Gold Tone WL banjo wanted

[phil]

Hi Everybody,

Its a bit of a long shot perhaps, but I'd love to play a white ladye. So if anybody has one sitting up the loft doing nothing then I'd be happy to buy it.

Phil

[karaokeb]

Hi Phil, I don't know of a Gold Tone Whyte Lady for sale but it may be worth you contacting Andy at Andy Banjo He does two relatively inexpensive Whyte Lady open backs a Grafton with fraling scoop at about £450.00 and a Rally at about £500.00. I have played both and in fact opted for the Rally - I did not want a scooped instrument. They are both excellent instruments if I have time I will do a review on the Rally in the next day or two.

Brian

[phil]

Thanks very much for that Brian. I got my first banjo from Andy Banjo via Ebay and he seems a good guy. Currently I'm playing a Fender fb 55 open back which is a bit basic but does have some very nice inlays down the fretboard! My banjo teacher is quite picky about banjos - I mentioned the Countryman white ladye to him (There is one on Ebay at the moment for £320) but he did that sucking-in of air through the teeth thing! He did mention that he liked the Gold Tone though, so I thought I'd look around and see if it is possible to pick a used one up for cheap. I do actually quite like the Fender, so there is not too much of a rush.

Thanks once more,

Phil

[karaokeb]

Hi Phil,

Glad I could be of help but just a thought if you get in touch with Andy he may be able to fit a Whyte lady tone ring to your Fender at a reasonable cost. I think that Whyte lady rings are sold by Andy at £120.00. So you might get what you want for a fraction of the cost of a new instrument.

Brian

[phil]

Hey Brian,

Thats a thought. It must improve the sound of it.

Silk purses and sows ears come into mind though, but its certainly an idea.

Thanks for that - now you have really thrown me into confusion! But there again, the tone ring costs 80% of what I paid for the fender! Its really only a cheap instrument - well overpriced as my tutor says!

Thanks again for your advice,

Phil

[Danny]

Hi Phil

I'm lucky enough to have a rather expensive american made Whyte Laydie banjo, a gift from a friend, and it's a lovely banjo, so good luck with your quest.

Brian beat me with the 'modify an existing banjo' option. You could also try www.eaglemusicshop.com bloody good shop indeed, I'm planning on getting a bazouki from them soon, just for a change of sound.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

Danny

[phil]

Hi Danny,

Thanks for your thoughts. Do you really think it transform my fairly basic Fender or would I be better putting the money towards a better banjo?

Regarding Eaglemusicshop, on thursday I was talking to a nice lady - a very nice lady - who has recently bought two banjos from there. A vega dragon star banjo and a jens kruger banjo, both by Deering Banjos. Wow! A bit out of my league, but she lives locally and if I am really lucky she just might let me play one. Perhaps that should be unlucky though, cos I might spend the rest of my life wishing I had one!

Once again, thanks for your thoughts,

Phil

[Danny]

Hi Phil

Just so ya know mate, i've studied how musical instruments work quite heavily.

My personal recomendation would be that you save your hard earned cash for a better banjo. I've been their and done that when it comes to cheap banjos. and they are cheap for a reason.

The guys at Eagle are good folks, they've always done well by me, I rekon you ca trust 'em, Andy at Andy Banjo is a good fella too

Please feel free to DM me , and let us all know how you get on

Danny

[phil]

Thanks Danny,

Im tending towards saving up for a better banjo. Mind you, I shouldn't really knock the Fender quite so much, it is much better than my first one. I love playing it and I'm only a beginner anyway.

I think I'll just wait quietly for a while (What! With a banjo!) until my teacher comes up with a good deal.

Of course, if one drops into my lap....

Phil

[Danny]

You're welcome Phil

Good luck and let us all know how you get on.

Danny

[phil]

OK, so I've been and gone and done it!

My teacher sold me an Ozark 2110G. (Also sold as a Countryman Pro California WL and a Rally California WL) He has taken it to bits and set it up nicely. It sounds so much better (when played correctly ) than my old banjo that it's scary. It looks pretty much the same but is so much more responsive. Wow!

Now I just have to learn how to play it properly!

[scanbran]

Congratulations on that new banjer.

I like the look of that Ozark, and read a really good review of it recently too!

[phil]

Thanks for that! It does look nice and it must be one of the cheapest banjos with a white laydie tone ring.

Now that I've had it a little while it's getting nice and comfortable. Its sounding a little better with practice but there is still quite a way to go!