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Andybanjo's news & information page
 Welcome to the revised page of news, information & special offers.If there are any information items that you would like to see posted here, perhaps you could e-mail and tell me (things you would like to know, things you think other people ought to know etc etc ..............);
Banjos & banjo outfits .... prices, orders & deliveries
16/02/2010
 Despite the increase in the VAT rate, the prices shown on the website will be honoured for the time being. There will need to be a general overhaul & review of the prices on the website but I'll absorb the VAT increase until such time as I can get the re-pricing done.
There are still some of the budget banjo outfits available on-line - these will be held at the present prices until stocks run out. If you order & pay on-line, your banjo outfit will be despatched asap (sometimes same day); we'll e-mail you an anticipated delivery date.
These banjo outfits are not the cheapest items you'll find on the Internet - but I believe they are the best value. The instruments themselves are properly set-up (re-inforced neck to rim joints, hand-dressed fretting etc etc) and come with lots of extras thrown in (for instance, all the 5-strings now come with a free capo & fitted capo spikes) - the "Christmas Morning" beginner gets everything he/she needs to get started all in the one big box ....
Outfits like this are available with any banjo on request but, for now, I've put up the half a dozen most popular "beginner" lines on the "Special Offers" page. If you want an outfit based on another instrument, please phone and I'll make it up for you ... (though I hope to get a few more on the various lists before too long .. :-)
February 2010 - Deliveries outside the UK, on-line payments, phone hours, appointment times, banjo prices, new website format, e-mail communications et al.
15/02/2010
 Deliveries outside the UK
Sorry, but I have to suspend these for the time being until I can find a more reliable carrier - the £20 Fedex economy service really isn't up to the job. I guess you get what you pay for and I'm working on a new system which will be dramatically better (but dearer ..) Watch this space for news ....
Deliveries within the UK are pretty good and continue at the existing price for now though a rise is inevitable at some stage, there has been no increase for almost 6 years ...
On-line payments
A secure link is now installed on the website so that you can order and pay on-line. This facility is provided for those who wish to use it - but it isn't the only way to order & pay. You will still be able to phone and discuss your requirements before placing an order if you prefer to do that. Hopefully, it will provide a quick & convenient order/payment method for those who know exactly what they want.
Phone hours & Answerphones
The phone hours at the Banjo Works are 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday inclusive.
Outside of these hours, there is a conventional answering machine - please leave your name, number and a short message and your call be returned as soon as possible once we re-open.
During the normal working day, there is access to the BtCallMinder service if the line is engaged. If you hear a recorded message start up, it doesn't mean we're not there ......just that we're on the phone already and prefer not to keep you hanging on listening to hideous "hold" music ..... Please leave your name, number and a shortmessage and we'll phone you back as soon as possible.
Appointment times
Appointments will be available daily for sales, appraisals, set-ups etc. Last appointment will normally be around 4pm as we close at 5pm.
Prices
All banjo prices shown on this website include VAT at 15% - the VAT rate goes back to 17.5% on 1st January but I haven't yet decided what to do about that. For a small business with a great many different products, it's a mammoth task to alter all the prices on the website - it may not all get done in one go .... please watch this space for details
Banjos are still very good value for money and I'm hoping to ameliorate the effect of the VAT increase with a few "special offers" In January.
New website
The new website format in still in course of preparation but has stalled on a fundamental software glitch that seems insoluble just now - I'll keep you posted!
E-mail
E-mail is dealt with at least once a day (usually much more often now) and you should get a reply within 24 hours of sending a message - if you don't, your message didn't get through to us. Please try again directly to andybanjo@aol.com rather than via the website contact link.
Website catalogue vs stock in the shop
14/02/2010
 Unlike many web traders, we aim to have all the instruments shown on the site physically in stock all the time.
Where a particular line is low on stock, it will be marked "please phone" - and if it has sold out or is unavailable for some other reason, that will be indicated on the listing. Now that we are offering an "on-line" payment facility, we'll try to take extra-special care over this point!!
We try pretty hard on this - though we don't claim to be perfect ...
The other side of this coin is that there are always a great many more banjos in the shop than there are on the website. We don't generally list secondhand or one-off items - though we have a lot of them ...
We also have new instruments that we just haven't got round to writing up & photographing - and there are numerous "custom" variations on existing lines as well. A phone call to the shop may reveal that we've actually got in stock the exact thing you're looking for .....
