Noel Booth submitted 12/9/2008 Submitter dvstllrd (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Noel, if you're unaware of him, makes really nice banjos in Western North Carolina (Waynesville--Old Fiddle Road Banjos), including some really interesting and experimental stuff as well as some pretty great conventional modern open backs and civil war era tackheads... And now, having taken a couple banjos to him last month to have a bunch of stuff done, I see that he also does awesome lutherie work at a fair, very reasonable price, and at least in this case, with a really fast turnaround. Over the years, I have had a lot of work done to a lot of different instruments. My experience with Noel Booth is only the second time ever that I've had such great lutherie work done that it was like getting whole new, radically improved instruments back. It's just such a nice thing to have your stringed instruments worked on in such a masterful way. The more conventional stuff that I had done included an overall light fret dressing, but with cleaning up a few quite uneven frets (apparently a couple sorta loose ones, too), filing their rough-even-in-summer edges, rounding off the upper edge of a frailing scoop on the neck (so the thumb isn't hitting a sharp corner), removing the railroad spike and filling the hole, and putting on a skin head. Beautiful, beautiful job all around. The head sounds and looks beautiful, was artfully done, no scratch marks on tension hoop from trimming its edges (which seemingly a lot of people will leave--why do they do that?) So after spending a couple weeks with this one, I can say that overall, Noel has taken a sloppy Ramsey banjo that at times had seemed like a curse, and made it a great and rather more lovable thing. Then there was the Deering bluegrass banjo. I do love that banjo, but don't play three-finger much anymore. I had found that when played above the neck, and with the right head and bridge, it also has an enjoyable clawhammer sound, but that was hardly doable (for me) without any room for my thumb. So Noel made a mini little cutaway only under the fifth string. Beautiful job. It is this very perfect-looking micro, one-string frailing scoop that he worked very neatly around the inlays and within the binding. The way he did it, it really seems to be in keeping with the style of this banjo, which was surprising. It is a pretty darn strange thing to do, I think, to that banjo, but the way he did it, it just looks very... "right." He also put the fifth string up on a nut, but he put that nut up at the sixth fret, so the string could remain under the fifth-fret railroad spike that these Deerings come with. My objective there is that this banjo can relatively easily be put back into three-finger set-up in case I want to sell it or, heck--even play that way again. He put that nut in exactly the right place so that the fifth string is on the same plane as the other strings, and spaced the same as the rest of the strings. I've seen too many people NOT bother to put that fifth string exactly where it should be. And he also raised the action slightly. So... what I love about this one is Noel was really willing to be creative and unconventional and work with me to do this unusual, and I'm sure some would say kind of perverse thing to this valuable bluegrass banjo. And this is now a much more usable and versatile instrument, and more interesting. And very playable. I love it. I also got the feeling that in general, maybe Noel was trying to perceive what my style and tastes are, and exactly what these particular banjos are about, so that his work would be in harmony with all that. In any case, I think he accomplished that. This dude knows what he's doin'. And he cares to do it right. Overall Rating 10

John Boulding submitted 11/12/2008 Submitter Turbo (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments I have used John as my set up technician for years. His service and work has always been A+. Being a full time musician this is especially important but he treats everyone w/ the same respect. The latest job he's done for me is to install a new neck on my banjo (the airlines broke). Not only is the set up perfect, but so is the work he did to refit the neck to the pot, etc. I highly recommend him! Overall Rating 10

John Boulding submitted 10/11/2008 Submitter jbaker7 (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Just a quick note to say Thanks to John Boulding for doing a superb job on my Guild J30 cutaway guitar. The guitar is 30 years + old and needed a neck reset badly. I packed it up and sent it to John Boulding and we discussed by phone and email how to proceed. John advised that the guitar needed a neck reset to get it back to where it belonged. He did a fantastic job. I've heard many great reports about John's Banjo work but now I know that he is equally as proficient on Guitar work also...Fantastic job and great and fair rates and John listens to exactly what you want done.....Jack Baker NYC Overall Rating 10

