Gold Tone Irish Tenor Banjo 12"

5

Irish 12" Tenor Banjo

  • Neck: Maple
  • Fretboard: Blackwood
  • Rim: Maple
  • Tone ring: Brass
  • Head: 12" HC Renaissance
  • Hoops: Chrome notched
  • 26 Clamping screws
  • Armrest: Vega Style
  • Dots & Bots fretboard inlays
  • Black ABS binding
  • 2-Fold adjustable tension rod
  • Scale: 495 mm
  • Nut width: 31.7 mm
  • Bone nut
  • Maple bridge with ebony top layer
  • 17 Frets
  • Gold Tone Cast Tailpiece
  • Gold Tone Master Planets tuners
  • Chrome hardware
  • Tuning: G-D-A-E
  • Colour: Natural
  • Includes gigbag
Available since January 2020
Item number 461043
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Number Of Strings 4
Body Maple
Open Back Yes
Neck Maple
Frets 17
incl. Case No
Incl. Gigbag Yes
Pickup No
2.929 AED 738,66 €
Plus 277 AED shipping
The price in AED is a guideline price only
Since we ship from Germany, additional costs through taxes and customs may be incurred
In stock within 11-14 weeks
In stock within 11-14 weeks

This product is expected back in stock soon and can then be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
1

5 Customer ratings

5 / 5

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5 Reviews

P
A plonker's delight!
Plonker 15.05.2021
Have only had this banjo for about a week but my first impressions are very positive. This model is hard to get hold of here in the UK and the price point is way above Thomann's in those few outlets that do stock it.

The first thing that impressed me was the quality of the fit and finish, particularly the inlay. Having only seen online images of the banjo I was fairly convinced the design on the headstock would be a transfer of some sort. Not a bit of it! The headstock is fully inlaid with a stylised Celtic horse design which is very attractive and the Gold Tone logo is also inlaid. The shamrock position markers on the fretboard are equally appealing.

For me the three key elements to consider when buying a fretted instrument are tone, volume and playability. Where tone is concerned I prefer the darker, plunky, woody sound and this model has it in spades. Playability was also fine for me straight out of the box (for those who prefer a very low action it is a relatively simple task to sand down the bottom of the bridge). Another thing I liked about this model was the zero fret which helps with tone and intonation. Plenty of volume, too, for all but the noisiest of sessions!

There were a couple of minor negative points. As you may be aware short scale banjos tend to have less sustain and resonance on the low G when compared to 19 fret banjos. I was hoping the larger pot might have compensated for this but I didn't find much difference when compared to a standard 11" pot (still a fine bass response by any standards, though!) The other niggle was the arm rest which for most people will be slightly too far from the tailpiece. This should be a quick fix but the design of the arm rest clamp was such that I couldn't release it without removing a couple of the tension hooks! Once installed next to the tailpiece, however, the arm rest was perfectly comfortable and I felt the wooden finish was a nice touch.

Over the years I have owned several Gold Tone IT-250s which are great workhorse banjos with superb tone and playability. My first impression of the IT-17 is that it matches, if not exceeds, the IT-250 in tone, volume and playability at approximately half the price - what's not to like?!

UPDATE 26th May 2021: In my original review I noted the only slight negative with the IT-17 was that the 12" pot didn't seem to do much to improve response on the low G string - a constant problem with short-scale tenors. Problem solved! I have now removed the .040 G string and replaced with an .044 - this has made a huge improvement to to the tone, volume and intonation of the low G. I did need to enlarge the nut and bridge slots slightly and I suspect having the string well-seated in the slots has contributed greatly towards this improvement. This is a relatively simple job which you can do with a set of cheap nut files you can buy online for around £5 or £6. Just remove very small amounts and keep checking until the string is well-seated in both nut and bridge slots and you will be amazed by the improvement!
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d
Superbe instrument!
dmdm 28.02.2020
Excellente finition.
Sonorité douce et puissante, moins métallique que celle des banjos traditionnels.
Grande justesse sur tout le manche.
Accordage facile.
Utilisation "immédiate" pour tout(e) mandoliniste
( Accordé une octave en dessous. )
Utilisation possible aussi avec un accordage mi - la - ré - sol
( voir ci-dessous )
Livré avec une belle housse.
>> Juste deux petits bémols:
Le repose-bras a dû être repositionné, plus près du cordier.
A noter aussi:
le chevalet doit bien être positionné à 504mm
depuis le sillet de tête et non pas 495mm
comme indiqué dans la fiche technique.
( 504mm= 2 fois la longueur sillet de tête jusqu'à frette n°12 )
Cependant, accordé comme une guitare basse
( mi, la ré, sol ) avec des cordes à boucle à fort tirant
( car manche moins long que celui d'une guitare )
et le chevalet légèrement relevé pour éviter le frettage,
la position retenue pour que l'octave soit juste a été de 520mm .
( Etant un peu plus appuyée, la longueur d'une corde étirée
est plus grande)
Un petit morceau de cuir utilisé sous le chevalet
me semble aussi sécuriser la peau.
Un accordage en ré, sol, si, mi ne m'a pas paru assez homogène
*** Conclusion: ***
Je suis très satisfait de mon achat.
Achat à conseiller!
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S
Liebe auf den ersten Blick
Saoirsa 22.04.2022
Das natürliche Aussehen des Ahornholzes an Hals und Rim dieses Tenor Banjos hat mich im Ladengeschäft auf dieses Instrument aufmerksam gemacht.
Eigentlich wollte ich nur ein Banjo ausprobieren. (An dieser Stelle eine beherzte Meinung von mir: Wer Freude am Spielen haben will, sollte sich ein Instrument kaufen, das gut klingt. Ich hatte zuerst ein Harley Benton Banjo in der Hand und wie bisher leider alles, was ich bisher von Harley Benton gehört habe, klang es nicht wert, sich ein Instrument zu nennen.)
Ich sah das Gold Tone, nahm es in die Hand und beim ersten Anspielen war es um mich geschehen! Der Klang ist wunderbar voll, äußerst durchsetzungsfähig (laut!) und präsent, inspirierend banjoig und schimmernd. Bezaubernd finde ich für das Irish Tenor die Kleeblatt-Verzierungen auf dem Griffbrett - sehr gelungen. Bequem zu spielen ist das Gold Tone auch durch die Vega Style Armstütze. Also ich kann nur sagen, dieses Tenor Banjo ist mein neuer Liebling. Ich lerne noch, und ich genieße jedes Spielen und Üben. Ich finde, das Instrument ist seinen Preis absolut wert!
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Gold Tone Irish Tenor Banjo
Michael Irish Tenor Banjo 21.05.2021
Ich spiele seit vielen Jahren Irish Tunes auf der Fiddle.
Jetzt wollte ich es mal auf dem Irish Tenor Banjo probieren. Also habe ich das 17fret erworben, wegen der Nähe zur Geige. Ein wenig länger ist das Griffbrett auf dem Banjo. Aber ich meistere die Umstellung. Das Instrument gefällt mir von der Optik und der Verarbeitung sehr gut. Die Töne sind sauber. Alle Saiten lassen sich problemlos spielen.
Ich bin rundherum zufrieden mit meinem neuen schönen Banjo.
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