I had just purchased a six string Luna Banjo to add to my collection. I have never been much of a banjo player and thought that this would be an easy way to "pick" a few songs. I have been collecting instruments for years, playing guitar for almost thirty years, and have actually built several instruments from scratch. I can actually play a banjo and have a three in my collection. I only make mention of these things so, you, as the reader of this review can get the idea that I am not someone that has just picked up a guitar and now I am being hyper critical. First and foremost I must say that this in one really good looking banjo. The quality of the neck, dressing of the frets and the precision of the inlays all look really and feel really good. The resonator is also clean and well finished. It is more of a matt finish-not a high gloss. The ring itself is ok, but seems to lack some of the attention to detail that the neck has. There are a couple of spots on the ring that looks like the finish did not get applied, or the head itself was put on prior to the finish being 100% dry.
When the banjo arrived it was well packaged and included the warranty information, bridge, a wrench for the head, and one for the truss rod adjustment. (The neck on mine needed no adjustment). Noticeably absent were any type of setup instructions. I adjusted the bridge position to the sweet spot, tuned it up, and then as I picked a couple of quick cords felt a really great sense of disappointment. Please finish the review before making a decision about buying one. I was determined to get this banjo up and running. It was very easy to see that a few very simple modifications would make a world of difference. First and foremost I tuned the head up- it was very flat and the tone very low- I am not an expert in this field but this is how I did it. I took the strings and bridge off- and tightened the head until the skin had about the same sound when "thumped" as one of my banjos. You need to do this in a fairly specific order. (Just google it and it will show you the order, Don't just go around the head and tighten one after another.). Next -the action was way too high, so I sanded the bridge, I sanded it as low as I could without removing the "Feet". Make sure there are no sharp edges to damage the head. Then the last thing I did was put on a new set of "light" acoustic guitar strings. You will need to remove the little brass ring at the end of the string to get them attached to the bridge. I then tuned it up and it sounded 100% better. If you are not that handy I am sure your average guitar shop would complete these steps for a reasonable price. The action is still a little high and eventually I will replace the nut with one that is a bit lower. When you put a capo on the neck you will notice that there is a huge difference in playability, meaning, that the action will be able to go down considerably with a new nut.
Having said all that- if you are looking for something to play around on then this banjo is worth the effort, at around $300.00 it is not cheap but certainly way less then the majority of top notch guitars out there. It is a little light on sustain but is a blast to play. I should also mention that I could not have been happier with the seller- the service was top notch!
)