This picture gives a brief glimpse of two of our 5 stockrooms - piled up with banjos to the ceiling, as ever ..
It may also be worth noting that we do all our own photography (that explains the somewhat "Box Brownie" approach ..) - but it does mean that you get a picture of an actual instrument that exists and is available for sale - not a library shot lifted from a glossy manufacturer's website .......
Getting to the Banjo Works .......... and what to expect
14/02/2010
 We're very sorry but phoning ahead to make an appointment is really, actually necessary!
The Banjo Works is not a Retail Shop as such - it's an Industrial Unit full of banjos and bits of banjos. The major part of the business is Internet and Mail Order Sales - and we spend a great deal of our time building and setting-up banjos - or on the phone to customers ....
Whilst we are happy to receive visitors, we can only deal with personal callers by prior appointment. The Banjo Works is now so busy all the time that an appointment is absolutely necessary. If you call in without phoning first, you quite likely will have had a wasted journey ..............
How to make an appointment:-
by phone - call 01795 590374 between 9am - 5pm Mon - Fri (please use the phone for short-notice requirements)
by e-mail via the website or directly to andybanjo@aol.com (fine for making appointments a few days in advance)
Last appointment is usually around 4pm as we close at 5pm.
It is often possible to book at quite short notice - but if you need to make an appointment less than 48 hours ahead, it's best to use the phone rather than e-mail.
Finding the Banjo Works
We can give you simple directions over the phone from Junction 7 of the M2 - or you can look at the map and directions on the website. These seem to be working fairly well and most people are finding us pretty easily ........ though some SatNav systems seem to be a bit flaky. Some of them don't appear to recognise the roads inside Industrial Estates. As we are clearly visible from the entrance to the Estate, this doesn't seem to be too much of a problem .....
What to expect
This place is a combination of craft workshop and factory and is often described as a sort of "Aladdin's Banjo Cave" .... there are piles & piles of bits of banjo, large numbers of "jobs in progress" and innumerable cardboard boxes of "bits" - not to mention hundreds and hundreds of banjos ...
We can make visitors reasonably comfortable in one of our Stock Rooms - these aren't plush but the acoustics are good. We always talk to visitors first as we really need to have a clear idea of what's required so we can get out a selection of the appropriate instruments to be tried out.
There are no display racks or showroom arrangements as such - browsing through the entire stock simply isn't practical here, there's far too much of it.
We can do demonstrations if required but generally leave visitors alone with a rake of banjos and a cup of tea. For many people, that's close to their ideal ............ but if you really want the "glossy showroom" & "attentive salesperson" approach, you may do better in Denmark Street..
(from a conversation recently with a client who had spent a whole day in the West End of London trying to find a banjo that suited him, I rather gather that the current "West End" standards of service/facilites are not quite what I remember from the 1960's ... so maybe the Banjo Works isn't quite as primitive an establishment as I think it is!)
Postage rates - overseas news + (a) instruments & (b) parts + accessories
14/02/2010
 I'm sorry to say that the service level of the Fedex deliveries to the Republic of Ireland has now declined to the point where I have no choice but to suspend it until further notice. I'm working on a contract for a new service to cover EU destinations outside the UK. It will be dearer than the previous Fedex service but hopefully dramatically more reliable ....
(A) Instruments & instrument cases
Standard Fedex NextDay service is still only £10 per parcel for most mainland UK addresses. For the Scottish Highlands & Islands, I-O-M and Northern Ireland only the cost is £20 per parcel. Service is overnight to many places, 2/3 day to more remote areas.
Sorry, it is not possible to offer deliveries outside the UK at the moment. Please keep an eye on this space for further news ...
(B) Parts + accessories
Basic system is that all orders of £10 or over are post free within the UK.
Small orders under £10, add £2 P&P/Handling.
Almost all "parts & accessories" orders are sent by Royal Mail First Class Post - but please note that bulky items (like hardshell cases) are too large for the free postal service and have to go via the chargeable (£10/£20) ANC/Fedex service.
Royal Mail altered the way ordinary post is charged last year. Most banjo parts now travel at the new "packet" rates - approximately twice as expensive as the old "First Class" rates. This will inevitably mean that some parts prices will have to go up - sorry! A new "Parts" list is presently under construction and we hope to publish it later on this year.
