RK Osborne Scout OSborne Scout #25 submitted 12/19/2008 Submitter beegee Where Purchased Greenville(NC) Guitars Year Purchased 2008 Price Paid 1300+ ($US) Sound Full sound. Bright maple banjo sound, good sustain Sound Rating 9 Setup Supposed to have a Charlie Cushman set-up, but the coordinator rods were loose, the head was slack and it had a stock 5/8" maple ebony bridge. I think Charlie must have missed this one. It still had a good enough sound for me to buy it. Since I do my own set-ups, the Cushman thing was not a big consideration to me. Setup Rating 6 Appearance I'm not a big fan of the RK headstock and the Scout inlays are OK, but not very artistic. I wish the banjo had a lacquer or varnish finish, but I suppose the polyester finish is pretty durable. The nickel parts are flawless in fit and finish, although my armrest has a tiny "dimple" point from the backside , creating a small raised pinprick-type dent. The resonantor is beautiful golden sunburst on a reddish-brown. I wish the banjo was more brown than red. The neck would be more attractive if it had a sunburst finishto match the resonator, The neck in one color:reddish-brown. Appearance Rating 8 Reliability Hardware looks well-made. 2-band tuners. The only thing I can fault is that the resonator screws have very rough machining marks on top. They look unfinished. I replaced them with a better quality screw. Tension hoop, flange tailpiece etc all look good in nickel.I'd prefer gold. Reliability Rating 9 Customer Service Lifetime warranty. No registration needed, just keep your receipt. Customer Service 10 Components Resonator screws are cheap-looking. I like the pearl truss-rod cover. These should come with an upgraded bridge and installed-RR spike option. Components Rating 8 Overall Comments I think this is a great banjo for the money. I'm very satisfied with the sound. I compared with an RK-80 and a Deco-King at the same time. I play a custom-made top-tension Lane and a 1928 Granada and I find this banjo very favorable in sound and playability. I bought this as a back-up banjo, but would not be reluctant to play it as my main banjo.In fact, right now it is my main banjo. I will probably get it gold-plated, just because i prefer gold. This is the best new banjo I have played in this price range. I have played new Deerings(calico, Maple Blossom, Sierra), Morgan Monroe, Gibson, Crafters, etc and this banjo will hold its own. For those who denigrate Chinese products, get over it. This banjo is as good as.... Overall Rating 9

RK Osborne Scout OSborne Scout submitted 11/12/2008 Submitter beegee Where Purchased Greenville Guitars Year Purchased 2008 Price Paid Don't Remember historic exchange rates / currency converter Sound I have a 1928 AT Granada that I have played for 34 years. For the past 4 years I have been playing a Top-Tension Custom Harry Lane Model G flathead. I have gotten used to the flathead tone and response, so the AT doesn't appeal to me any more. I wanted a backup banjo. After reading other raves, I found this Scout locally and played it. I liked it enough to buy it and I'm kinda fussy about sound and playability. In other words, it takes a lot to impress me. Sound Rating 10 Setup These banjos are advertised as being set up by Charlie Cushman. Mine is #25 and the set-up was not very good. The neck had a bow. It had a crappy Grover-style bridge and the coordinator rod nuts were only finger-tight. It had light gauge strings and had a few rattles. Even with that, I could hear the tone I liked. I tightened the Remo head several times, changed the bridge from the stock bridge to a Scorpion to a Snuffy II and finally used a Kat-Eyz Canadian maple/purple ebony top that I had on my Lane. American-Made Banjo Cryogenic medium strings. After tightening everything, this banjo is a killer. Good clean tone, nice sustain, plenty of volume and punch. I have the action set at 7/64" at the 3rd string 12th fret. 11/16' Kat-Eyz bridge. I don't use a drum-dial so I don't know what the head tension is. I installed RR spikes at 7 & 9, wish it was a factory option. There was a faint nut squeak when tuning, so I applied a little graphite and it went away, but using mediums instead of lights, I've noticed it has returned, so I may have to open up the slots slightly. Setup Rating 5 Appearance Flawless finish. It's curly maple with a reddish-gold sunburst on the resonator. The neck is the same color as the resonator sides. I wish it was less red, more brown and had a sunburst neck. The red color is too much like mahogany. I like my maple a little more on the brownish side. The flange is clean and sturdy-looking.The nickel plating is excellent. I'm considering having it gold-plated, just because I like gold banjos. The rim laminations are a little "coarse" showing a pretty good seam in the finish at the joints. I don't especially like the matte finish, but it's OK. The inlay design is a little underwhelming, but they're OK and well-executed. The peghead is overlaid, except for the pearl recoding King Block, which appears to be inlaid. The truss-rod cover is real pearl with a modern script "Scout" silk-screened on it. I had to use a magnifying glass to see the fingerboard inlay filler. I would have preferred that they use a white/black/white binding combination on the neck and resonator, just to dress this banjo up a little. It's just a quality detail to me. That may be something I'll do to it, down the road. Appearance Rating 9 Reliability I'm a little concerned about the rim laminations. While it seems well-constructed, the visible scarf joint is a little bit ugly. The finish is apparently catalyzed polyester, so I don't think normal playing will be a factor for wear or durability. I'm using this as my primary banjo while my Lane is undergoing some neck repair and refretting, so I have no problem with its quality. The tuners seem