SHIPPING:
The Banjolele arrived triple boxed and on time. Thanks Custom Amp Covers for the extra effort and expense.
FINISH:
The Finish is High Gloss. Absolutely Stunning...made of Solid Hardwood with a Redwood Satin Finish.
OUT OF THE BOX
You will find the Banjolele much heavier than the Uke. It is made of Solid Hardwood, not Laminated like the Uke. The Bridge came mounted. After some trial, I found a Happy Location just under center. This did take some time to adjust. I also inspected the tension on Head. It was close. I did readjust it with the supplied tool. I used a cascaded pattern and adjusted slightly above snug. Do not over tighten. It would of been OK without adjusting. But that's me, just can't leave anything alone.
STRINGS
The instrument comes with AQUILA strings. I find these to be nice sounding High Quality strings. You can expect a week before these strings settle down and hold a tune. My Banjolele is string GCEA, The same as my Uke. I can pick up either instrument without having to translate. Really nice for this 73 year old.
SOUND
I can only put into one word......OUTSTANDING. You get a Banjo Twang with a mellow Uke sound. Exactly what I wanted.
The Banjolele does have a resonator and you will notice much more volume over a Uke..
CONCLUSION
For me this instrument is a keeper. Has everything I want. If you want more, I suggest spending 3X more dollars and buy a pro. model.. Happy Playing, Hope this helps......................Jim