Banjo Newsletter Reviews Gold Tone's Bluegrass Mini

Goldtone's Bluegrass Mini
From the Banjo Newsletter
By Ben Freed

Wayne Rogers of Gold Tone Musical Instruments has come up with some very innovative ideas in the entry- and intermediate-level banjo marketplace and his new Bluegrass Mini is no exception. This is truly a unique product that should find a home in several musical niches. It may be the world's only child-sized fully functional bluegrass banjo and it is way cool. It has a maple neck, a multi-ply maple rim, a bound mahogany fingerboard, and bound mahogany resonator. With a two-way adjustable truss rod, a bone nut, planetary-style tuners and a geared fifth string peg, this is a lot of quality for not a lot of money, and it is a very playable novelty banjo. It has an eight-inch head stretched across a modified, hoop-style solid brass tone ring, and puts out a satisfactory tone and volume. Its scale length is 19-3/4 inches and tunes up to the key of C with standard gauge strings, so when played in it's played in open position (no capo) it feels as if you were capoing at the fifth fret of a "normal" banjo. Certainly, any small child who has crumpled under the weight of a behemoth "Master-Tone" will love this neat little banjo. It actually looks like a Mastertone that accidentally got left in the "hot-dry" cycle.

I can hardly imagine any bluegrass act not wanting one of these for a novelty tune. As a travel banjo, it's perfect, weighing in at six pounds. In fact, the Gold Tone Bluegrass Mini, with its case, could easily fit in a regular suitcase. Its list price is $559, and for an additional $36 you get the well-padded gig bag that has been designed exclusively for this neat banjo, which is sure to become a collectible. Recommended.

More information on the BG-Mini>