OK, copies of 2-bands. They work smoothly. Reliability Rating 9 Customer Service Lifetime warranty. No registration needed, just sales receipt and deal with the retailer, not RK. I have had no dealings with the company for service questions. I own this banjo, an RD-227 guitar and a Savannah-labeled mandolin that was supposedly a prototype for the new The Loar models. Quality is excellent on each. They are trying to "do it right." Customer Service 9 Components The rim as mentioned is a little concerning. I'd like to see the binding upgraded as mentioned above. Excellent RK case. The resonator screws are a little rough on the top. I'd like to see polished tops on these. They show some machining marks under the plating. the standard bridge is a basic cheap Grover-type maple/ebony. I think the banjo should at least come with an upgraded bridge, maybe a Snuffy? Components Rating 8 Overall Comments I've been shopping for a used Fender Artist. I could have bought one for the price I paid for this banjo. After Cliff Fitch raved about the Scout and I saw that Dana Cupp, Carl Jackson and Robbie McCoury all liked them, I decided to try one. Sonny is still my banjo hero, but I really don't need an Osborne Chief as a backup banjo. I get the Sonny influence without the Chief price. I don't think you're supposed to tell what the discounted price is, so I won't. This banjo is as close to a pre-war Gibson in sound and playability as I have played. Appearance is professional-quality. It will hold its own in sound and appearance. My Lane is still my #1 banjo,but until I get it back in playing condition, this banjo, for my money, is a winner. I just played it alongside a Fender FB-58 for my daughter, who is about as impartial as one can get,who was really impressed by the superiority in sound of the Osborne Scout. if this banjo was stolen, I'd get another one, if I could find one. They are still relatively rare in the marketplace. I like this better than any of the other RK models I've played(RK-85, Deco-King) and better than Morgan Monroe, and contemporary Gold Star or the GoldTones. Overall Rating 9

Fender FB-58 submitted 7/5/2007 Submitter beegee Where Purchased ebay Year Purchased 2007 Price Paid 350 ($US) (bought USED) Sound Sounds like a banjo. The tone is OK, not very pure, but plenty loud and clear. It has good sustain and clarity and note separation. The frets are a little "buzzy" or "rattle-y "in some positions. Sound Rating 6 Setup The banjo was set up as a plectrum, because there were only 4 strings and pocket full of flat-picks in the case. The Remo-USA head was loose and the tailpiece was cranked down. The bridge was a piece of junk. This came from an ebay pawn-shop seller. The banjo is like new. No scratches, no fret wear, no dirt or smudges. I added Snuffy II compensated bridge, GHS med stainless strings, tightened the head, adjusted the action, set the tailpiece. It sounds pretty good now. I'm going to loosen the truss rod slightly to get a little relief in the neck. It's dead flat right now, so I'm hoping that will take some of the frets buzz out. I'll probably level and polish the frets later. Setup Rating 1 Appearance The banjo is fairly attractive. I don't like the veneer seam in the resonator, but the resonator is quite handsome with its curly maple and sunburst. the neck is plain maple. Fit and finish is really good. The rim is well-finished with veneer over whatever the rim is made of and wood or plastic binding inlaid around the rim. It's stained a dark reddish-brown with matte finish. This is a Korean-made banjo with 20-hole flathead tone ring,1-piece Gibson-style flange, clamshell tailpiece, crappy planetary tuners. Chrome-plated and there are a few flaws in the metal and plating. The inlays are typical. The peghead has the overlays with the thick polyester finish and the fingerboard inlays are well-executed. I found one pinhole in the filler of the 15th fret inlay. Appearance Rating 6 Reliability It seems well-made. I would probably use this banjo at an outdoor gig, like a barbecue,but not at a festival or concert. The finish is typical of the Oriental banjos. I wish they had made the neck to match the curl in the resonator. The neck is a little clubby, but not uncomfortably so. There is just a little too much wood in it and the radius from the heel to the neck is just a little bit large for my liking. There is 3/8" of fingerboard between the 22nd fret and the tension hoop. The banjo has a 26.5" scaleThe heel cut is sort of a catch-all configuration and could have been done better. W/B/W heel cap, plain white binding. Frets overhang the fingerboard binding and the ends are fairly well-finished, but could use some final cleaning up with a round-over file. I have encountered no sharp fret ends so far. Reliability Rating 7 Customer Service The banjo was shipped at a reasonable cost and arrived as described and intact with a medium-quality HSC. The seller provided adequate communication and tracking info via FedEx. Used, so no warranty. Customer Service 9 Components I don't like the resonator attachment hardware. The screws are those ugly Phillips-head things and the flange tabs are mounted under their corresponding hooks/nuts. They work OK, they're just cheap-looking. The tailpiece is flimsy and I if I keep this banjo, I will replace it. The planetary tuners are really sloppy with wide dead spots. Components Rating 6 Overall Comments For what I paid, it's a good banjo. I would consider a good student banjo and suitable up to an intermediate player. I think these sell at street price new at around $600.00., and represent a good value in that price range of banjos. I bought it to tinker with and will probably sell it to a student or use it as trading stock. Unless you have aspiration of being a professional picker, this banjo should suit the average player very well. Overall Rating 6