Roger Vittitoe submitted 8/31/2008 Submitter Docmhc (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Roger Vittitoe is located in Bloomington, IL. He's an absolute wizard a setting up a banjo. Very meticulous and not satisfied until it's absolutely perfect. I couldn't be happier with the work he did for me and will use his services again. If you're a banjo player in Central Illinois, it's well worth your time to look him up. He's the best. Overall Rating 10

Dan Pennington submitted 8/31/2008 Submitter Bongshang (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Dan made a Woody rim for me. He's an excellent guy to deal with. All the way through making it, he kept me informed, and posted some pics when it was near completion. Needless to say, when the rim arrived it was top notch work. The price was extremely reasonable too. Full Marks. Overall Rating 10

John Boulding submitted 8/30/2008 Submitter MoTomCat (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments I had John level and refret a banjo neck for me. He completed the work in record time, doing a fantastic job, and even beveled the frets a little different like I had asked him to do. His charges were very reasonable and I am very happy with the work he did. I would not hesitate to have John work on any instrument that required attention. Overall Rating 10

John Boulding submitted 8/27/2008 Submitter budbennett (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments I took two banjos to John for adjusting and setting up. I found him to be professional, helpful, friendly and straight forward, and the work he did was helpful and exactly what my banjos needed. John's shop is clean, interesting to look at, and easy to find. I sat with him while he worked and we chatted and I felt welcome and happy to be there. I felt that John listened to what I had to say and did for my banjos what *I* needed for him to do. My banjos might have been fine for someone else, but I needed a few specific things done and he did them and did them well. Should I ever need any of my instruments worked on again, I'm going to John. John is in Mount Airy NC by the way. Overall Rating 10

Paul Hostetter submitted 8/3/2008 Submitter dvstllrd (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Used to be fortunate enough to live near Paul (he's near Santa Cruz, CA), and took fiddles to him for repair. Have not had any banjo work done by him, but I can say in general the work that he does is like magic. Have not had any repairs done by anyone else on any other instrument that pleased me as much as his work did. And he's a very great guy to deal with, too. Overall Rating 10

Rob Zwally submitted 6/21/2008 Submitter andrewsan (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Rob has 30+ years of experience as a luthier and speaks with quiet sincerity about what he can do with any banjo you entrust to his care. His diagnosis is thorough and his estimates accurate. He takes time to make sure that you understand the work that he will do and the results that you can reasonably expect. He did an outstanding job taking a mediocre, homemade open-back to sound better than I had a right to expect. He is honest, direct, and obviously cares deeply about the quality of his work. I recommend him without hesitation. Check his qualifications and philosophy at his website, www.stringdoc. com. Overall Rating 10

Tim Smith submitted 6/21/2008 Submitter andrewsan (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Tim Smith of Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania is an unusual luthier. His website is a statement of his working philosophy in a nutshell: www.savethebanjos.com. Tim's passion to reviving older, medium-grade banjos and finding homes for them. I purchased a circa 1900 no-name open-back with Cannonball nylon strings from Tim for a very reasonable price and was completely happy with. So happy, in fact, that I sent him my Deering Goodtime open-back awhile later and asked him to customize it by doubling the number of hooks, adding an ebony fingerboard, ebony heel cap, and re-styling the Gumby-like peghead. He did excellent work at a reasonable price. Tim represents his work fairly and his website contains step-by-step, illustrated case histories of many of the banjos he has brought back to like. Check with Tim if you're interested in an economical, turn-of-the-century instrument that shows its history -- Tim doesn't restore banjos to a like-new state; that's not his thing. But he definitely gives them a new lease on life. Overall Rating 9

