Williams Grangeville submitted 12/21/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased Williams Custom Banjos Year Purchased October 2008 Price Paid Don't Remember (bought USED) historic exchange rates / currency converter Sound I play Scruggs and melodic styles, and the sound is unbeatable. It's a mahogany instrument with a Cox maple rim--bright but not twangy; very full and rich sound. The best-sounding non-pre-war banjo I've ever heard...better, I think, than any of the other banjos that claim to reproduce the pre-war sound. Sound Rating 10 Setup Will Williams had gotten it back from the pro he had loaned it to for about a year (Gary Davis), and Will checked it all out before passing it on to me. The overall setup was perfect, except the bridge needed to be moved just slightly toward the tailpiece. Setup Rating 10 Appearance It's a very attractive mahogany neck-and-resonator banjo. The finger board is rosewood with hearts-and-flowers mother-of-pearl inlays. Will sprays on 30-some coats of the final finish. Gary Davis had put a few small scratches on the resonator, and a sizable 1/16" indentation in the back of the peg head, near the top. Can't imagine what caused it, but whatever the cause it must have been a really solid whack... Still, the wood wasn't broken, and neither was the finish...it's just a little round indentation....kinda odd, but it does provide a unique identifying mark. Appearance Rating 9 Reliability All the nickle plated hardware is from Prucha and is first rate. Gary Davis had evidently played it a fair amount wearing a sleeveless shirt, because the arm rest was tarnished some. I used Simichrome polishing cream on it, however, and now it looks like new. The tuners are Keith standard, which is the best. The whole instrument is rock solid and completely dependable. Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service Will Williams has a one-man operation, and he stands behind every instrument he puts together. I had a 2005 Grangeville, with a Hatfield ring, and when I bought it new from Greg Boyd, in Missoula, tiny hairline cracks had developed in the finish of the resonator. Will gladly provided a brand new resonator. Customer Service 10 Components All the components are first rate, but the Burlile tone ring is the part that makes this banjo special. Enough has been said about Burlile rings in the BH Forum that I won't go into it here. This banjo has a wonderful, wonderful sound. Components Rating 10 Overall Comments I would definitely recommend any Williams banjo to anyone wanting an above the top of the line resonator banjo. No assembly line banjo company can make a banjo as good as this one. I quickly add that my travel/alternate banjo is a Deering Goodtime Special, and when I want a to use a lighter, less expensive instrument, it fills the bill in a superior fashion. Will is no longer making the Grangeville model, by the way, but the Custom model that is quite similar is bound to be just as good. Overall Rating 10

Geoff Hohwald Banjo Primer (Revised) submitted 11/22/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased www.cvls.com Overall Comments I've been looking at and evaluating banjo instructional materials for a regional bluegrass association newsletter for several years, and this is the best inexpensive basic learning resource I've ever seen. Pegagogically, it's way ahead of the pack no matter what big name is on a particular basic learning resource. Geoff Hohwald's book/CD set does a better job of helping you learn 3-finger style pickin' on your own than any other resource I've come across, and I've seen a good many. The companion DVD, "Introduction to 5-String Banjo"--which must be purchased separately--is the most practical, helpful video resource I've ever seen, too. I wish these both had been available when I first started learning. Overall Rating 10

BanjoMate Thinline Armrest Thinline Armrest submitted 11/20/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased www.littlemountainmusic.com Overall Comments This is the ideal replacement for a Vega-style armrest, no matter how many bracket hooks a banjo has. More than a few regard the Vega-style armrest as uncomfortable and too high above the head. Any Deering Goodtime banjo, no matter which model, will benefit from this armrest. It's easy to install and reasonably priced. Overall Rating 10

Banjo "Pick" T-Shirt Sweat Shirt submitted 10/24/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased Banjo Hangout Overall Comments ...roundmandoman has for sale his very attractive tee-shirt with a delightful graphic silk screened on the front...here: http://www.banjohangout.org/classifieds/detail.asp?cid=6481 ...I contacted him and asked if he could put the same graphic on a sweat shirt for me, and he did so gladly and quickly... high quality shirt, too, with very reasonable price...both tee-shirts and sweat shirts are available in a variety of colors...he also has graphics for other bluegrass instruments... Overall Rating 10

