This is still much better than an Epiphone mandolin.
@chickenlickin3820Күн бұрын
Ah give it a miss..
@ShawnBrockMusicКүн бұрын
Man, Gibson is like a prostitute of its own name and legacy these days… it’s pretty sad.
@itsobvious58352 күн бұрын
i don't have an opinion about either banjo BUT you are one hell of a player.
@davidcudlip65872 күн бұрын
The fact that Epiphone avoids any description of the tone ring in this banjo tells me all I need to know. Any search about the tone ring in these new Epiphones is surrounded in mystery. Their own website doesn't even list what it is. A quality tone ring should be a top selling point. Walk away from this banjo and don't look back. Glad you did this video and informed potential buyers who might have unknowingly threw money away on these new models.
@louGriggs19443 күн бұрын
I really appreciate your post here. I'm an intermediate player. Started with a Deering Goodtime but have moved up to a Gold Tone OB3, not quite a 3k instrument but for what I do, it serves me just fine. I used your video as a comparison and can see your points and where Gold Tone got it right. Thank you.
@stevenarms28793 күн бұрын
@@louGriggs1944 the OB-3 is a GREAT banjo
@charliewoot223 күн бұрын
Sad Gibson would have went ahead with such a terribly built banjo. And if they were going to release this garbage at least have the decency to leave Earls name off it and price it much much lower.
@BradMicholson4 күн бұрын
Very nicely done.
@luminawarren81324 күн бұрын
Hey buddy here are a few comments researched off the hangout. Ill still call this new banjo " Banjo Bait " junk made for the sole purpose of tripping people into spending their money. "Trademark search USPTO shows Gold Tone as the owner of the Mastertone trademark. Also the Potter Violin Co. owns it. Gibson is not mentioned." "Gold Tone knocked off the Price patent tailpiece. They got caught and were forced to "license" it. That patent has expired and one may procure these from any Chinese vendor for barely any money. At one time they were on Aliexpress for just a few bucks shipped."
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 the new banjo from Epiphone is definitely banjo bait
@luminawarren81324 күн бұрын
Instrument companies like to come off that there are multiple factories going on when in actuality there is one plant building many brand names. Japan did this when iida in the 70s built multitides of brand names under one roof. Fender, alvarez, aria, morris, GTR, iida all built by Teruo iidas leadership. It saves money and is what companies are made of. Saving money.
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 well luckily that is not the case here. Two separate factories.
@luminawarren81324 күн бұрын
@@stevenarms2879 yes possibly however Scott supervises all those factories going back and forth in between its most likely something Scott influenced them to build.
@stevenarms28792 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 I’m not sure who Scott is. But he has NOTHING to do with Gold Tone.
@luminawarren81322 күн бұрын
@@stevenarms2879 Im pretty sure he is the one who advised them to use the JLS tone ring in the "plus" end twanger. He pushes those rings. His desert rose banjos use the same ring. He may not be a GT employee but he is a floating contract consultant and he knows and has been in all the chinese factories. He also was hired by Greg to do the work for all of the recording kings. He does floating pay per build contract work w all of them. He also denies half the consulting he does so he wont get sued and he likes to attack his competition to promote his personal brand and sales. He also gets very jealous when he is told he is wrong and not telling the truth. He would most likely deny everything im saying here and call me an idiot to cover himself.
@luminawarren81324 күн бұрын
I like that you are willing to honestly expose basic banjo quality and the things that can be issues because cheap companies are terrible for trapping buyers into coerced sales. Its fraud actually.
@luminawarren81324 күн бұрын
I highly doubt that is a Gibson. Its a chinese built gold tone. "Banjo Bait " Watch out for companies who build " banjo bait ". They make one or two high quality banjos the ones that sellers play in the videos and the rest that customers buy have lower quality banjos and tone rings that weigh only 2 lbs. They do this to trap buyers into money. Gold Tone knockoff by the same chinese company. Tailpiece is goldtone no one makes those except them. Most likely Scott Zimmermans propagation of his own marketing. Possibly brass plating. You would have to break it down completely weigh the tone ring if its close to 2 lbs the tone ring is junk. You can also do a metal spectrum analysis to see if its really brass or zinc aluminum. (This is an edit because I see that you did do a magnet test and it is a steel ring which Gold Tone does make these.) An aluminum zinc ring would not hit w a magnet. The base power of any banjo will be a 3lb tone ring. The rim can even be off some but a good tone ring will over power it. Most rims will even breathe, move around, expand. A banjo neck needs to move around some it helps the neck vibrate.