Robin Smith submitted 6/10/2008 Submitter banjo_robb (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Robin built my Kel Kroydon KK10 New Generation banjo. It is made of mahogany with purple highlights. All the hardware is copper flashed plain gold, & the fretboard is MOTS with the purple tinting on the edges. From start to finish, it was a pleasure dealing with Robin Smith. He is careful to incorporate any special features the player may desire in his/her banjo. Robin's attention to every detail is clearly evident in the finished product.. The workmanship is impeccable! My KK 10, from the start, had a wonderful, deep timbre to it. That was last August 2008 when I got my banjo ("Lillee"). As I had suspected at that time, Lillee is only getting better with time. She has really begun to open up in the past 3 months & is truly a cannon when I need her to be one! Robin is a gentleman of the first order: pleasant, patient, and just a darn nice fellow! Overall Rating 10

Paul Hostetter submitted 5/29/2008 Submitter howseth (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Paul worked on setting up and also repairing several of my banjos - and did an excellent of whipping them into shape - and at resonable cost. In particular, my Buckmaster banjo had severe neck problems that Paul repaired (see my Buckmaster banjo review). I feel fortunate that I live close to such a talented, skillful luthier. Overall Rating 10

Gary H. Price submitted 5/13/2008 Submitter BvilleDon (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Made arrangements to drop by Gary's on the way to my daughter's commencement for getting her Masters. It was on the way, and I wanted to buy a banjo case. When I arrived, Gary sold me the perfect case (own revue), then proceeded to correct a blemish that occured on the back of my resonator after letting a person with really weird body chemistry play my banjo. This was not an easy problem to fix! I had already taken it to another very well regarded luthier and player who was not much help. Gary had to try several different methods, but in a very few minutes, he had the resonator on my Granada looking better than ever! The best part, he explained each step as he did it, and if something did not work, he explained what he would try next and why. Then Gary did some great picking on the Granada and as we left, he went back to digging post holes on his place! I think Gary's PhD in Molecular Biology puts him in a unique position to handle difficult instrument finish problems. A great guy, player, luthier, story teller and vault of banjo lore! Overall Rating 10

Kyle Smith submitted 5/11/2008 Submitter jpoulette (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Kyle and I had discussed at length building a new banjo, went through the process of deceiding what materials would be used and exactly what sound I was looking for, and several months afterward he delivered a beautiful gold plated highly-figured curly maple banjo. Great looking, great sounding, and everything I wanted at, camparatively, a bargin price. The neck was a virtual work of art (rosewood w/FE) and when matched to the Pass rim made for a spectacular sounding banjo. Obviously, the set-up was for playability and perfect intonation - I don't believe you could find any better banjo anywhere. I would highly recommend Kyle Smith, and any of his custom made instruments, to anyone interested in a expertly crafted professional grade 5-string banjo. Overall Rating 10

Bill Hayes submitted 5/7/2008 Submitter banjo1930 (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Bill built me a maple style 3 (or 5) wreath neck for my 1930 TB-3, and I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful looking and most comfortably playing necks I have ever been able to play on. The inlays are flawless, the finish is perfect, and the finger board is some of the best Brazilian rosewood I have ever seen. I really like this neck! Thanks Bill! Overall Rating 10

Cliff Fitch submitted 5/6/2008 Submitter jebmd (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Cliff Fitch has done a host of repair and setup work for me with fantastic results. One job in particular that comes to mind is a parts banjo that I had a resonator for that was considerably rough. I almost threw it away it looked so bad. I sent it to Mr. Fitch to see if he could do anything with it, and to my amazement, he stripped it, repaired it and finished it to look as new. He has refretted several necks for me, each with perfect results. No intonation issues or damage to the binding or fingerboard. They each looked 100% original. In addition to all the repairs he has done for me, I happen to own three of Cliff’s custom made banjos. The fit and finish is exemplary as well as the great tone they have. I would highly recommend Cliff Fitch to anyone for any of your banjo repairs or custom made parts. Overall Rating 10

