OK, I did not NEED another ukulele, most especially not a banjo ukulele. But I admit to suffering from what a friend calls "ukulele acquisition syndrome". When I read the professional reviews for this banjolele, I really wanted it. Then I found the great price on Amazon, and I was hooked. I have been playing my Kmise almost daily in the weeks since it arrived. It is as easy to play as my best ukes, and it sounds great on my folk repertoire, including, especially, the sea shanties that my uke club loves. (I must admit that I return to my regular ukes for romantic songs and many show tunes.) Read more
My mom was very happy with this banjo. Everything works good & nothing was broken (when it arrived) - which was also a good thing. The overall quality was good, so hopefully yours will be the same. Read more
Got this banjo 3 years ago. Never played before so didn't want to spend a lot. I have been very happy. It needed new strings and the frets had to be smoothed on the sides. It stays in tune. Sound quality is good. Quality of actual banjo is good. Plays a little flat on some frets. If you can find someone who works on banjos should be an easy fix. I am very happy. Discovered I like playing and I am upgrading This Christmas. I am still a novice but would recommend this banjo for beginners. Read more
I don't see how they can sell this package for the price. It's definitely worth it. Once I got the bridge properly placed, there were no intonation problems. (IMO, the bridge placement ruler is about one millimeter off). Frets were almost smooth. First and second position good, as you go up the neck there are some sharp edges, but I don't play up there. It's certainly a sturdily built little banjo. I think the strings really might be Aquilas, because I used this banjo on an outside gig and it stayed in tune. Speaking of which: I have played tenor banjo for years in a Traditional Jazz Band. As my hands have gotten arthritic now that I'm over 60, I had been looking for an alternative axe. Surprisingly, this little banjo uke will cut through four horns playing dixieland if you use a pick. The other thing you have to do is open up the "resonator," which actually acts more as a dampener UNLESS you open it up so the sound can get out. What I did was purchase some half-inch rubber washers and inserted them between the "resonator" and the rim. That's all it took to let the sound out so this little guy could keep up with the band. Highly recommended. In fact, this was the second one I've purchased. Kmise makes a really nice product with this little banjo ukulele Read more
Seemed fine, except strings 3 and 4 were crossed over which was fun to get unstuck, the1st string was snapped and the replacement string is a few inches too short to even string it (I checked, it's definitely NOT the 5th string). There's no instruction manual and I have to get replacement strings for the first one. Just a pain in the a-- to deal with Read more
Great instrument for the price. Worth Five Stars! The shipping took over 6 weeks and was incomplete - did not come with advertised bag and tuner. Had to contact Amazon - but response was good and timely. Got a bag within a reasonable time and the tuner about two weeks after the banjo was delivered. I was not that upset as it seemed that everyone was trying to make it right. Had to laugh that I was sent an email to track the turner - but all the information was in Chinese and I could not figure it out. But the instrument works as well as could be expected. Putting the bridge on was easy to do. Just loosen the strings some and slid it sideways under then flip it so that it is upright. Then push the strings with your fingers until each one is cradled in the 4 groves on the bridge. Slide it so that it is 8 and half inches from the 12th fret and then tune the stings. The first several times that you play it you will have to keep tuning it - but it seems to hold better now that time has gone by. I guess the strings need to be broken in... becasue it stays in tune much longer now. Over-all - a sensible buy for non-serious players. It sounds good enough. I would assume that those that coast 2-3 times more may have a better sound - but for my lifestyle and purposes this is good enough. Read more
I would have been satisfied spending three times the cost of this well-made and great-sounding banjo uke. It looks good, it feels good in my hands, and it's loud! It takes several weeks of frequent touch-ups to get it to the point where it holds tune. It comes with the bridge un-installed, and some folks have been unhappy about that--because they haven't read the review that specifies just where to place the bridge (just as far again down the body of the uke as the 12th fret is from the nut). I had no trouble with that. Mine came with the bridge in two pieces (busted), but these folks sent me a whole replacement uke within days of my asking for a new bridge. I'm very happy with this instrument. Read more
I've played guitar and ukulele for about 57 years, and of course have been through quite a few instruments-- enough to know a good one when I hold it and play it. This Kmise concert-scale banjo uke was my first venture into the "banjolele" world. It is very well put together, plays accurately, feels great, and sounds very nice! (The only modification I made was to remove the back cover, loosely stuff a couple of plastic bags (such as you'd get when buying things at Walgreen's or Target) in there, and then replace the back cover, which served to nicely tone down the otherwise loud voice of the instrument. I just don't think you could ask for more in an instrument-- and at this price it's an absolutely insane value! Highly recommended! Read more