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 you are 100% irrefutably incorrect. The epiphone banjos are NOT built in the same Chinese factory as goldtone. Two totally different factories.
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 that tailpiece is actually not a gold tone design. It’s a Gary Price straightline design, modeled after the old Kershners and ODE tails. Gold tone DID make some of those tails, and China has began mass producing them and passing the designs around. But the fact still stands, Epiphone is NOT using Gold Tones factory. I know this to been 100% factual.
@luminawarren81324 күн бұрын
Even if its not a Gold Tone they stole that tailpiece from them. Weigh the tailpiece w a Gold tone if weighs the same it came from the same plant. China wouldnt have multiple casting machines its too expensive. The Price tailpiece is cast totally different and Gold Tone knocked it off from Gary. The Price has sharper edges. Im almost sure its a Scott Zimmerman knock off. This is a China banjo it has all the specs. Scott did all the work for the Gold Tone upgrades. Scott swears that China only has these factories Recording King and Gold Tone/Gold Star take it up w Scott however be careful Scott gets very jealous over his builds and likes to trash talk his competition.
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 also there is absolutely no use in doing a metallurgical analysis because the tone ring is magnetic. That means it is steel.
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@luminawarren8132 banjo necks also should not move around. They should be stationary, but they should not be tightened down so much that it stifles the vibration of the neck, but they should not move.
@coniactive5 күн бұрын
Thanks for the very interesting review Steve, My super recording king RK36 is a top quality build with great tone and volume, do yourselves a favour and consider one instead of these instead
@stevenarms28794 күн бұрын
@@coniactive RK makes some good banjos. But I’ll stick to my Grandee. I’ve had several RK-36 and RK-35 banjos, I also had an RK-80a and an RK-85 Elite. None of those really stood where this Grandee stands. For those who just really like the Mastertone style and sound, the OB-Grandee is as close as you are going to get to a real Gibson Granada for less than $7500
@Celticman1975 күн бұрын
The Vega line of Earl Scruggs models also were barely playable and had major issues. Scruggs knew about them in the early 60's.
@williamwoods41205 күн бұрын
Is the set-up on the banjo the same as when it came out of the box? Did you alter the set-up from the factory? I am sure there are many that are disappointed in the poor quality of this banjo after so much anticipation of the release of this banjo.
@stevenarms28795 күн бұрын
@@williamwoods4120 both these banjos came directly from the manufacturer and feature factory setups. The Epiphone is totally in shambles and really isn’t able to be set up.
@hans-jurgburgin45516 күн бұрын
Hello Steve! Thanks for this post about this thing that apparently can't be called a banjo. I have often wondered how the part will be finished. Now I know it. Hands off! I seriously wonder how someone from Earl's family comes to allow such a thing. A disgrace. Thank you for this article! Hopefully it will prevent many people from making a costly mistake. Greets and 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
@clawhammer7047 күн бұрын
That’s the worst setup Iv ever seen on any new banjo.
@RandySchartiger7 күн бұрын
I played one of these Epip's and I wouldn't give $500 for it! Very good information thanks for posting this!
@MrGrahawk7 күн бұрын
I'm guessing these come from the same place that makes the Ibanez B200. This is known for bad heel cuts and tone rings that are not centred due to a bad rim cut - the same is true for other similar banjos rebadged from the same factory like Gewa. Those hooks look very similar to those as well. The place that made the better Morgan Monroe banjos (Morgan Monroe is out of business) and many similar banjos for the European market closed down and they were much better.
@kylemoran43437 күн бұрын
I'm a guitar picker, but own a cheap banjo gifted to me by my brother in law (RIP Morgan) years ago. It probably cost about $500 and is well put together for the money (I did have to shave the bridge). I laughed so hard at the neck joint on that Epi, SPACERS/WASHERS !! Who ever designed or engineered that neck joint and angle doesn't know how the strings oscillate along the length of the neck. No matter what stringed instrument it is, that thing will never play proper ! Sláinte
@garyhopkins48638 күн бұрын
I ordered one from Epiphone. My experience was similar. The heel cut was terribly botched. There was no way to make it work without grafting wood onto the heel and completely recutting and fitting the neck to the rim. There were cheap steel washers on the hooks. It was a true piece of trash.
@virgilflowers98468 күн бұрын
Wow, this is worse than I expected. What a shame. The $1200 price tag on this is an outrage. Cheap, hollow tone, cut corner after cut corner. When you mentioned the e bottle cap banjos, I knew we were heading down a bad road as those can be virtually unplayable. Great review, very thorough. Thank you for putting this out there!
