Epiphone MB-100 First Pick Banjo  

I've been playing a banjo I built myself for a couple of years; playable but the sound was sub-par.  So, I bit the bullet and ordered one of these Epiphone jobs.

Overall, an excellent value.    First the bad...

It says my banjo was inspected by "Number 20".  Perhaps Mr. 20 was asleep that day...  The head was not tensioned hardly at all.  A number of the hooks were finger-loose.  Also, one of the tuning machne bushings had not been pushed in all the way.

Minor things, however.  I tensioned the head with the supplied wrench and installed the bridge and tapped the bushing flush with a hardwood dowel.

Tuned up, the banjo sounds quite nice.  I wanted an open back model primarily for clawhammer playing, and this one sounds just fine.

Frets are nicely finished and the overall look and finish and fit are quite good.  It's plain, but looks classy.

A good value for a "starter" banjo.

Quality of parts appears quite good; assembly a little lacking.

Good value for the price.

Good for the money

The picture shown is not accurate. Banjo is really a beautiful mahogany colour. The tailpiece is bad. Use this banjo for clawhammer, not bluegrass style and replace tailpiece with a no-knot. Will make a big difference. Also, the bridge is alright, but replacing it with a name brand grover bridge, made from slightly denser, better wood, will improve tone. The tuners are guitar style which work much better than all but the most expensive planetary tuners, so keep the tuners. Of course, replace the strings and set up. I like DR strings. Oh, and the head is great. The combo of frosted remo head and no tone-ring is awesome. Just tighten the head multiple times after you set the banjo up cas it will keep stretching over time.

This banjo is a good foundation to customize or fix up to make an awesome clawhammer style banjo. Beware, when you receive the banjo it will be unplayable. There is some quality control issue where the nut slot for the 3rd? I think, maybe 4th, I forget, string is angled wrong on every one of these banjos Ive seen. You need to have it set up proffessionally or get a little coping saw blade and even the slot. That sitar like buzzing IS being caused by this. Hard to believe, right. It took me forever to figure it out cas the sound moves throughout the whole instrument and you cant tell where its coming from. Also, there will be no setup attempted overall with this banjo. Truss rod will need to be adjusted to straighten neck. Head will need to be tightened. Bridge will need to be placed in the proper spot on the head for good intonation, etc. Find every screw and bolt (there are lots) and check it for tightness.

Good value if you can work on instrument yourself. Otherwise, it would cost a lot of money to have a professional work on it and not be worth the price.

I give mine a ten now that I have set up and customized mine. When I first got it it was unplayable, so maybe a one then. This purchase will provide you with a good cheap frame to build a customized banjo. The necker is much thinner and narrower than most banjo necks, and is extremely comfortable to play. THIS BANJO HAS NO TONE RING. I love the sound of a banjo with no tone ring and a frosted head. It may even be louder than most banjos with substantial tone rings and the renaisance and fiberskyn type heads, but is has a mellower tone. The wood is very pretty. I sanded the logo off the headstock and it is red coloured under the finish, so it really is some mahogany type wood. I think the picture on this website shows the older lighter coloured one. But they are really a beautiful mahogany colour. Makes a great old time clawhammer banjo.