Ashthorpe 6-String Banjo - Full Size with 24 Brackets, Closed Back, Mahogany Resonator

I tried to buy 2 more expensive made in china banjos, a dean and a Luna and the deals went through so I just bought this on a whim. My guess is it’s from the same factory in china that produces RW Jameson because I have a 5 string and it looks similar. Compare the 2 6 string banjos and you’ll know what I mean. Anyway it’s a good banjo for the money. Tuned it up and started playing the action is pretty good right out of the box. The case is pretty good quality. The banjo sounds and plays great. Fretboard needs a little conditioning but it’s worth every penny in my opinion. I’ve been playing guitar my whole life and I’m 32 Y/o. It’s nothing fancy, it’s not perfect, but it’s nice and worth the price and I’m liking it a lot. Also some of the neck has like flame figuring like flame maple does but it’s mahogany. Pretty cool. 5 star review from me.

I received this Monday, April 8th. Although I did not intend to play it that night, I took it along with me to the Open Mic that I attend on Monday evenings. A few guys there play banjo, but mostly guitars.Anyway, 8 different people wanted to check it out - 2 asked me for the link! The guy who runs the Open Mic even played it along with a few other people as they performed...Mine arrived packaged well, in an undamaged box. No problems upon opening. I did need to adjust the placement of the bridge - measured 26" from the nut, and straightened it out. The nut width measures at 1 11/16", for those who may want to know...I will be ordering 6-string banjo strings, as the phosphor bronze strings that come with it are more suited to a guitar. Head tension was good, action was good right out of the box.Probably the best of the "inexpensive" banjitars - or gitjos - available...unless you want to spend $400 or more...

Package didn't arrive in the best of shape. However the case was enough to protect it from damage. Banjo played ok. Probably will need some tweaking. But it's not bad for the money.

Great guitar/banjo. I received this item quickly and in good shape. Paid to have a professional set up the instrument. The repair person reported having to dress the frets, adjust the truss rod and position the bridge properly. I had a set of D'Addario Guitar Strings - XL Nickel Electric Guitar Strings - EXL150H - 10-26 High Strung/Nashville Tuning. Made all the difference. It sounds like a banjo and not a guitar trying to sound like a banjo. Highly recommended both the 6-string banjo and the strings.

I've bought lots of inexpensive instruments before: guitars, violins, ukulele, bass and sometimes they works out other times it is simply a waste of money. I had originally bought another 6 string much better known, more expensive and highly reviewed 6 string banjo, but after I completed the purchase, this banjo popped up. I hadn't seen when I originally searched and was very skeptical but, mostly because it said the resonator is removable, I cancelled my order and bought this one at less than half the price of the other (I didn't have much faith that the more expensive one would be heaps better than one in this price range).I was really surprised when I received this. First off, the finish is great and the tuners, the head the hardware -- the whole thing much above my expectations. I tuned it up and after fiddling around a bunch went to work on it. The fret board is nice, nothing to be done, really. The head needed tightening, which meant I had to remove the resonator -- 4 screws to remove the resonator, easy, I took the resonator hardware completely off as I didn't plan on using it very simple to put back on if I decide -- took a little time, got head nice and tight. Next, I adjusted the neck. Finally, I went after the intonation and played with the bridge placement until I got right on (it arrives set up and it is pretty close) all said about 1.5 hours of fiddling. Big difference.I ordered a set of strings for it and I'm thinking once I swap those out I'll be a very happy camper. It is fun to play and I'm very happy with purchase.

Better made than I expected. Fun to play

Let's start with the pros. It was well protected within its case, shipping was much faster than quoted, and it truly is a beautiful instrument.Now, the cons. It might as well come in an IKEA box. Sure it's "put together", but on the most basic form. It WILL need a COMPLETE setup, so if you plan on ordering this banjo, go ahead, and seek yourself out a luthier, or plan on hours of tweaking, and setup. Also, if you're new to a banjo style instrument as I am, I hope you're mechanically inclined, as there are no instructions, and their website does not offer a product manual for this instrument, so if you plan on attempting the setup on your own. Prepare for hours of YouTube, and Google research. Just a list of examples of things not setup: head loose, and not tuned, bridge placement incorrect for scale length, neck angle way off, neck turned slightly sideways, compensator rod loose, and not adjusted, string break angle not adjusted. Just to name a few. Do I regret the purchase? No, it really is a fantastic, and gorgeous instrument once setup properly. Just keep in mind that it will require a lot of work to make it playable.

Gosh what a nice instrument for $157 bucks? No fret sprout neck was a little weird I had to adjust the truss rod and it's still got higher action but I think it'll work for what I want it for... I am going to buy a different string plate for the bottom so I can use regular ball end strings. Deering sells theirs for 90 bucks and I may opt for a clear head as the frosted one is noisy for a pick player... i have replacement tuners here that fit...so ill have 300.00 into it? But itll be a real player and the quality is very high for the price...quite pleased overall.As others have said putting on a set of Nashville High Strung strings will really help this sound more banjo like... tuned to regular a440 6-string guitar 9-42 it lacks a little bit of magic...go with the Nashville tuning for the full experience