Deering Goodtime Sealed Tuners submitted 6/3/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased Deering Banjo Co. Overall Comments In the spring of 2008 Deering began installing this new sealed guitar-style tuner on all banjos in its Goodtime line, in place of the open geared tuners used on Goodtime banjos since the model's inception in the early 1990s. Deering sold me a set of the new sealed tuners (manufacturer unknown to me) for retrofit purposes at a cost of $40 for a set of four plus $13 shipping + handling. According to Deering, the old open Goodtime tuners had a gear ratio of 6:1 while the new tuners are 14:1--a significant upgrade. Deering cautioned me about the advisability of doing this retrofit, but I persisted. The procedure required removing the old tuners, including a metal "collar" left behind in each 1/4" hole when the old tuner is removed. To get the "collar" out, I used a nail set and a hammer, from the back of the peghead, to tap each "collar" out far enough to grab it with a pliers from the front of the peghead and easily pull it out. The next step required enlarging the 1/4" hole to 3/8"--which still left the hole too small to get the new tuner into it. Since the next drill bit in my set was obviously too large, I used the moving 3/8" drill bit to "ream" out each hole until it was large enough to accept the new tuner. There may be a better, easier way to do this, but being a rank amateur at this sort of thing, this is what I did. I also applied a tiny amount of silicone spray to the tuner shaft, which helped get each tuner a little farther into the hole--at least I think it did; maybe not. Finally, when I had each tuner far enough in its hole that I could place the gasket/washer around the tuner from the front of the peghead, then get the nut started on the threads of the tuner coming through the front of its hole, by tightening each tuner's nut with a socket wrench I was able to pull each tuner all the way into its hole and flush with the back of the peghead. A 10 mm socket or wrench is the right size for doing this. If each new sealed tuner is carefully positioned, after installation there is only one tiny screw hole visible, from each old tuner, on the back of the peghead. As I said, I'm a rank amateur at this kind of thing, so more experienced persons may find this procedure easier to do than I did. Still, the end result is highly satisfactory as far as I'm concerned. The new tuners make an excellent upgrade to any Goodtime banjo. Overall Rating 10

Stage Mate banjo stand submitted 4/25/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased :Manufacturer's website Overall Comments ...this is an excellent stand, strong yet light and also small; very portable...also very stable and solid; plus, you can't beat the price... Overall Rating 9

