Saga, the source.

Saga's Gold Star - Reviewed in Banjo Newsletter by Mike Kropp - 6/30/2004 6:17:50 PM

Saga's New Gold Star
The new Gold Star banjos, designed, produced and distributed worldwide by Saga Musical Instruments, is being introduced with the re-release of the new GF-85 flathead banjo. In the late 1970’s Gold Star kick started the new banjo maker’s revolution by reissuing some of the legendary resonated banjos of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Gold Star’s meticulous care to detail and quality materials, coupled with excellent luthery in Asia resulted in high quality instruments that rivaled their prewar predecessors. Gold Star brought these professional grade banjos to market at very reasonable prices. This in turn spawned renewed interest by the venerable older banjo companies to reissue many of the long lost models that featured the marriage of prized woods and nearly mythological metallurgy. The current crop of excellent banjos patterned after the legendary prewar banjos of the 20’s and 30’s owes a debt of gratitude to Richard Keldsen, owner and President of Saga, whose vision and foresight paved the way for today’s bluegrass banjo maker’s renaissance. For more information, a comprehensive overview and chronology of the original Gold Star banjos can be found at Paul Hawthorn’s website, http://www.paulhawthorne.com/asianbanjos2.html The specs for the new GF-85 are fully listed on Paul’s site as well.


“Unique Perspective”
My 2 “working banjos” are an original 1934 Gibson Flathead style 3 and a 1981 Gold Star JD Crowe GF 20. This gives me a unique perspective for writing this product review and helps establish a benchmark for comparison and critique of the new GF 85. On a historical note, JD played his Gold Star GF 20 on many live shows and Tom Adams has played his Gold Star GF-100W for most of his professional career including almost all the recordings he is known for. The previous success of the Gold Star banjos being used regularly by professionals who revere banjos with great tone and playability, has raised the bar for all present day makers including the new Gold Star GF 85.

“Following the Trail”
I first played the prototype GF 85 at the summer Namm Show in Nashville in July of 2003 and was favorably impressed with the sound and construction of this banjo. Actually, the sound and tone blew me away! The neck profile and finish were still being improved in advance of the first production run and Greg Rich of Saga assured me that many other small details were being addressed to ensure a high quality banjo. Greg’s contributions to banjo design and the craftsmanship are impressive; as the chief designer for Gibson’s reissue banjos in the early 1990’s and later as a founder of Rich & Taylor banjos, he lends great credibility to the continuing Gold Star saga.

The first preproduction GF 85 made its appearance at the Winter Namm show in Anaheim, California in January of 2004 and lived up to Richard and Greg’s promises of improvement and refinement. The same warm tone and power were still present and the neck was now coming up to par. Once again, I was very impressed and was pleased to use the “85” during a few live performances at the Saga booth-the power, bass response, tone and volume worked well in a real world situation.

During mid March 2004, the first 20 actual production instruments arrived at Saga’s warehouse in California just prior to the big international Music Messe Show in Frankfurt, Germany. I was to rendezvous with one of these production models in Frankfurt to start the writing of this review but due to a snafu- the banjo never arrived in Germany. Needless to say, the pre production model was present and I got to spend some more time playing it.Silvio Ferretti, the great banjo player from Italy was also in attendance at the booth demoing the banjo for Saga. He had set up the banjo with one of his Scorpion Bridges and the banjo just sounded great with this bridge. The high quality Scorpion bridge further enhanced the overall sound and projection of the instrument. It was great to be able to hear the banjo from the front as played by Silvio-great low end with a sweet balance on the high end with the low mid range growl that we all love! Silvio played the GF-85 in a band context as well, and the banjo sounded right on the money.

Up to this point, I had heard and played this same banjo with various combinations of three different tailpieces and bridge combinations. In all cases, the inherent tone and voice of the instrument was present with variations of nuance as dictated by the set up. Tone wise this banjo really has the prewar flathead sound.

When I returned from Germany in mid April, the GF-85 from the first production run was sent out to me for the actual review that follows. For reference, this banjo is #20.

The Review
Tone is a subjective area, but I found that the GF-85 has all the elements that make for a great bluegrass banjo- full bass response, with a powerful midrange and a sweet high end. The tone is not strident and the fundamental frequencies are all there without the extraneous resonance that muddies up the sound on many banjos. Sustain is good but not overpowering and the notes decay in just the same way as my old Gibson, giving the notes great clarity even when playing hard and fast. The dynamic range is impressive and allows for expressive light playing, but the banjo really holds up when played hard. Many banjos don’t always have the same good tone when played hard-but this Gold Star really stays even and tone worthy when pushed to the extreme.

The neck profile is full but not too big, with a very solid feel. The fretwork is excellent with no buzzing and the frets are well dressed. The neck was true and straight with just the right slight amount of relief. The inlay work is fairly tight with very little filler and the thin bone nut (prewar spec) was notched perfectly. The neck is very comfortable and plays smoothly. The stock 5/8"bridge is also high quality.

Construction overall is very good. The rich reddish brown stain is well finished to a high gloss on the neck and resonator. The metal parts are all heavily nickel-plated and the fit of the tone ring and flange to the 3-ply maple rim is very well executed. The light brown finish of the rim is very reminiscent of the prewar banjos. The usual Presto style tailpiece is the lighter weight Asian variety and is adequate, as are the planetary tuners. The tuners do have a slight amount of play but hold the tuning well and work smoothly.

The heart of this banjo is the very excellent Gold Star flathead tone ring. Richard Keldsen tells me that this ring is the same long skirt prewar style and alloy as has been used on the Gold Star banjos of the past.

The good news is that the retail price of the GF 85 is only $1295! The better news is that many dealers are offering these instruments at good discounts. However, these banjos are already in short supply with a high demand. It probably will be a couple of months before Saga catches up to adequately fill the pipeline.

Playing the GF 85 is a delight for the ears and the hands. I would recommend this instrument highly to professionals and amateurs alike; this banjo fares well even when compared to instruments costing 3 times as much. When I first heard about the GF-85, I surmised that this would be a good banjo for the beginning player looking for an inexpensive upgrade. But, Gold Star’s auspicious reentry to the market has proved that the GF 85 is truly a professional grade instrument for the working musician as well. The GF 85 deserves a five star rating for tone, construction, playability, looks and price.

by Mike Kropp
Banjo Newsletter