Parts can be posted outside of the UK but, practically speaking, we can only use Royal Mail International Standard Service. This isn't the most reliable service in the world so that we normally split things like string orders over 2 or 3 packets so as to ensure that some of the order arrives in a reasonably timely manner. At the moment, we don't have a service for overseas parts delivery which is both secure and economical. If we can come up with a decent service to cover the rest of EU, we'll post up a notice here.
Bluegrass beginners - open-back or resonator banjo?
14/02/2010
 There seems to have arisen a degree of confusion amongst beginners as to the most suitable type of banjo on which to start to learn the fundamentals of bluegrass music. By bluegrass music, I mean all styles involving the use of "up-picking" (i.e. 2- and 3-finger style with picks).
The traditional answer has always been that you need a resonator 5-string banjo - as close to a pre-1939 Gibson Mastertone as you can afford ...... the smaller the amount of money available to spend, the larger the number of compromises that have to be made between that "ideal banjo" and what can actually be afforded ....
One of the last areas on which to compromise has traditonally been the resonator. The existence of a back on the banjo gives you the typical "hollow" sound of a bluegrass banjo and makes the playing position(somewhat held away from the body) more like that of a classic style of bluegrass banjo.
Of late, there have been suggestions that an open-back banjo (traditionally used for folk/old-time styles) is fine for starting on bluegrass. Up to a point, this is true - you can learn the mechanics of bluegrass on an open-back banjo. When you move on to a "Masterclone" of some sort (all bluegrass players do .... ), you'll have to get used to a different quality of sound and having the banjo itself in a different position. Not a huge issue but it can prove to be quite a stumbling block to some players.
The benefits of starting on an open-back banjo are more nebulous. It does save a little money on the initial purchase - between £20 - £50 on most entry-level banjos. They are a bit quieter but many entry-level banjos are convertible so that the resonator can be removed for quieter playing at need - and mutes aren't that hard to find/use. They are a bit lighter but the saving of a less than 1kg on the overall weight (typically just under 4kg for the resonator version as opposed to just over 3kg for an open back) would not be that significant for most people.
I guess it comes down to personal choice - but if you do opt to have an open-back banjo for learning to play bluegrass, make sure you mention the fact when ordering your banjo. Many open-back banjos are specially set-up for frailing/clawhammer styles - even quite modest entry-level instruments! These will not be suitable for learning any kind of bluegrass style playing ("up-picking") - the requirements of a "down-picking" banjo are quite different"!
It's quite easy to get an open-back version of a banjo properly set-up for bluegrass style - essentially, it will be a convertible resonator type without the resonator .... :-) Quite easy to do and available for the asking at no extra charge - and you'll get the appropriate starter pack (correct initial set-up, strings, picks & instruction book) instead of a "frailing" pack
You won't be able to order on-line (the standard package for all the open backs on my website is for "frailing") but you can phone or e-mail to make sure you get exactly what you need to learn the style you have selected.
For most people, the simplest option will be to stick to the traditional resonator models - but you can have the "bluegrass" open-back if you really want it ... for further advice, please phone
Tool Hire - 5th string replacement peg reamers
13/02/2010
We're sorry that this service (which had run fairly successfully on a pretty informal basis for some years) now needs to be overhauled to make it more formal & secure.
Whilst we're trying to puzzle out how to do this (and keep the associated costs down to a miniumum), the service is suspended for now. Just the "Health & Safety" instruction leaflet as to how to safely use such an odd, sharp-edged tool seems to be taking for ever to get right ........
Apologies for any inconvenience
Update: July 2009 We will try to resume the service if we can but the "Health & Safety" issues associated with hiring out a potentially hazardous tool are presently defeating me ..... the more advice I get, the harder it seems to be!
Grafton Clipper banjos - now well established........
13/02/2010
 The next grade up in the "Grafton" banjo range.
In addition to the "Gems","Pops" & "Pop #2's", we now offer the "Clipper". Same wide range of models as for the "Pops" - "old-time" open back 5-string, "bluegrass" resonator 5-string (both models available right and left-handed), shortscale "Irish" open back tenor, shortscale "Irish/Jazz" resonator tenor, standard scale "Irish/Jazz" resonator tenor and "Singalong/Jazz" resonator plectrum. 8 varieties of essentially the same banjo - each one constructed and set-up specially for the particular sort of music for which it is appropriate.
Basic specification is rather higher than the "Pops" - this is a maple banjo with a thick rim, twin co-ordinator rods, a rolled brass tone ring and heavy-duty hardware. It would make an excellent first instrument - but the sound and build quality are so good that this banjo will be an ideal intermediate grade banjo too ... frankly, it knocks spots off any other product in this price range ... no matter where it comes from ....