Deering Goodtime Special submitted 3/28/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased Private Individual Year Purchased 2008 Price Paid $340 + shipping ($US) (bought USED) Sound This instrument arrived from the original owner in absolutely like-new condition. I haven't seen another one of these advertised in this price range on Banjo Hangout, so I think he gave me a really good deal. It's a beautifully designed lower-end resonator banjo, ideally suited as a second/travel/beginner banjo for Scruggs, melodic, and related styles. Because it comes with a steel tone ring designed by Deering, it's heavier than the Goodtime II, but still much lighter than more expensive resonator banjos with bell brass tone rings, etc. The tone is bright, which is to be expected from a maple/birch banjo. It sounded fine with the stock Goodtime bridge, but I changed to a special bridge Deering made available some months ago which resulted in a tone that is sweet sounding, with a deeper, richer 4th string tone. Nice! Sound Rating 9 Setup One of the first things I did when this banjo arrived was tighten the head to my liking, adjust the positioning of the bridge a tad, and make sure the tail piece was adjusted for as mellow a tone as possible. I also adjusted the single coordinator rod to lower the action some, and that worked fine; all I did was follow the instructions on the Deering website for doing this, and it went well. That's about all you can "set up" on a Goodtime banjo, and I like the results of what I did. Setup Rating 9 Appearance Having owned one of the Goodtime models that are stained brown (the now defunct "Picker's Plus" model), I noticed that, on that instrument, wear tended to occur through the stain on the edges of the neck, so I wanted to stick with the natural maple look. The standard Goodtime "Gumby" peghead shape has taken a fair amount of abuse over the years, and I must admit I'm not wild about it, either. I can live with the peghead shape, however...indeed, I've received positive comments on the overall look of this instrument. I saw a high-end electric guitar recently with a similar peghead, so maybe the shape is catching on! The finish was flawless and remains so, the maple neck/peghead and birch/maple rim are evidently high quality woods. The metal stretcher band, bracket hooks, coordinator rod, and tail piece are nickel plated and untarnished. Appearance Rating 8 Reliability I recently did a retrofit to upgrade the tuners from the original open geared guitar-style tuners (6:1), which Deering put on Goodtime banjos since the beginning of the Goodtime line, to the new sealed guitar-style tuners (18:1) that Deering is now putting on all Goodtime banjos. The retrofit process has a couple of slightly difficult points, but the end result is great. Much better tuners! The Deering tail piece design is a good one. Deering strongly recommends using light strings on Goodtime banjos, I presume because the solid maple neck, which has no coordinator rod, might not stand up under the tension of heavier strings. So there is that... However, by "light" Deering means, e.g. 9.5 for 1st and 5th strings, which is not as light as many sets of light strings which include 9 for 1st and 5th. I've played this instrument indoors and outdoors, for band practices because it sounds good and is easier on the shoulder and back when standing for lengthy periods of time, and at jams that go on for hours, and it has never failed me. Recently, I have left it in double C tuning because I'm learning to play a double C arrangement of "Ashokan Farewell," and I don't want to have to re-tune each time I practice. It stays in double C tuning really well from one day to the next. (For now, most of the time I use my other, more expensive banjo for everything else.) Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service I have had direct dealings with Deering on various occasions, and they always respond in a prompt, helpful, friendly manner. Once, years ago, I had one of the early Goodtime open back banjos, and I had some trouble with the bracket hook bolts they were using at that time, a design they changed early on in the Goodtime's history. Anyway, I sent them the banjo and they sent me a brand new one with the new style brackets, even though the banjo was beyond the company's one-year warranty. Customer Service 10 Components The whole instrument seems rock solid, and with the addition of the new sealed tuners there is really nothing left to complain about. The only part I can recommend tinkering with is the bridge... Components Rating 9 Overall Comments I would definitely recommend buying a Goodtime Special. At the time of this writing, a brand new one (which will come with the new sealed tuners) can be had for $709 from, for example, Janet Davis Music, but a used one should be available if you're patient about waiting for one to come up in the BH Classified ads. Compared to other banjos in this price range, I think the Goodtime Special sounds better and is built better than (usually foreign-built) banjos that may be more attractive in terms of the cosmetics, etc., and may even come with some form of brass tone ring... Overall Rating 10

Shubb Sliding 5th-String Capo submitted 3/28/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased www.shubb.com Overall Comments I was leery of having even little screw holes drilled into the neck of my banjo, but I bit the bullet and had it done because I wanted to give this capo a try. A professional luthier did the installation. I'm really quite happy with the result. This capo operates on a different principle than spikes and you can adjust the pressure downward on the string so it doesn't go as easily out of tune as sometimes happens with spikes. Keep an open mind! Overall Rating 10

Thumb Pick Showcase Torti-PIck submitted 3/26/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased Bill Stokes / Showcase Overall Comments Bill makes these himself using water buffalo horn bonded to pearloid plastic. Expensive but worth every penny of the $16.95 price. Very strong, but not too rigid, and very comfortable, plus they have gotta last for many, many years. Contact Bill by email: bill@billstokesshowcase.com. At the very least, the perfect gift item. Overall Rating 10

Wittman Mini-Tuner submitted 1/14/2008 Submitter 5strbanjo Where Purchased From Manufacturer Overall Comments This is the most convenient tuner I've ever used. It mounts, and remains, on a resonator banjo's flange (using pressure-sensitive tape) with the tuner's display facing the player. You turn it off and on with a little toggle switch on the tuner, and it's powered by a 9-volt battery that mounts inside the banjo's rim (again using pressure-sensitive tape). It's highly accurate, too. The only time when it may not work as well as you'd like is when you're near other instruments, in a jam, performing with a band, etc. No clipping a tuner on and off the peghead, etc. It's always right there. I love it. It also works with guitars, mounted just inside the sound hole. You can check it out at http://www.wittman-spins.com/tunersMiniTuner.html Overall Rating 10

Harold Streeter submitted 12/13/2007 Submitter 5strbanjo Overall Comments The other reviewers have about said it all, but as one who has been learning from Harold for about five years now I will say this: If you're within driving distance of Harold Streeter, and you want to take banjo, guitar, or mandolin lessons from someone who is not only a master at playing these instruments but who knows how to really and truly help others learn, too, then you can't do better than Harold Streeter. Period. Overall Rating 10