elderly Instruments

Submitted by JAVink on 9/15/2008

Overall Comments

I have used the luthiers at Elderly for two separate occasions and have received fantastic service both times.

The first time was when I accidently snapped the peghead off of my Gold Star. The repairman finished the repair in half the time he said it would take and the banjo looked good as new.

The second time was just for a standard set-up and I am more than pleased with the way the banjo sounded afterwards. The luthier (Kjell) even did some minor frett leveling at no cost to me.

Overall Rating: 10

Gold Star: GF-85

Submitted by JAVink on 7/25/2006

Where Purchased: Elderly Instruments

Year Purchased: 2006
Price Paid: 775 ($US) (bought USED)

Sound

As other have said, this banjo has a good sound. It has a basic bluegrass banjo sound as one would expect. I find that there's just something missing when I dig in hard though. On higher end banjos you can play as hard as you want and the sound just follows. It's almost as if the Gold Star gives up after a bit.

Sound Rating: 8

Setup

Banjo was set up perfectly by the folks at Elderly. I haven't changed anything but strings thus far.

Setup Rating: 10

Appearance

Very plain banjo compaired to others. The inlays are simple and not too flashy. There is no engraving or other fancy eye candy. Straightforward looking banjo. I bought it used, so it did show some wear, nothing that wasn't caused by normal play though.

Appearance Rating: 8

Reliability

For the most part, this banjo seems rock solid. The only thing I don't like are the tuners. They are starting to slip and their replacement is is the near future. Everything else is great. I would not hesitate, if I was good enough, to use this banjo without a backup.

Reliability Rating: 9

Customer Service

Never Dealt with Gold Star. The people at Elderly can't be beat though.

Customer Service: 10

Components

The only parts I don't like are the tuners and the tail piece. The tuners I mentioned before, a bit weak. The Tail piece has a little flap that covers part of the strings that becomes loose and rattles. I've removed it and there is no problem. Everything else in the banjo seems well made.

Components Rating: 9

Overall Comments

I would recommend this banjo all day everyday. If you can pick one up in great condition used, go for it. If this was stolen, I'd probably search around for something better, but would never hesitate to buy another. A good setup and you have a great sounding banjo that will last years and years.

Overall Rating: 9