Customer Reviews

Dean Backwoods Banjo, Six String

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been a guitar player for over 30 years, and never played the banjo. I bought this as an experiment, as I may need it for a few upcoming shows. I wanted to get a true banjo sound, but didn't want to bother learning a whole new instrument.

This "Gitjo," for the money, is a great instrument. I had to modify the bridge slightly, having to make a slightly deeper cut for the 6th string with a utility knife (it would pull off its 6th position, and move towards the 5th) and I had to place the bridge into the right position (which was a snap, since you can check positioning against harmonics).

The neck is very clean. It plays very well, and is perfectly straight. It is machined beautifully, and the fret positions are perfect. The mother of pearl Dean "Wing" design on the 12th fret is very cool.

The mahogany body is seated with 4 inset screws that were a little loose. I took those out (by hand, piece of cake) and hot glued the insets so they would sit firm. That took a few minutes, but once again was a snap to do. Since the body was off, I took the opportunity to tighten the drumhead a bit with the tool they provided. The instrument is now absolutely solid. BTW, the body is beautifully lacquer-finished mahogany.

Finally, as a result of the experiment (for those that are curious...) the top 4 strings are absolutely indistinguishable from a banjo. The 5th string sounds like a banjo when you play it on the 7th fret or higher, the 6th string isn't all that "banjo-ey." If your going to strum this a lot, i wouldnt change much, but would focus on playing higher inversions of chords, and focus on the top 4 or 5 strings.

If you are going to pick it, I would recommend the following: Replace the 5th string "A" with a guitar "B" string and crank it up an octave to the "A" a full step above the G string, and possibly will do the same with the sixth string (using a D string) to the E above the D.

I would also recommend using very bright, nickle wound strings (probably medium gauge like those starting with a .10 E string). You might also want to buy a set of banjo strings for the top 4, and take a cheap set of acoustic guitar strings and use thinner strings for the 5th and 6th strings.

All in all, the Dean is a great buy if you dont mind doing the last minute tweaks. I think this Gitjo is a great instrument to add to my collection and sounds great!

I'd read the reviews from several sites before making this purchase and knew I was taking a chance. The existing reviews ranged from, "...never buying anything else from Dean." through, "never been more happier." My own experience was that I was disappointed.

When the instrument arrived, there were no instructions for setting it up. Since I'd already read reviews and have been working with stringed instruments for a while, this wasn't a big issue other than as an indicator of sloppy work.

The bridge, which needed to be positioned on the drum head, looked terrible. There were supposed to be notches for the strings, but it looked like whoever did the work, used a small hand axe and chipped away at the top of the bridge trying to make those grooves. You could barely see where the grooves should be and they definitely did not hold the strings in position when I started tightening things down.

And one last thing I'd noticed on first inspection was that the cover to the neck tightening nut was very scratched up.

I called the customer service folks at Dean and the reviews about their customer service being very good were substantiated. I was offered replacements for the bridge and nut cover, along with a faxed copy of the setup instructions coupled with sincere apologies for the shoddy work.

In any case, when I got the instrument home, I started doing the initial setup. One important step was to do an initial tightening of the drum skin tension. To do this, you need to remove the resonator to gain access to the tightening nuts. When I removed the resonator, two of the mounting blocks that were glued to the resonator body just fell off. A third was barely hanging by its staple. The fourth was solid. The problem seemed to be that either the glue used to secure the blocks didn't get sufficient penatration or the wood itself was just too soft to support the loads.

Also, I had to adjust the neck tension since there was a significant bow to the neck. When I tried to remove the cover to the tightening nut, the screws were already stripped from the wood.

I've talked to several Dean owners (different instruments) and Dean quality is generally quite good. This was not the case for this instrument. If there are people happy with their 6-string banjos, good for them. But something happened to the quality control between then and now. I sent emails to Dean describing the problems and hopefully some executive will be sent to China, where these things are assembled, and kick some butt because what they're putting out now just ain't working.

My feedback is along the lines of those of the first reviewer. I've also been playing guitar for 30 years, but never a banjo. I was in the music store purchasing a guitar when I literally stumbled onto this banjo. I picked it up and just had to have it.

Overall, I found the workmanship and the materials to be very good, even though it is made in China. The assembly is so-so (there is where China comes in). I had to disassemble the neck as the screw that attaches the neck to the body was not properly set into the neck, and the neck was pulling apart from the body. Other minor adjustments included properly adjusting the bridge (as the first reviewer said, this is a piece of cake) and a proper adjustment of the truss rod. With this initial work completed, I am quite happy, but I could see where quality control can become an issue.

What I like most about this instrument (other than the cool banjo sound) is that it plays just like my electric Stratocaster guitar (nice action, soft strings, and smooth neck). If you don't mind doing some initial setup, it is a great instrument for a great price.

I was disappointed with the Dean web site though. Although it features the Backwoods, I found no option to download a manual or any related tech info. Also, the warranty is confusing. On one web page is says lifetime warranty for basses and guitars, and on another it says a 5-year warranty.

