Banjo uke advice sought

LarryL

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Lately i have become interested in purchasing a banjo uke...i have seen demos on youtube of the deering goodtime banjo uke and it seems to be a good buy...i ownn a concert kahola opio and am very pleased with the quality..so my budget would be $600 or less...i appreciate any advise. Thanks in advance
 
I started one like this not too long ago. You might want to do a quick search for banjo uke.

The quick consensus seemed to be that a lot of people liked the Deering, but it is quite heavy. The Duke 10 tenor had a lot of fans as did the Firefly.
Hope that helps. I'm looking for one as well and since I'm not a fan of the weight, I'm leaning towards the Firefly. If the Duke came in concert size, I'd take that one.

Waverly St ukes had some nice ones but a little out of my price range. To get a sound clip check youtube and troll for a guy playing "Whiskey in the Jar."
 
What kind of sound are you looking for? The Deering is brash and loud. Reminiscent of a bluegrass banjo. I haven't had the chance to play one for more than a few minutes, so I can't say how easy it is (or isn't) to modulate the volume. My first impression was that I would have a hard time singing over it. YMMV

The Duke 10 is easier to tame, more like a dixieland tenor banjo. Bright and snappy. Makes me want to wear a candy-striped blazer and a straw boater. I'm seriously tempted to get one of these; I wouldn't play it everyday but in the right ensembles and for the right music it's delightful.

The soprano/concert Firefly is quieter, more like an old-time minstrel gut-strung banjo. It's the one I own because I want to be able to sing and play with other ukes without drowning them out. When somebody comes up to me (of their own free will) and says they loved hearing me play, chances are I'm playing the Firefly. People just love it.

I haven't played a Firefly tenor but I sure would like to give it a try!

The Gold Tone BU series are plunky, playable and loud. They sound like... well, like a banjo uke. Vaudeville all the way. Those clear plastic ones look like a lot of fun.

I would say all of these are high-quality instruments (well, the plastic Gold Tones are probably a step down but nonetheless I feel that I may need a purple one). The trick is finding the right one for you.
 
I have owned a firefly and currently own a Deering.

The firefly is lightly built and has a lighter sound. The Deering has a very full tone (it uses the same 11" rim that they use on their standard banjos) but not as brash as some. I've also played the non-plastic Gold tones - they'll remove the paint from your walls if you get the one with the tone ring.

I really like the way the Deering feels - they use a hard maple neck where the fingerboard and neck are all one piece, which can reduce neck profile changes with weather (you don't have two pieces of wood extracting/contracting at different rates - or so goes the theory).

If it makes any difference, the Deering and Firefly are both built in the US, while Gold Tone is an import.

For $600 you should be able to buy most anything on the market if you shop around.
 
I had a Goldtone BUT for awhile, setup by Mim, and it was a good deal. Pretty heavy as others have noted, but good sound and very playable. Been thinking about getting another banjo uke myself lately.
 
Buy the anuenue that’s in the marketplace here, so that I won’t have to!
 
On the Gold tone Little Gems, I'm following their facebook page to see when they post up a sound link. They're promising it up soon. Their response is also "it is louder and brighter than our wood banjo ukes!"
I wish they'd put up a little more info. I don't imagine the plastic is tuneable, but those look like tuning screws on around the drum. Maybe just decorative?

I'm looking at a Firefly, so I wouldn't mind hearing one of these against it.
 
Buy the anuenue that’s in the marketplace here, so that I won’t have to!


REALLY surprised that nobody has bought this!! I’ve actually been fooling with it a bit more lately and took the back off for the first time last night! Really opened it up! It’s pretty loud but it’s not really an issue dampening the sound. I wasn’t so much into banjo ukes for the longest time despite owning this one. Perhaps because I don’t feel like I was all that good and didn’t wish to annoy everyone in the house, ha. I have to admit though that this thing is quite fun! Still if interested; I will likely still sell it. I feel the price is more than fair considering how much they cost initially. I thought I would be giving someone a great opportunity to own a nice banjo uke and thought ppl would be all over it. I suppose Anuenue isn’t as talked about as it once was. I have to say though; I’ve always liked Anuenue. The 1879 was probably one of the best sounding ukes I have ever played.
 
Was giving it a serious look, but the weight kept me away. Is is beautiful. I'm surprised it's not gone either. I did some research on it, and it seemed like it was really well built.
 
Ooohh... These sound good! Gee purple, blue or clear?

I think these look awesome. I have and old Mastro banjo uke which is mostly plastic, and it plays and sounds awesome, even after the 70 years or so it's been around. I think these new Gold Tones will make a splash.
 
I think these look awesome. I have and old Mastro banjo uke which is mostly plastic, and it plays and sounds awesome, even after the 70 years or so it's been around. I think these new Gold Tones will make a splash.

As a builder of reasonably good solid wood banjo ukes, I think these new Gold Tones banjo ukes look absolutely.......
........................................................FABULOUS. :D
 
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