Recording King: RK-80

Submitted by taco on 4/1/2008

Where Purchased: fitchbanjos.com

Year Purchased: 2008
Price Paid: 1060 ($US)

Sound

What can I say? I love it. Plenty of volume, very rich full tone without an overabundance of sustain.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

I had some initial concerns with the setup. Cliff was more than eager to tailor it to my liking at no additional cost. It came with D'addario light gauge strings, which I swapped out for medium cryogenics from American Made Banjo. I also replaced the stock bridge with a Sullivan which really seemed to give it a much richer and fuller tone. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with it.

Setup Rating: 9

Appearance

Absolutely beautiful to my eyes. The finish on the mahogany neck and resonator is flawless. Inlay's are very well done. Not flashy or gaudy to look at, but far from simplistic.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

I've only had it a couple days, but it seems to be built like a brick %*^&house. I'm confident it'll last me for years to come.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

Was my first time buying from Cliff Fitch. He was extremely quick in responding to my questions and concerns. I specifically chose this banjo from this dealer due to the rave reviews on this website. I'm really happy with the banjo. I can personally assure anyone that Cliff will stand behind his products and will quickly work to resolve any kind of questions or concerns you might have.

Customer Service: 10

Components

I'm still not completely sold on the presto style tailpiece. I know a lot of people swear by them, but the lack of adjustability might get it replaced some day. For now, it sounds good so I am not going to mess with it. Everything else seems to be top notch.

Components Rating: 10

Overall Comments

I would definately recommend the RK-R80 to others. Seems like it and the Gold Star GF-100 are the two top picks for this price range. I don't have a reputable music store that deals in banjos within close driving distance so I went out on a limb to get the RK. It's ten times the banjo my Gold Tone CC100-R is as far as tone, volume and playability. If it got stolen....I'd probably cuss for a while and then grudgingly buy another.

Overall Rating: 10

Other: Gold Tone Banjo Mute

Submitted by taco on 1/21/2008

Where Purchased: Janet Davis

Overall Comments

This mute required a fair amount of "adjustment" out of the box. As it came it did not fit over my bridge at all. Using a pair of pliers and something to bend it around, I got it to fit fairly well. It does mute the volume of my banjo, but I expected a bit more.

Overall Rating: 5