I've had my Dean Backwoods for 3 years now. I originally was a banjo and guitar player, and in my new band I started using the 5 string but it didn't work well on everything. We are a Stompgrass band going from straight bluegrass to swing to folk to rock and I didn't want to constantly change instruments. I had to put work into this thing, complete setup, changed tuners and nut, etc. but it has been a very good instrument, held up to constant touring and abuse and keeps right on playing. I tune to open G modified to suit so I can pull off banjo runs and picking and still play guitar/ragtime type backing. It works great. I bought a Goldtone 6 string recently but actually like my Dean better. It's a tank, it's light, it sounds good, plays better and I generally love it. I use super slinky 9's on it and installed a Schatten pickup and it kicks. I need a fret job on it right now but after that it'll be right back to new. Don't buy expecting it to be awesome out of the box, no instrument ever is usually. You have to work on it and set it to taste.

I have been very pleased and somewhat surprised with the quality, playability, and amazing sound of this instrument. I was very thankful that someone mentioned to me that when buying the instrument in the box I would need to determine the correct placement of the bridge to get the correct intonation when setting up the instrument. With the help of an electronic tuner I setup the bridge in a position where the open note and the 12th fret note were dead center an octave apart. It would have been nice if the manufacturer had included detailed instructions. After getting the bridge in place everything else was a piece of cake! Since I mostly fingerpick on the guitar the banjo sound seemed natural and much like a real banjo. The build on the instrument seems to be flawless. Perhaps I was lucky in that regard. I find it hard to put the instrument down. It opens up a whole new world of sounds. It is more than a just a novelty. I have not had this much fun playing in a long time. If you are wanting a new sound without having to learn a new instrument you should really consider the Dean Backwoods Banjo Six string.

I'm learning guitar, but have lots of experience with other instruments.

For the price, this is a great deal! Very nicely finished for the price point. Priced with beginner guitars, and nowhere near some of the prices that banjos can reach, this is a very nice instrument. Feels great. Nice to be able to use the same chords and scales with your other instruments.

Keep in mind banjos don't ship with the bridge on, so you will need to set that up, tighten and tune the head, etc. That's true of any banjo, so be prepared! If you're not handy, expect to take it to a guitar or banjo shop to have it set up got you.

Been playing guitar for 30 plus years and always looking for another sound, another challenge. This DEAN ackwoods has given me both. Mine was playable right out of the box and has been hard to put down since! I am having a ton of fun with this instrument because the learning curve is greatly reduced versus me learning to play a 5 string banjo. Each time I play it my technique and sound improve. My friends think I paid 8 to 9 hundred dollars for this because it looks so good and sounds so good. My next move will be to install extra light strings as suggested by others however I am in no hurry as this thing is booming as it is. My experience is 100% satisfaction; you don't need to spend 800 plus bucks; buy this instrument!

Can not say enough about this. It is great sounding,priced right and the shipping was quick. Some of my family thinks I am actually playing a banjo. ( I won't tell them any different

I am a Guitarist of 7 years and I got this "guitjo" as a piece in our folk-punk band. With metal finger picks you get a nice banjo sound, flat-picking is kinda difficult because if you go too wild you hit the head, but with some practice you'll overcome this. In open G with a slide sounds gritty, dirty, and glorious. Great with open chords, bar chords sound good up to about 8th/9th fret but I might need to adjust the bridge a little because the action is a bit high. The workmanship was decent, a few nicks and scratchs in the rim, but I'm not a fan of clean and pristine anything. Do your research, learn how to set-up the bridge, The internet is a wealth of knowledge. Keep in mind this is not a bluegrass instrument. But if your a guitarist looking for a new sound I highly reccomend this instrument.

The fellow who got an obvious returned, abused instrument should have sent it back to whoever sold it to him - it didn't come from China with the screws stripped out etc. That said, if you don't know how to set up a guitar and/or a banjo, or know someone who does, don't buy this or any banjo or guitar mail-order. I just got one for an upcoming project. (I play guitar and 5-string banjo but this is for dixieland, and I don't know all the jazz chords on EITHER 5-string or 4-string banjo.)

In "out of the box" condition, the instrument was hard to play and sounded like a brick, but it looked like it might have promise and the price was good. I took off the resonator, loosened the strings, tightened the drum head using a nut driver from my tool kit, retuned the strings, checked the neck adjustment, unscrewed the little triangular cover over the neck adjustment screw, found an allen wrench that fit the neck adjustment screw, loosened the strings again, tightened the screw, retuned the banjo, it still needed more adjustment, loosened the strings, tightened the screw (2 more times), put the cover back over the adjustment screw, took off the strings, oiled the fingerboard, let it soak in for a couple hours, wiped off the excess, put on new strings, tuned the banjo, which takes more tuning than most of my guitars or my 5-string because the bolt neck attachment of ANY banjo is not as solid as a guitar's, and the fat low strings put much more pressure on the neck than banjo strings usually put on a 5-string. So that part took more time than I expected. BTW, the strings were D'Addario XL Nickel Wound Regular Light Gauge guitar strings # EXL110. A few people recommended Extra Lights for a plunkier sound, but I don't know what kind of amplification I'll have, so I went for louder tone (and staying in tune longer).

But by the time I was done, I had a good-looking, good-sounding, easy-playing instrument that I'm sure my friends will all want to play once I get a case and strap for it and start getting it out of the house. If you buy this banjo for close to list price in a music store and all of the above work has already been done, you will feel good about your investment. If you buy this banjo mail-order or from a discount place that doesn't set up their instruments, be prepared to do some work or pay someone to set it up. That goes for ANY banjo or guitar that costs less than a good used car, however.

The happy ending is that for a good price and a couple hours of work, I now have a musical addition to my musical instrument arsenal that will not only get me through this dixieland project with relative ease, but which will probably find other uses as time goes on. - Paul Race, School of The Rock