at banjoteacher.com. I really like Ross. If I express and interest in a particular banjo he will call me up and talk to me about it. He is always interested in what I want to do with the banjo. After talking to him I always feel like he has been up front with me. There is never a surprise. I also like Gold Tone. They send you a banjo set up and ready to go right out of the box. I really feel like they give it that extra bit before it goes out the door.
Customer Service: 10
Everything stands out to me. I would say though that the wood binding is the biggest thing. There are no cheap parts. But I did have the tailpiece switched out. I'm sure that the Terminator tailpiece is just fine, I am just more familiar with the Presto tailpiece and that is what I asked for and that is what they delivered for me.
Components Rating: not rated
I just have to reiterate how nice it is to work with Ross Nickerson and with Gold Tone. They seem to have a working relationship that really delivers what I want in a banjo. I'm not going anywhere else. I have recently bought another Gold Tone banjo from Ross and got the same personalized treatment. I have given each item in the review a 10, and I honestly feel like the whole experience has earned that rating, no reqrets whatsoever. I will do a review on the other one after I have played it a while.
Overall Rating: 10
Where Purchased: Banjo Ben's General Store
Year Purchased: 2024
Price Paid: $579 with hard case ($US)
It has that mahogany sound, not particularly bright. This was my first banjo. I went from guitar player to banjo player for our country/bluegrass group and it was baptism by fire. I like the mahogany guitar sound, unfortunately after I bought the Morgan Monroe it took me about nine months to realize I like the maple sound better with Banjo.
Sound Rating: 5
It was supposed to be set up. I don't know if it was at that time or not. It was staked at the 7th, the 9th and the 10th fret. There were pencil marks on the head around the bridge which makes me think that they did something and wanted to the bridge back in the right place. Six months after I got it, I learned enough to check the string height and it was very high. I ended up learning to shim the neck to get it back to a more playable height. I don't know if it started out high, or if it had always been that way and I got to the point I noticed it.
Setup Rating: 5
It is very pretty. The finish is beautiful. It is probably one of the only things about the banjo that I still liked about it six months after I bought it.
Appearance Rating: 10
It is fine. I did gig with it all summer, less than prime time though. A few farmers markets, a few fundraising events and an antique tractor show. The hardware is adequate. As the summer went on, it seemed to get a bit wonky and I had to do some adjustments that were a bit beyond maintenance. It was a learning experience. I learned a lot about banjos.
Reliability Rating: 5
I can not blame Banjo Ben's, I called them to ask about that banjo specifically. I can't really expect them to say, that isn't the best banjo, it is the last one we have and when you buy it we are going to discontinue carrying them. But I was led to believe that as a beginner banjo it would take me well into the intermediate level and that's probably a stretch. I got what I asked for.
It is supposed to come with a lifetime warranty, but I'm not sure how good that warranty is. I think that I got the last one that Banjo Ben had and they quit carrying them as soon as that one was gone. It has no serial number and I was unable to register it with the manufacturer. I'm not even sure where I would send it to have warranty work done on it.
Customer Service: 7
There were no standout components. The tailpiece it came with was a Waverly style and it was brought to my attention by Jim Pankey that it was strung up wrong. I messed with it a bit, strung it up correctly and finally got rid of it and bought a Prucha Presto tailpiece. The Prucha Presto I think sounded a little better and was just a better more robust tailpiece. The tuners aren't the best, but they are adequate. They get the job done. As mentioned above, the neck either moved on it, or it came that way, but I ended up having to shim it to get the action down where it was easier to play.
Components Rating: 4
Overall this was my first banjo and it was a learning experience. I got along with it all summer. It sounded dull and was hard to play. The head tension needing tightening often. I accepted all summer that it was me and not the banjo that was holding things back as I was learning on the fly. I learned a lot with it, but it wasn't until after the summer was over and we quit playing out that I started to question the banjo itself. I upgraded to a Gold Tone OB-250 and realized that there was a world of difference. I can not recommend this banjo. There are just too many other banjos out there that are better even at that price range.
After I bought the Gold Tone, I decided that I wanted a lighter open back banjo. Someone suggested removing the resonator and the flange, and turning the Morgan Monore into an open back. I did that, and it actually makes a better open back banjo than a resonator banjo. But it still is lacking in many ways.
3/27/25. I sold the Morgan Monroe. I don't think I will wish I had it back.
Overall Rating: 5
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