@thomasjames7248 күн бұрын
I had one of these on order for quite some time from Sweetwater, but I had heard bad things about them and cancelled my order a month ago. They contacted me a week ago offering one and I declined. I’m now very glad I did. Thank you!
@paulbienek6018 күн бұрын
Very good honest review, dreadful pot to neck connection. Even at the price you'll find banjos with a better fix and fit! Unfortunately punters will buy it for the name, in no way should our beloved Earls name be put to that imposter banjo!
@jackdavis78418 күн бұрын
This doesn’t hold a candle to my RK-75 Elite which is more in the price range The Scruggs would not be in the same room as my prewar Gibson style 3! I’m sure Earl is in fact rolling in his grave😢 Thanks for a very honest evaluation.
@timbalcombe12 күн бұрын
Wow! Great tone and playing. Also, crazy "psychedelic bubbles " mute under the head
@DrCbass12316 күн бұрын
Any chances you could point me and others to a tab of your version or a version you learned from. Beautiful music.
@Tbowie1318 күн бұрын
Man, that's good! I really enjoyed that!
@timbalcombe19 күн бұрын
Slide banjo
@craigmitchell889221 күн бұрын
Very useful information, cheers!
@jethrobodine463822 күн бұрын
great lesson, i am just learning this tune. the intro lesson "taters" was new to me, will have to try that lol unsure what you were doing with your rt hand, will have to re-watch to get it down correctly. keep the great videos coming.
@billybob946129 күн бұрын
Love this style!!
@user-se4fm9xz9cАй бұрын
I'm considering doing a raffle ticket
@SirShtrumzАй бұрын
That sounds so frickin good! What kind kind of head and strings did you use on this?
@stevenarms2879Ай бұрын
@@SirShtrumz goat skin and Aquila classic banjo
@chuckjeffery944Ай бұрын
Very Excellent. thanks
@blacksheepbanjosАй бұрын
Sounds great Steven! Haven’t heard this one before, can you tell a little about where it’s from?
@timbalcombe2 ай бұрын
Learnt this beautiful tune fast thanks to your detailed breakdown. Your subtle feel will take a lifetime
@luckyrocks12 ай бұрын
Do you still have & use the Tone Traveler?
@evank78582 ай бұрын
DAYYUM
@PopovSB2 ай бұрын
Do you use pull off on the 4th string at the same time as a thumb pluck on the 6th string? (~0:17) Something like f(3) pull off to d(0)/with pluck D (0/6)
@eleeyah47573 ай бұрын
Beautiful! I love your technique, sounds very clean. It's obvious you've spent time mastering it. One thing I'd request: Any chance you could upload this again with a bit less snapping of the lowest (thickest) string? A little of that is good contrast, but you're doing it *a lot* and it's a bit unevenly distributed, too.
@erickirk25743 ай бұрын
Nice work ole friend!!
@danielfryland78313 ай бұрын
Thanks so much for this. You broke it down very nicely and made it really easy to follow. Now I just need to practice!
@timbalcombe3 ай бұрын
Hands down best player/teacher out there. Thank-you just got my GTac12
@chullerism3 ай бұрын
What do you use for a guitar case?
@rosewoodsteel66563 ай бұрын
So, did the good doctor fix the sound of your guitar?
@wherenextcolumbus6664 ай бұрын
Damn, dude, this sounds so good! The notes are so clear.
@v28074 ай бұрын
Where are the follow up videos?
@murattaner73844 ай бұрын
seems most people like the sound. can I respectfully disagrre The sound is surely different but I personally prefer the sounds of standard guitar shapes . I find them rounder (no surprise) ,gentler, morecaressing . The sound of the box is harsh with sharp edges ( again no surprise ) for me Just my opinion
@nurulmaru4 ай бұрын
Is there any lesson in YT which in details and slowly the work of right hands in clawhammer guitar?! Thanks.
@AnthonyMonaghanАй бұрын
You can see what he's doing from the video. He has adapted the claw hammer banjo technique for the guitar. Check out a tutorial for clawhammer banjo. You'll get it.
@nurulmaruАй бұрын
@@AnthonyMonaghan Hi, brother! I thank you very much, but in fact, It is easier said than done. Maybe the right hand work will be okay, but I don't how to coordinate the left hand placing right exact notes. Strumming and chords are okay... but ... thanks anyway, greetings from Brazil 🙏
@BradMicholson4 күн бұрын
Look up Steve Baughman. He's got a course out there somewhere, and it's really good.