Arthur Hatfield submitted 3/14/2008 Submitter Randall10 (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Hello, I took a sick Sullivan Festival to Arthur for help. In defense of Sullivan, it wasn't a bad banjo until I bought a Sullivan Factory Floor Rim. I could not get the action right after the new rim was installed. The neck needed to be cut to fit the new rim. Arthur set an appointment w/ me for the following week and I took the banjo in. I wanted the neck cut down as well. Below the 5th, the neck felt good. Above the 5th it was much to fat for my likeing. Arthur absolutly worked majic w/ this banjo! Not only is the neck perfect for my hands now he discovered the tone ring didn't fit the new rim perfectly. He turned it just a little and set the banjo up to his likeing and it is not the same banjo. It is like a switch was turned on and this banjo became a powerful banjo as it should be. Arthur; Thanks a lot!! Randy. Overall Rating 10

Kyle Smith submitted 2/19/2008 Submitter FiveStringPop (see all reviews from this person) Overall Comments Kyle Smith performed his renowned electronically voiced set-up on my banjo on Dec. 31, 2007. He was very meticulous in every detail. He listened to my banjo before dismantling it, and cleaned every component prior to reassembly. Based on what I wanted the timbre to be, he offered a selection of heads, and then recommended a bridge material and weight. With those chosen, he began to reassemble the banjo. He had gages and templates for everything, such as string angle as it breaks over the bridge toward the tailpiece. He adjusted the neck relief, bringing the strings closer to the fingerboard, buffed out two places on the resonator that were cloudy, and installed spikes for the 5th string. He installed new strings, selecting a gage that would help in balancing the volume due to the 1st and 5th being louder in the set I had been using. After, a little more tweaking of the head tension, he handed me the banjo to play. Even without the resonator, I could tell there was more than just a shine on this thing, he’d done something serious under the hood! Then he disappeared for a little while to make his final, proprietary adjustments while Cody showed me around, introducing me to Hot Shot and all the other critters. When he got back, he reinstalled the resonator and sat me down to play. Wow, what a difference! My banjo is maple with an ebony neck, chrome plating, and has a 2-pc flange. Each of these contribute to making a banjo bright. Over the last year, I have been battling those factors in an attempt to reduce some of the brightness, and I actually succeeded in getting it out of the “tinny” range. Kyle’s changes doubled my original reduction in brightness (it’s still the same components and thus bright) but added a “character” and “body” to the banjo that are difficult to describe. He made the sound three-dimensional, it’s no longer a flat plane. The change in tone from playing near the bridge to near the neck has increased tremendously. The percussive reflex… the slight popping echo, and the balance up and down the neck are really hard to explain, and new to this 30 year old instrument. Each minute I played it in his shop was like it was aging one year in tone. Kyle has invented a time machine! The banjo will sustain a note when I hold it, great for playing slow stuff, and yet decays fairly rapidly if I'm playing a rapid succession of notes. How is this possible? My set-up created an overflow of notes running together. After being back home with it for a week, I capoed up to “B” and cranked into Train 45. When I jumped up the neck to play out of the “Em” position, I had to stop. I played it again at half speed, then slower, then faster. Then I stood near a wall so I could hear more. There was another level of the pop and echo coming out, not overpowering, but definitely distinct. It’s mid-February. The set-up is 1-1/2 months old and fairly settled in. I’m still learning where to place my right hand in order to change the tone from crisp at the bridge, to the sweet spot just out from the bridge where the “echo” is subtle, to just past that where up-the-neck breaks are hollow and growl. Further toward the neck is a rich, mellow response. I spent less money with Kyle than I had in all of 2007 trying different bridges and heads for one banjo. I had taken a lemon and was making lemonade, but never could get the recipe just right… too tart or too sweet. Kyle has the recipe! He and his methods are a 10! He will get repeat business from me. His prices are competitive and his service is exceptional. HOME | COMMUNITY | TABLATURE | REVIEWS | LESSONS | LINKS | STORE       562 BANJO LOVERS ONLINE