Gold Tone Banjola?
Mouser9999
Mandoline-Banjo, which I like very much, but eventually sold because I wasn't
thrilled with the playability. I was intrigued by Edward Dick's Banjola model,
but wasn't prepared to invest that much. Now along comes Gold Tone with an
affordable, modern-day interpetations of the Pollman legacy...and I'm intrigued
again. But darned if I can find one to try out. Anybody played one?
Kent
Hi... I bought a banjola last fall....pretty cool.. the volume isn't
that great but what the heck I can play(practice)while the little lady
is around she likes this one.
Mine came with the action a little to low so goldtone is sending me a
taller bridge. They seem to take care of their customers.. they told
me they are changing the peghead style because it looks to much like
one of Omes pegheads..I meant to say an exact copy..so the early ones
might be something special who knows..volume wise the aren't as loud
as a acoustic guitar..for me a accomplished (beginner) it is easier to
get the melody of a new tune on the banjola than my banjo at first. If
you want a change of pace from the banjo I think it is a pretty nice
instrument..finish is nice.... I just wished they had a hard case for
them.......one thing a little higher quaility tail piece would be nice
the one they have is kinda skimpy.......... kent
Vilkas
I just got my banjola last week. Really nice looking, sounding, and playing
instrument.
When I took it out of the box, it was really cold. As it was warming up, I
would get fret buzz on the G string. After it warmed up to room temp, the
buzz went away. The strings don't have much clearance over the first fret.
Nothing that a proper setup would not fix.
As said, the tail piece is dinky, and on mine, one of the mounting screws is
in slightly crooked. It is fine and no one else knows it is there except
for me, but something like that just makes me nit-pick.
There is only one strap button, so you are going to have to live with a
guitar strap unless you get another installed.
The volume is low, and without picks, don't bother playing for anyone except
your self. Also, pick noise is magnified what seems like a 1000 times. I
am using Ernie Ball picks and it is still bad. I had to go and get plastic
finger picks.
It came with light gauge steel strings. They give the banjola an incredibly
bright sound. The 5th string can make your ears bleed. I am going to move
to medium gauge strings as soon as the current ones give out.
It is a really great instrument, but one warning. Fast Bluegrass played on
it sounds horrible. If you start jamming like you are playing a banjo, you
get a bunch of mush for sound. You have to either slow way down, or play
something else.
I ordered mine from ezfolk.com. Richard also has some mp3s of himself
playing one also. His version of Sahdy Grove is really good. Take a
listen, plus from ezfolk, the shipping is free.
Vilkas
Mouser9999 <mouse...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020204102145...@mb-dh.aol.com...
Vilkas
I thought it was me until I had my wife check too. The fret board smells
like fish. I am not kidding. After a week, it is much weaker of a sent,
but it is still there.
Does Goldtone use cod liver oil on their fret boards? Any of you Goldtone
owners have the same problem?
Thanks
Vilkas
Vilkas <vi...@jps.net> wrote in message
news:XhJ78.9789$Hb6.7...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Mike Murray
> The fret board smells
>like fish. I am not kidding. After a week, it is much weaker of a sent,
>but it is still there.
>
I have an idea. Get a brand new Harptone case. You won't notice the
banjo (grin).
Mike Stanger
(not Gold Tone) about these things, and something may develop in the
near future!
I'll keep you posted later this summer about developments... if it all
works out, I should have a butt kicker by the end of 2 double O 2.
Regards,
Stanger
Don Hergert
I just visited the Goldtone site and viewed their banjola, a pretty nice
looking instrument to my untrained eyes -- I'm thinking they look like pics
that I've seen of a tipple (sp?), but not too sure...
Can anyone provide a brief history of the banjola?
Thanks,
-- Don Hergert
Bill Hays
Mike:
Based on your past commentary, where you've lived and where we understand
you might be moving to (i.e., Montana), I'd speculate that you're talking
about Bruce Weber's Sound to Earth outfit, makers of excellent mandolins
that are a great value.
Be real interesting to see Weber bring out a line of banjolas and
banjolins (or would that more properly be manjolas and manjos?).
B.
Mike Stanger
The banjola is a new spin on the Pollman Banjo Lute (I think it was
called). The Pollman was essentially a mandola sized flat top body with
a 5-string neck. A buddy once owned one long ago, and they look cool but
have very little volume, and seem to have a reputation of cracking and
falling apart. All show, no go.
The problem with the Gold Tones from what I've gathered here seems to be
the same- lack of volume. I'm sure the Gold Tones are sturdier, but I
think that possibly the definitive version of the banjo lute is still to
come. I suspect that much of it may come from the fact that most banjo
strings are lighter than acoustic guitar strings, and the instrument may
need to have a banjo bridge as well. And possibly a pressure tailpiece,
too...
Regards,
Stanger
Mike Stanger
I really don't want to say more, because there are cats still in bags
that need to stay right where they are for a while, but you are
definitely barking at them. Like I said- stay tuned!
Regards,
Stanger
Mike Stanger
by the way- I got to try out one of the new Weber Sweetpea travel mandos
there. At $250, they are the sweetest little rig I've played in a very
long time. Joe Schneider designed them for high durability, light
weight, and good tone for the size. They have a full sized neck with a
carbon graphite reinforcement strip to keep the neck straight, and a
super nifty integral tailpiece that is very simple to change strings on
and adds no weight. And they sound swell! an instrument that really
lives up to it's name.
Regards,
Stanger
Richard Hefner
It's not an instrument that's supposed to compete with a standard 5-
string banjo as far as volume is concerned. It's supposed to be a mellow,
sweet-sounding instrument. If you add a whole lot of volume you've got
something entirely different. If you're in a position that you need a lot
of volume with it such as playing for a large crowd, that's why they make
microphones and pickups.
Like the person who asked the original question here, I was also
intrigued with the EVD Banjola made by Edward Dick but the $1800 price
tag was a bit much. Wayne Rogers is the owner of Gold Tone, and as a
dealer I talk to him often. I asked him about the possibilities of
building an affordable instrument of this type and he came up with the
Gold Tone Banjola, which retails for a thousand dollars less ($799).
As Vilkas pointed out, it's not an instrument made for playing fast
bluegrass. It's a beautiful sounding instrument that plays beatifully as
well all the way up and down the neck. It also sounds great played slowly
and as a solo instrument.
As far as waiting for something else to develop from another company,
that's fine. I'm sure Weber can build a great Banjola that would be
better in a lot of ways than the Gold Tone. They might possibly base it
on their Bridger A model octave mandolin, which looks similar. It also
retails for $3200. I'm sure it's worth it and there's plenty of hand-
holding and bedside manner included, but for $799 retail (and a 25%
discount widely available) I think the Gold Tone is going to be hard to
beat.
Richard Hefner
http://www.ezFolk.com
http://www.thebanjostore.com
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