6-String Banjo Guitar with Closed Back Resonator and 24 Brackets

I already have a custom 6 string banjo that a friend and I put together over 20 years ago and wouldn't part with for any amount of money. It has a Fender Tele neck with exceptionally low action, sounds like a million dollars and is my favorite instrument to play. That said, being high strung, I'm unable to play a solo on the high strings, so I thought I would like to get another with more conventional strings. Enter this Jameson 6-String Banjo.I read all the other reviews, a summary of which is that while it's quality construction, it needs a total professional setup. When I received it yesterday, the cardboard box was badly torn, partially crushed and I expected it to be toally destroyed. Happily, somehow it was undamaged and I took it to the luthier this morning, who confirmed both the quality and the need for a total setup.Knowing your way around stringed instruments is one thing, but being a professional with over fifty years experience is quite another. I watched him work on it for two hours and I concur with other reviewers that unless you're an experienced professional, don't try to DIY.BOTTOM LINE: Fit and finish, excellent. Components, excellent, including the tuners. Sound as received, TERRIBLE!. Installed 9-42 cryogenic electric guitar strings which, as hoped, were a huge improvement both in the sound and playability. Comes with a 5/8" bridge, which is too high My guy says it needs a 1/2" bridge and we're trying to find a compensated one.So, should you buy it? As long as you're willing to spend the time and effort to buy different strings and a bridge AND have it professionally set up, ABSOLUTELY BUY IT ! It will then compare favorably with the most expensive ones on the market and you will have saved yourself many hundreds of dollars. You're welcome.

I'm not sure how to write a review for this without sounding like a company rep. This is by far one of the nicest instruments I have ever seen. I own two Ovation guitars (steel and nylon) and a Peavey bass. This offers a good fourth to the set. At the price on this Bantar I wasn't expecting such quality.At the time I write this review, this instrument is solid 5 stars at 13 reviews. There's good reason for that: there's a standard 5-string banjo here on Amazon made by the same company and it has 128 reviews with solid 4 & 5 stars (vast majority 5). So I guess they must make a good instrument. I know I'm very pleased with mine.When the ad says it's a $450 instrument they're selling at about 150 bucks... believe it. This is total quality head to tail. It is gorgeous, heavy (as a banjo should be) and offers quality sound. It may be expected that being basically a banjo, the treble strings have considerably more report than the E and A bass strings; that's the nature of the beast. This isn't a guitar with a banjo body, but a somewhat different instrument, one in which the lower strings are clearly audible but not as pronounced and deep as they can be on a guitar because the sound is amplified by a banjo head.The result is a typical banjo "twang" with a nice semi-bass drone thrown in, and presents a unique sound.One downside, but quite normal: on my instrument the action is considerably high (not unusual on a store-bought, un-tamed instrument). So the first thing I'll have to do is find either a shorter bridge or cut this one down a bit. However the neck is straight and the Bantar well-produced. Once the bridge is re-done I believe I'll have an excellent instrument. Pretty much every instrument I've ever purchased "off the shelf" has required similar work; it is expected.The sound is mellow and resonant, and not as "twangy" as some off-the-shelf banjos I've heard. I credit this to the wood sides and backing (as opposed to metal sides sometimes found on other banjos). I am sorely tempted to replace the head on this with clear mylar and do some artistic woodburning on the inside backplate. People would think I bought a $2000 instrument.If you want to play this as an open-back, the back is easily removed via four thumb-screws. I can't recommend one way or another as I prefer a closed-back instrument, but that feature does make this very versatile.There are few things these days that I purchase and find to be pristine. Aside from the action needing some work (which again, is very common)... this is pristine. At the time I write this review every review on here is 5 stars; I gladly add mine to the mix. Highly recommended instrument of top quality and performance.[edit] I've had this instrument about a week now and I'm quite pleased with it still. I did do something different: I switched out the steel strings for high-tension nylon guitar strings. Martin or D'Addario ball-end sets work fine. The sound it produces is significantly more mellow than steel strings.I also found a set of gold-tone tuning pegs here on Amazon that are the exact same make and model that comes with the banjo. So remove the silver ones and wow... the gold tone looks great with this instrument.This is quite a buy for someone looking specifically for a Bantar. Lots of folks will choose to get a 5-string banjo so they can learn the standard banjo rifts, but for a guitar player wanting a unique sound this is perfect.