Specifications & pictures have been been posted up on the website. If you want a run-down of how this product compares with other well-known banjos in this price range, just give me a call ....
Prices are £295 for the open back version and £325 for the resonator versions. The picture shows the shortscale open back tenor - a small "session" banjo which you can compare with other products of this type ......
PS In addition to the other models, we now have an open back "old-time" 5-string model available with a cutaway fingerboard - no extra charge on top of the standard price of £295 for this model
Grafton "Popular" & "Popular #2" banjos - and "Gem" 5-strings now available
13/02/2010
 a range of entry-level banjos with all the features you need in a decent starter instrument. They have planetary tuners (with geared 5th string pegs on 5-strings), properly dressed, smooth fingerboards & fretting, lovely low actions, 2-point neck fixing for great tuning stability, brass tone rings, 24 brackets, good quality tailpieces, nice firm armrests and attractive, easy-to-remove resonators for flexibility in playing ..... all at a sensible price for a beginner!
This has been achieved by having the parts made to specification in various large factories - and assembling them here in my workshop.
The Grafton "Popular" range (now 8 models - standard resonator 5-string, standard open back "old-time" 5-string, lefty resonator 5-string, lefty open back "old-time" 5-string, standard resonator tenor, shortscale open back tenor, shortscale resonator tenor, resonator plectrum) is priced at £250 for the resonator models and £225 for the open backs.
They are much the same price as (or only a little more expensive than) a great many other entry-level instruments which are nothing like so well built or specified ............
All 8 models are now listed in their respective sections on the website.
A range of "beginner's complete outfits" will be posted up very soon - details will be on the website as soon as possible. If you're in a hurry, give me a call
In response to demand, we are now making a "Popular #2" - basically similar banjos but with heavier rims to produce a louder and more "cutting" tone. It's available in open back 5-string format (£250) as well as resonator plectrum, resonator standard tenor and resonator shortscale tenor (all 3 models at £275). Other versions could easily be built "to order" - just give us a call.
The new "Gem" range of Grafton banjos will be available shortly - here's a picture of the "Gem" open back. At the moment, only 5-strings are available. They all have 24 brackets, twin co-ordinator rods in the rim, double-action truss rods in the necks, high-grade tuners (including geared 5th) and a rolled brass tone ring ... lovely little starter banjos at very modest prices ..
Right- or left-handed open backs at £170 + Right- or left-hand resonator models at £195 - (yes, resonators cost £25 each!) best specification by far in the UK for a starter banjo below £200 .......
We'll try to get full details posted up on the site as soon as we can so that you can see all the benefits of this new range - meantime, please phone if you're interested
Secondhand banjo cases
13/02/2010
 I'm sorry to say that I am no longer able to sell used/secondhand hard cases for banjos as part of the normal business.
I have no practical means of refurbishing instrument cases so I never could offer any worthwhile guarantee with such items. I thought that I had always made this fairly obvious when selling them but maybe it wasn't as clear as I thought.
After a difficult experience with a particular client who had an accident with a period banjo case, I have decided that it's unsafe to sell them with banjos.
I'm now disposing of the large accumulated stock of secondhand banjo cases on Ebay where it is made quite clear that they are all in need of refurbishment before use - and buyers can bid accordingly.
I'll alter that section on the website when it's updated later on this year.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
Update July 2009 - I've now disposed of most of the pile of secondhand cases to buyers on Ebay ... I hope to clear the last few over the course of the next few weeks. I have been encouraging clients to retain their old cases when trading-in a banjo so that, with luck, the problem won't recur ............
Repair, restoration & appraisal services
13/02/2010
 Service, repair & restoration work is now running more or less on schedule - but turn-round times on major restoration jobs are still in months rather than weeks. With the amount of other work that we have to do, this situation is unlikely to change any time soon. Straightforward jobs we can handle very efficiently but complex vintage restorations are another matter and cannot be rushed.
In order to avoid any misunderstandings, all such work is undertaken only on the basis that estimated completion dates cannot be absolutely guaranteed. There are only a small number of us here and if we're all down with flu (what happened to the Swine Flu pandemic ?), repair work (and everything else) runs late.
