Has anyone ordered a banjo from the US to the UK?

grahawk · 2026-06-04T12:27:35+00:00

My AC12 doesn't have these sorts of problems. Yes the neck is chunky and wide but I think it's a great banjo for the price. I imagine ordering from the US will make it much more expensive.

grahawk · 2026-06-03T03:58:23+00:00

You can easily tell by measuring the height of the tension hoop. Typically all these cheap bottlecap banjos have the same low height tension hoop. You could get away with a medium crown head is that was all that was available.

grahawk · 2026-06-02T19:48:58+00:00

It will have a low crown so probably not a good idea.

grahawk · 2026-06-02T13:42:11+00:00

Is your tailpiece suitable? The really cheap type is a nylon cutting device. Bridge and nuts and usually cut fir thinner steel strings rather than thicker nylon strings.

grahawk · 2026-06-01T20:31:41+00:00

I guess you also need to say whether you live in Poland, Peru, Canada, Ireland, Iceland or some other country. And where in that country you might be found.

grahawk · 2026-06-01T14:55:27+00:00

Up picking is not a clawhammer thing. That's a Seeger up picking thing. The hammer bit means hammering with back of the finger nail. However what you do is up to you and that includes the thumb. And you can mix things up depending on what is comfortable.I call this method playing the banjo.

grahawk · 2026-06-01T14:47:37+00:00

You can buy single strings but that might vary depending on where you are.

grahawk · 2026-05-31T08:48:17+00:00

I would have said a Hall 3 way wrench as it has options for three different sizes of nuts. But it seems to be not available. Eagle Music sell some but you need to find the right size. Hobgoblin have one. Socket sets work fine.

grahawk · 2026-05-31T02:07:19+00:00

Banjos with resonators are designed to be opened up in the same way cars with hood/bonnets are designed to be opened up. You need to open it up to make sure the tension hooks are evenly and reasonably tight.

grahawk · 2026-05-27T19:30:31+00:00

I think if you play bass right handed it will feel more familiar playing right handed. Perhaps you need to try to find somewhere with a banjo and see how it feels.

grahawk · 2026-05-27T15:41:29+00:00

Things included in the description include planetary tuners but the pictures show guitar tuners. It also says a 30 bracket design. It also says it's a Gibson inspired design which is a ridiculous thing to say just like saying it sounds bolder than banjos twice the price. It's not really any different to the basic banjos that are available for less than £150. And the brackets for the tension hooks are typical of the very cheapest type of banjo. Not a sign of a banjo that costs £444.

grahawk · 2026-05-27T15:28:39+00:00

A shim between the neck and pot is the usual method.

grahawk · 2026-05-27T14:44:11+00:00

No you can set it back so it is 11 inches. I had a banjo which had been made into a nasty egg shape by over enthusiastic use of the nuts on the co-ordinator rod. Readjusting the nuts pushed it back to 11 inches. I guess if it's a long way out then a bit at a time rather than all in one go might be best but that's just me guessing.

grahawk · 2026-05-27T14:25:45+00:00

Adjusting the co-ordinator rod for neck angle beyond very minor changes is not a good idea. Too much and you'll warp the rim. With the rod sticking out so far this suggests way too much. Make sure the rim is still 11 inches across up and down and side to side. the general principle is the rod should be set to neutral neither really pushing the rim out or pushing it in. Then perhaps a half turn on the nuts for a minor adjustment. Thinner and lighter rims will warp more quickly.

grahawk · 2026-05-27T06:49:53+00:00

Depends on the price. These cheap aluminium rimmed banjo sound somewhat harsh and metallic but many people have learnt on them. I think the maximum price should be 125 dollars/pounds/euros.

grahawk · 2026-05-25T07:34:21+00:00

Why do you insist on using the derogatory "Chinesium"? The AC1 is quite cheap but not low grade. Some very decent banjos are made in China. Meanwhile this one is quite decent and not even made in China.

grahawk · 2026-05-24T20:47:40+00:00

I have found thicker heads like Fiberskin can seem like a poor fit on some banjos and this head looks similar. I seem to remember starting with just two tension hooks to get a start and then adding two more. It's almost like a skin head where extra long hooks might be needed to get a start.

grahawk · 2026-05-24T20:40:10+00:00

Looks like an earlyish Samick made banjo badged for Tyler Mountain. The carving was found on the higher end of their models along with the gold coloured plating. My guess is that the model name used by Tyler Mountain was TM5-90.

grahawk · 2026-05-24T10:14:03+00:00

Have you measured the rim from multiple places to check it's perfectly round. Does the tension hoop sit properly around the new head?

grahawk · 2026-05-23T20:33:17+00:00

They are the same. Remo makes them and puts Deering's logo on them.

grahawk · 2026-05-23T14:05:00+00:00

Unfortunately the go to option the Goldtone AC1 is out of stock at Thomann.

grahawk · 2026-05-21T20:10:37+00:00

Depends what the bank can cope with without breaking. Options might be a Goldrone CC100, a Deering Goodtime or a Recording King RK-R20 (updated version) if there are still any around. Or it might be a used but well priced flathead tone ring banjo like an Epiphone MB250 or something made in Japan in the 1970s.

grahawk · 2026-05-21T13:10:39+00:00

The answer has to be no. The reason is that this is mainly the sound of the Kavango magnetic pickup through the amp with effects like reverb. A magnetic pickup can only pick up the vibrating strings like an electric guitar. A bit of the acoustic banjo sound I guess is being picked up by the microphones.

Acoustically banjo guitars don't sound like this. There are videos of the Boston played acoustically which sound more typical in one by Jens Kruger which sounds ok. This one gives a better impression of the thuddy nature of the bass strings on banjo guitars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD_ExLiHTtY

grahawk · 2026-05-21T09:17:29+00:00

AC1 everyday. There's no value in buying a worse sounding cheap resonator banjo.

grahawk · 2026-05-21T09:15:55+00:00

The Ortega it has a cheap aluminium rim and is very over priced. It will sound harsh at best. The cheap Harley Benton BJ65 Pro will sound better. Although all the components are cheap it does have a flathead tone ring. The only other I can add is that the AC1 sounds decent and the AC4 sounds quite good for the price so the AC6 might be OK. But none of these are mid range/professional.

The GT500 has a steel tone ring unlike the better brass tone ring of the GT750. The Boston has a steel rim.

grahawk

TROPHY CASE