Harley Benton BJ-55Pro 5 String Banjo

Honestly good

I'm not much of a banjo guy, so take whatever you read with a grain of salt. Sub 200 euro pretty looking Banjo, appealing right? I was surprised myself, saw and ordered one on the spot, UPS eventually delivered the parcel and then came the fun. Bought new, had 1 small ding high up on the fretboard, nothing serious and a chip in the finish on the headstock, but price being what it is I don't really mind such things, mostly because the instrument plays great, the neck's fairly comfortable, of course you don't get rolled frets but they're cut well, nothing pokes out and seeing as the fretboard is composite, I doubt they ever will. Everything stays in tune fairly well, I don't need to stop mid session to tune back up, sure the strings go out a few cents over the course of an hour but that's basically a given with any instrument lacking locking tuners. Perhaps some set-up might be necessary, wasn't the case for me. I'll probably enjoy this instrument for years to come (at least I hope I will), don't think any beginner could go wrong with this model.

Great instrument for Bluegrass people!

Being from a bluegrass family, I have had my share of playing different banjos from many family members. This banjo could even rival my Fathers 1926 Gibson Granada in overall beauty. Sound wise, well the old Gibson has an edge, Overall, a great banjo for the money.

very cool!

my unit

needed a little neck adjustment, but other than that its perfectly ok for an banjo amateur like me.

Easy way into bluegrass

Bought this banjo as a complete beginner.

Followed some YouTube tutorials to tighten the head and adjust the action and it plays wonderfully (even if I don't).

Can't compare with others but I'm loving learning with it and it certainly looks and sounds the bee's knees.

I love this banjo!

I’ve been playing banjo for a number of years but I wanted one that I could throw around without worrying about it too much, and boy does it deliver!! I gave four stars on quality because they have to cut costs somewhere, (namely the bridge and the hardware) but other than that this banjo is amazing! I’m really impressed with the price and the quality. I would recommend this banjo to anyone looking for one to bring to the beach or camping without worrying about damaging an expensive instrument!

Suprised

I had never seen a Harley Benton instrument before so was not sure what to expect. This banjo feels very robust and looks like it has been made well. It sounds punchy and clear as it should. Overall pleased with this purchase.

Super banjo quality at affordable price

If you want a top quality banjo at real life affordable price, then this banjo is for you. Its well made sounds great with its metal tone ring and is pretty too. Pleasantly decorated, it looks the part and as soon as you play it, it sounds yhe part too.

So pleased i bought it and shipping was swift too. Import costs and vat are absorbed in the price so no shock bills to pay to the carrier.

Recommended

Amazing first banjo

As a long time guitar player, I finally decided to learn something new and to give banjo a go. This one was very affordable but the quality of it surprised me in return. It sounds as I have expected and the build quality is very firm. However, what impressed me the most is the looks. You can relly tell that HB did their best to make this banjo look as beautiful as possible, even for that price tag. It also came nearly perfectly set up, I just had to tighten the tuner screws. All in all, very satisfied with this purchase!

Do not buy

This banjo is impossible to tune... The tuning machines of this banjo keep bounces back and they do not hold – what makes this banjo unusable.

At the same time, the banjo looks good and sounds good.

THE BEST LOOKING BANJO

The first thing I understood about this banjo from the pictures that it is a very good looking one.

When the box arrived quick and problem free for Germany, I react upon the very ligth weigth. I have owned 2 banjos before and they was really heavy. This was like....almost no weight in comparison. I would later find out why.

This banjo have no tonering. I was not put off by that, actually I like the sound of a let say Gibson tb 11 that has also no tonering. I set up the banjo, the tailpiece was tighten down so brutal I had to use a plumbers wrench to unscrew it. Not so good, this is suppose to be tightened by fingers only. The skin was tighten Ok. Someone had use a toll I think to measure equal tightening around the rim, because the tone was as it should be, the same all the way around. many players will say you shall be able to push down the middle of the skin about half an inch with no problem. This is much tighter than that but it's Ok, I leave it as is.

The sound:

I have been a professional musician some years ago and I know exactly what I want from a instrument. A banjo without tonering will not have a large portion of the sound placed in the very ultra highest frequencies, like we all have heard from many bluegrass recordings. many prefer that, the high pitches all the time can be a bit much for many. I was hoping for a more plucky "quacky" quality over the tones, This banjo has that. It is also very loud.

Then the biggest surprise. The netpage say the banjo body ( resonator) are mahogany. It is not ! It is plastic ! Or composite material to make it sound nicer. Therefor the light weight. This is against the consumer law in my country. description must tell facts on the product.

At least they made a fantastic job in making it look like mahogany. It fooled me. So do I now have a toy ?

No, many instruments like Ovation guitars f.eks use composite materials, many banjos these days comes with synthetic resonators. But they tell the truth on what their product is. All this being said, the banjo has its own sound. I like the sound. Those people who have heard it, like the sound also.

Small things to be expected, the neck needs adjustment, the action are low at your left hand and like almost 1 cm. high at the right hand neck. A beginner will struggle withthis, I just fixed it. Tuners are simple, I needed to tigthen them as well so they should hold the string in position.

All in all I will use this banjos at places we play. For the price I am contented, I got a banjo that had a bigger not so -jump in you face-high pitched banjo sound.