Routine overhaul and repair services (new heads, new tuners, refrets, set-ups etc) are still available to existing customers who have purchased their banjos from us but we have now become so busy again that we can't routinely offer such "quick turn-round" services other than to existing clients. We're sorry about this but we do have to honour servicing & repair committments to existing clients as first priority.
Please note that although we can still do some minor set-up and repair work on a "same-day" basis but it can be difficult to combine this with an appointment to look at banjos unless this is arranged in advance (i.e. one person to look after the set-up job and someone else to look after the banjos - it's not really practical or satisfactory for one person to try to do both things at once ...... :-)
The picture shows a recently restored banjo from the 1880's
Fedex Parcel deliveries - claims procedure for damage in transit
13/02/2010
 Within the UK, the system seems to be working fine at the moment - the vast majority of clients are getting their parcels on time.
Costs
Despite cost increases and fuel surcharges, I've kept the delivery charge at £10 for most UK postcodes and £20 for Scottish Highlands & Islands, I-O-M and Northern Ireland. Deliveries of instruments to other EU countries are not available at the moment.
Claims procedure
Incidence of damage in transit is very low - but it bears repeating that there is no such thing as a perfect delivery system. Parcels should always be examined before being "signed-for" and any obvious damage should be noted on the record of delivery. Most carriers' receipts say something like "received in good order & condition" on them - if you sign that without making any remark, it may prejudice a claim for damage in transit.
Parcels should always be opened straight away to check that the contents are intact. Any loss or damage should be reported at once ... by 3pm on the day following delivery at the latest. Most people would do this as a matter of course but it's worth noting that Carriers and their Insurers are now much less inclined to stretch a point (especially in the matter of timely notification) so that it's now essential to observe the procedures carefully ........ We're now putting a "reminder" sticker on all parcels so that we don't get any more "timed-out" claims ...
Deliveries to other EU countries
I'm sorry to say that the service to other EU destinations has proved to be rather flakier than is ideal. I have suspended the use of the Fedex EuEconomy service for the time being. I regret any inconvenience but there is little merit in sending out parcels which arrive weeks late and/or damaged. If I can find an alternative carrier with reasonable rates and better efficiency, I'll post up a notice here.
Vintage banjos - 5-strings, tenors & plectrums
13/02/2010
 There seems to be a widespread impression that we "don't do" vintage banjos any more. Whilst it is true that the bulk of the stock consists of brand new or modern secondhand items, that still leaves space for a few (dozen) vintage pieces .......
As we hardly ever have time to post anything secondhand up on the website, the wide selection of old banjos (refurbished/restored and ready to go) isn't readily apparent to the website browser ........... and they are worth a look! If we have time, we'll post up a selection of "typical" items to illustrate the sorts of things that are here ............
Apart from seriously "collectible" items, all our banjos will have been completely sorted out and tastefully modernised i.e. re-fretted, new top/5th string nuts, new heads, reproduction vintage style planetary tuners & geared 5th pegs etc etc - so that they tune up & play much the same as modern banjos.
In addition to these "original" items, we also have "rescue" banjos. These are made up from lovely old rims whose original necks have gone past the point of economic restoration fitted with good quality modern reproduction necks. In some ways, these banjos offer real advantages - the modern truss-rodded necks will stand much heavier stringing than you would ever dare to put on a vintage neck ..... and it is quite rewarding to get old banjos "back on the road" so that their voices are not forever silenced .....
Prices for these "rescue" banjos tend to be a little cheaper than the equivalent banjo with an original neck in first class playing order - in many cases, you are actually only paying for the re-neck job, the rim itself being effectively free .....
Give us a call for a resume of what's in stock at the moment - most customers for vintage banjos come to the Banjo Works to play through the stock but if you're clear about exactly what you want, it is perfectly possible (& quite easy) to buy by mail order.
Even though buying an old instrument without playing it first isn't the ideal way to do it, many people live in areas where that simply isn't possible - and relying on getting an instrument from a stall at a festival isn't to be whole-heartedly recommended (how many of us have regretted an impulse purchase made in the heat/enthusiasm of a great day out?).
Buying a vintage banjo from us isn't anything like as chancy as a bid on an untried instrument on an internet auction site .... all the banjos are professionally refurbished & guaranteed and you can return anything that doesn't suit you for exchange or refund without question. Our banjos are already sorted out (no searching the internet trying to find rare vintage spare parts ...) and are often little more expensive than the so-called "bargains" on auction sites ..
