Gibson RB-250 submitted 11/11/2008 Submitter damir Where Purchased craigslist 1979 RB250 Year Purchased 2008 Price Paid 1500 ($US) (bought USED) Sound great bluegrass tone, loud and clear Sound Rating 9 Setup like new, have not been plaid Setup Rating 9 Appearance simple, RB 250 look, nothing fancy but still professional look..I`m not worried about the look, I like to hear the tone ... Appearance Rating 9 Reliability it is built like a tank, looks like it will last forever.... Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service don`t know, never dealt with the company Customer Service not rated Components no cheap parts here, simple does not mean cheap, parts are solid and of high quality Components Rating 10 Overall Comments I would recommend this instrument to anyone, it is fully funkcional professional banjo, you can use on your gig at the Bean Blossome...:) ..I love tha banjo, the best banjo for the money, not sure if you can get much better tone (different maybe but not better) with $10 000 banjos.....I like it better than the Stelling Red Fox I had.... Overall Rating 9

Stelling Red Fox submitted 11/11/2008 Submitter damir Where Purchased Folk Of The Woods Year Purchased 2004 Price Paid 2700 ($US) Sound was dissapointed with the sound, I had 1979 Stelling Bellflower and it had a great clear and bright tone, Red Fox has mellow and warm tone, not what I was expecting from Stelling Sound Rating 3 Setup set up was ok, I had to fix some things but overall, ok Setup Rating 7 Appearance beautifull instrument, it is hard to beat Stelling when it comes to appearance... Appearance Rating 9 Reliability high quality parts, no doubt... Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service not too happy, I bought the banjo and tought I was getting a Tonny Pass rim but I didn`t. In Stelling broschure they said that every Stelling comes with Tony Pass old wood rim but mine didn`t even tho it was brand new, I spoke to Geoff but there was no way to reach any kind of a deal with him, this is where I got done with Stelling... Customer Service 2 Components high quality parts, I was missing Tony Pass old wood rim even tho Stelling says that every new Stelling comes with it... Components Rating 2 Overall Comments I would not recommend this banjo for people who have a sensitive ear and are looking for the Stelling tone, this banjo definately doesn`t have the tone you would expect from Stelling...mine can`t be stollen, I sold it and got a Gibson RB 250 that sounds to me more like Stelling than the Red Fox....I don`t hate the banjo but I wouldn`t buy another...I bought it new and they said all the best things about Stelling Overall Rating 4