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(More customer reviews)I'm a casual guitar player that got a wild hair and suddenly decided it would be fun to learn to play the banjo. Please read this review with the understanding that I know very, very little about banjos and that the review is being written from the perspective of a beginner that wanted to spend only a small amount of money on a banjo that would serve as a suitable instrument on which I could learn. A pro might have a very different opinion.
The first thing you'll notice is the quality of the case which is included with the banjo. I was very impressed that such a nice, hard-shell case was included for such a low price. It's sturdy, has 5 or 6 brass latches around the perimeter, a soft, plush interior, a generously-sized internal storage box (under the neck), and even two, small luggage-style keys for the case. Have a look around at the prices of hard cases; this is a great bonus to have included for free.
The banjo (which comes shipped in the case) is quite nice. The finish is pretty and the whole thing is substantial and has a surprising amount of "heft". For the price, I was sort of expecting a flimsy piece of junk, which it isn't. The banjo comes pre-strung with enough tension in the strings to hold the bridge in place. The first thing I noticed about the banjo itself is that the bridge seemed a little crooked. After a little research I realized it's supposed to be that way to account for the extra mass of the larger strings. However, the intonation still sounded a hair "off". In theory, for the 1st string (D), the distance from the center of the 12th fret to the inner-edge of the bridge should be equal to the distance from the center of the 12th fret to the inner-edge of the nut. Mine was off by a 16th of an inch. I loosed the strings, repositioned the nut a little and then re-tensioned them. The intonation sounded better and after a little more playing around I got the angle of the bridge about right. I recommend you learn to do this because you're going to want this knowledge every time you replace the strings. Once I got the bridge in place and tuned it up, it sounded great! When played open, all strings harmonize as you would expect. Being used to a guitar's tuning it took me a little bit of thinking, but I found places where I could compare the strings' relative tuning to make sure they continued to sound the same as I moved up the neck (3rd fret on the 2nd string [B] = open 1st string [D], etc.). Everything checked out and sounded good. I'm sure I can make it sound even better when I feel like spending the time to get the bridge placed exactly right.
The keys turn pretty smoothly and the strings slide well through the nut. The action feels good, but is maybe just a hair high for my tastes as you move towards the bridge. However, the tension on the strings when tuned is loose enough that it doesn't require a lot of force to press them down so it's definitely acceptable. More importantly, none of the strings rattle against the frets when plucked from any fret position. The sound is warmer than I was expecting (a good thing, in my opinion) and the sound sustains well. It sounds 10 times better when you pluck the strings using a fingerpick rather than your bare thumbs. Be sure to buy some picks!
I also bought a banjo strap in anticipation of getting this. The strap I bought has a metal hook. I now regret that purchase because I can see how the metal hook could ruin the finish. I recommend buying the kind of strap whose fabric (leather or whatever else) ties to the banjo. I plan on tying a shoelace to the strap's hook and then tying the shoelace to the banjo (or something along those lines- I haven't decided yet).
Anyway- if you're like me and just want something so that you can learn, I think this is a great choice. Actually, considering the higher-than-expected quality and the nice hard-shell case I might argue this is the best choice!
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