Gold Tone supply situation/prices/direct imports
12/02/2010
 The Pound/Dollar exchange rate story
Most banjos are still at 2009 list prices - but as the Pound has now started to drift down against the Dollar and the new 2010 price list is due soon, this won't last.
Gold Tone stocks & supplies
I'm aiming to keep a good range of the standard Gold Tone banjos available from stock - and also to be able to offer fairly swift "special order" facilities for other models.
The CC50OT (with the cutaway fingerboard) is now in stock - same price as the old model without the cutaway whch will still be available to order. The new 14" cello-banjos are also here, as is the OT800 Tubaphone model in both standard & long-neck versions.
"Special orders" for the more unusual banjo products will also be available (graphite necks, radiused fingerboards, non-standard "left-handed" models etc) and deliveries should be reasonably quick provided that there is stock available from Florida.
I'm sorry that I won't be able to offer the "non-banjo" items (Chord-o-harps, mandolins, resonator guitars etc) any longer, even on a "special order" basis.
If you're comparing prices against a direct import from a US mail order company, please read the piece on "direct imports" that appears at the top of the "Gold Tone" pages on this site. The major points are:-
(1) direct import isn't as cheap as it may seem at first sight as there are substantial extra charges to pay when the parcel arrives in the UK - typically around an extra 25% or so on top of the cost of the instrument plus the shipping charge.
(2) you get no effective guarantee or warranty with the instrument as the Gold Tone standard warranty specifically excludes banjos owned outside the USA. Any service you require in the UK will have to be paid for - possibly including the initial set-up job. Banjo set-ups, no matter how carefully done in the USA, quite often don't survive airline handling!
Saga banjos - Gold Star/Saga/Rover Bluegrass 5-strings
12/02/2010
 2009 prices are still applicable for all Gold Star/Saga/Rover products - the website has not yer been updated. These banjos are still very competitively priced as compared to other brands offering similar specifications ...
GOLD STAR BANJOS
In response to customer feedback, it is now my policy to upgrade all these banjos prior to sale to get the very best performance from them has been popular ........... not that they aren't good with the factory specification - but there are some areas which benefit from attention.
Gold Star banjos:-
Specifically:-
(a) the resonator mounting arrangements, whilst perfectly "period", leave somewhat to be desired - these will be altered so that the flanges sit neatly into the rebates in the resonator rims
(b) the Remo head, whilst adequate, won't take anything like the tension that you can get on a 5-Star - all models will be fitted with 5-Star heads as standard
(c) the Presto tailpiece, whilst producing a pleasant sound, offers no possibility of variation as it isn't adjustable - all models will be fitted with the Kerschner tailpiece as standard
(d) the factory bridges, frankly, aren't up to much and more serious items will be provided with all banjos ....... we always did do this as well as replacing the factory strings ...... :-)
"Upgraded model" prices for the GF85/GF100/GF200 will be £1075/£1195/£1325 respectively -
To help you compare these prices with a direct import form the USA, I have shown the total price that you would have to pay for each of these banjos including the standard hard case and delivery to most UK postcodes (£1135, £1255, £1385 respectively) - though you don't have to buy the case if you don't want it - and you can collect the banjo if you prefer.
I have also shown the import charges that have already been paid on each of these items - remember that my prices include all charges and there is nothing to pay on arrival!!
If you deduct the charges already paid from the total price, you will have a realistic basis for comparison against the amount you would pay to a US mail order dealer for the banjo, hard case & shipping cost - you pay the import charges separately on delivery.
For instance, the GF85 costs £1135 including a hard case and delivery to most UK addresses. To make the comparison, deduct £190 = £945. Multiply by the tourist exchange rate that your card company uses (around $1.50 at the moment) and you have a figure in dollars. Deduct the shipping & insurance cost (typically around $150 - $200) and you have a US$ figure to compare against the price on a US website.
I think you'll find that my price isn't wholly uncompetitive and you're getting a seriously upgraded product (have a look at the price US Dealers charge for doing just some of these jobs ..), all the benefits of dealing with a UK based supplier AND having a UK based warranty .......All the Gold Stars that I offer for sale are professionally set up in the most experienced Banjo Workshop in the UK.
As soon as I get a bit of spare time, I'm going to post up some details of exactly what we mean here at the Banjo Works by the expression "set-up" - some dealers seem to think it means no more than getting the bridge in approximately the right place and tuning the strings ....
The banjo illustrated here is the lovely flamed maple GF200
. . . or hit Back button to return to shop page.
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