Advice & expert service is available by e-mail, telephone or in person at the Banjo Works by prior appointment. You can click for address
and contact details or for directions and a map.
Phone hours are 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday, e-mail is dealt with at least twice a day and personal appointments are available between 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Closed Saturdays, Sundays & Bank Holidays
You can get advice of all sorts on banjos. There are pages on this site with "Advice for beginners" and "frequently asked questions" but these cannot be exhaustive. Do try these first but you can phone or e-mail the
Banjo Works with other queries - with complex technical problems, it may be necessary to make an appointment to bring the instrument to the Banjo Works. Please bear in mind that it's sometimes impossible to deal with
complicated matters on the phone, especially if the Banjo Works is busy. A specific appointment at the Banjo Works or an e-mail with pictures will often be very much easier to cope with!
You can also have instruments appraised or valued. Appraisals in the workshop are verbal, quite quick and cost only a modest sum (£10 + VAT as at July 2009). Valuations take a little longer and the written confirmation
(which is necessary for probate or insurance) usually takes about a week. This service costs a bit more (£20 + VAT as at July 2009).
Appraisals and valuations can be done by post with photographs or by e-mail with .jpg images. These are never quite as accurate as a "hands-on" examination would be - it's often very difficult to distinguish good
reproduction replacement parts from originals when there is only a photo to look at. Obviously, no judgement of the playing condition of an instrument can be made when using these services.
Appraisals and valuations over the phone are very difficult to do. There is a section about this on the "frequently asked questions" page. Whilst it is sometimes possible to give "ballpark" figures (within quite broad
limits) for many modern banjos, it really is impossible to value vintage or antique instruments without being able to see and handle them.
You can also get expert service to your instrument, sometimes on a "while you wait" basis, by either making an appointment to come to the Banjo Works or sending your instrument via a parcel service. For most people, the
ParcelForce 48 service from a local Post Office will be the most convenient and economic method. Please see the set-up, repairs and restoration service page for further details.
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