Gold Star GF-100FE submitted 5/14/2006 Submitter raypicks5 Where Purchased Year Purchased 2006 Price Paid 875.00 ($US) Sound Awesome Sound Rating 10 Setup All I did was replace the original bridge with a Sosebee Bosnian bridge (although with the original bridge surprisinly sounded really good) and raised the tailpiece to about 1/4" above the head. The ring did not sit down flush on top of the rim from about the 9 o'clock position to the 3 o'clock position, but I'm afraid to try to correct that as the banjo sounds great that way it is and it may settle down as time goes by. Setup Rating 8 Appearance No exceptions. Abosolutely beautiful. Appearance Rating 10 Reliability Perfect. No problems. Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service Don't know. Customer Service 10 Components The tailpiece could be better. The Gold Star tuners are perfect. Much better than the first GS re-issues. Components Rating 9 Overall Comments Abolutely would recommend this banjo to anybody. You can not buy a better banjo for the money. Overall Rating 10

Gibson J. D. Crowe Black Jack submitted 7/25/2004 Submitter raypicks5 Where Purchased Fret Mill Music, Roanoke, VA Year Purchased 2004 Price Paid 3250.00 ($US) Sound Wonderful dry/hollow sound much like J.D.'s RB-75, all the way from the open 4th string to the 22nd fret on the 1st string. Sound Rating 10 Setup The action was a little too high for me personally even though it had a Snuffy Smith 5/8" Crowe spacing bridge. After 2 weeks though, I'm getting used to the action. BTW, I found that a Gary Sosebee "submerged wood" bridge sounds best on this banjo. I had to tighten the head a little as would be expected on a new banjo from the factory. Also, I think the height of the strings at the nut is a little high, but got used to that in a few days. Setup Rating 8 Appearance Fantastic. The satin gold finish on this banjo makes this new banjo look like an old prewar banjo. The fretboard inlays are truly fantastic and unique. The finish on the mahogany neck and resonator is also fantastic. Appearance Rating 10 Reliability Only time will tell. Will have to wait and see. Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service Have bought from Fret Mill Music before and have been satisfied. Customer Service 10 Components Other than the planet tuners being a little on the loose side, everything else seems to be just fine. Components Rating 9 Overall Comments Banjo arrived with pearliod tuning buttons instead of ivoriod tuning bottons as shown on Gibson and other websites. I contacted Gibson and they sent me the ivoriod buttons. Also, the banjo arrived with the plain oval Gibson decal instead of the Gibson old style "Warranty etc." decal except instead of Kalamazoo, Nashville. I'm still working with Gibson on this. I think Gibson has a real winner with this banjo. I love it. Overall Rating 9

Huber Lancaster submitted 3/29/2004 Submitter raypicks5 Where Purchased Sammy Shelor Year Purchased 2003 Price Paid Don't Remember historic exchange rates / currency converter Sound Great pre-war growling, gutteral, rattling sound. Open 4th string is really something else. Will clear your sinuses. Sound Rating 10 Setup Setup was almost perfect. I thought the action was too low at first, but got used to the comfortable low action for easy playing. Had to increase head tension a little since the head had stretched a little since it left Steve's shop. Setup Rating 10 Appearance Absolutely amazing. The grain in the mahogony neck and resonator is beautiful. The color is a beautiful deep brown. I had seen some Lancaster photos that made the finish look a little reddish. I was pleasently supprised at the deep brown color. Appearance Rating 10 Reliability No problems after 4 months Reliability Rating 10 Customer Service No problems. I talked to John Lawless at Acutab a few times before my purchase. John was very helpful. He did not try to pressure me into buying a Huber. One thing John told me after I got the banjo was that it would only get better as it matures. HE WAS RIGHT ON. Customer Service 10 Components No problems. Steve used the absolutely best parts. Components Rating 10 Overall Comments I would highly recommend a Huber. The attention to detail is unsurpassed. The only way I would part with this banjo is if I could get a higher end Lexington or Jim Mills model, and then, and only then, if it sounds better than this Lancaster. My only nitpicking criticism is that I wish the peghead was shaped more like the pre-war double-cut pegheads. But, I guess Steve had his reason for that peghead shape. Overall Rating 9