Williams Custom Banjos Kenny Ingram Model submitted 9/4/2008 Submitter OMB Where Purchased Greg Boyd's House of Fine Instruments Year Purchased 2008 Price Paid 6,495.00 ($US) Sound Tight bottom end, perfect decay and yet a lingering sustain that just provides great note separation. Higher on the neck is just remarkable, bell tones, and believe it or not, have not touched the setup at all. Sound Rating 10 Setup Will Williams setup at G#, GHS Custom strings, 10,11,13,20,10, David Wadsworth bridge. Tone and setup, even after shipping was excellent. Would not change anything. Neck and string height were fine. Will is a master builder and the detail shows. Setup Rating 10 Appearance Steve Gill mahogany resonator, Handmade Arthur Hatfield neck. Excellent work and flying eagle inlay. Absolutely love the 'speed neck' option. Great feel. Super craftsmanship. Appearance Rating 10 Reliability Banjo was rock solid. Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service As with most small builders, no formal legal warranty. Just their word, which in this case is fine with me. This is #17 and they take immense pride in their work. Customer Service 10 Components I don't know what else to say here, but the best components. Starting with the Burlile tone ring, Sullivan 'old growth' old floor rim, Steve Gill Resonator, Handmade Arthur Hatfield Neck with Rosewood Fingerboard, nickel parts, Flying Eagle Inlay Pattern, RK Flange, Presto Tailpiece, David Wadsworth bridge, Bill Keith Tuners, Schaller 5th String tuner, Ivoroid Buttons, BHS Custom Strings, TKL Case w/ Williams monogrammed cover. Components Rating 10 Overall Comments What can you say? Great service on initial questions with Will Williams and Greg Boyd. Greg provides 72 hour approval period and he insists on making sure you really like what you purchase. Kenny Ingram plays and records with this banjo, so that pretty much says it all. I would highly recommend this banjo. Overall Rating 10

Nechville Phantom submitted 3/6/2008 Submitter OMB Where Purchased Eldery Year Purchased 2008 Price Paid Don't Remember historic exchange rates / currency converter Sound After discussions with Tom Nechville and Al Price, both who were very helpful, I got a Remo Renaissance head. Used their recommended string gauges and setup suggestions. (10-12-14-22-10). With head between G# and A, the notes are huge and very distinct with just the right amount of decay. Renaissance head tends to produce slightly more bass with much better even volume and EQ across the strings. No high or low spots. Have already done some recording, and with Neumann U87 mike about 3 inches from banjo, the sound is killer traditional bluegrass with a great midrange focus and tone on the notes. See my page on Hangout for pics and sound file. Sound Rating 10 Setup Banjo was setup fine as purchased, but with White Remo head. Preferred the Remo Renaissance head after trying it out and based on Nechville recommendation. The Nechville is extremely easy to setup with no brackets or nuts to deal with. Head changes are 5 minutes, and allows much finer tuning of head with even head tension guaranteed by design. Bonus is weight - about 1.5 - 2lbs lighter than Gibson. Setup Rating 9 Appearance Cocobolo fingerboard had unbelievable figure and no inlay which is what caught my eye. Walnut neck and resonator with excellent selection of fine wood. Appearance Rating 10 Reliability Design is rock solid, and neck mounting is significantly more stable than traditional mounting and coordinator rods. There are none. Much easier to tune and more stable. Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service Elderly was excellent. Had them ship two Nechville's to tryout and sent one back based on 48 hour grace period and they then credited my card. Very helpful sales people and did exactly what they said they would. Would buy from again. Customer Service 10 Components 40 hole tonering is exceptional, cyclo-tronic system with ball bearings is innovative and works, heli-mount design of pot is really what they should have done in the 30's. Professionals will like absolute even tension on head due to the heli-mount design. Much easier to fine tune head and tone. Neck assembly to body is much stronger and easier to adjust string height than traditional banjo design. Radius neck and tunneled fifth string are very comfortable additions. Components Rating 10 Overall Comments Overall, the banjo is remarkable and compared the tone and setup to a Gibson Granada. Tone is more well rounded and decay retains the tone, while the Gibson note decay becomes fuzzy almost immediately. Some like the hollowness of this, but I prefer the Nechville after several recording sessions. Overall Rating 10