Lanikai Concert Banjolele

Setting up the bridge was the only qualm I had with this gorgeous instrument - it has now been long enough that the strings are staying in tune thus this instrument is now fantastic. I am loving the sound of the banjo without the price, and this is a great instrument for those looking for a unique ukulele. I play bluegrass myself and this is perfect for it. Don't hesitate because of the price, it's well made and pretty to boot.

This Banjolele has a nice sound, but is not easy to play. Don't even try playing it standing up. It's very heavy. A lot of steel and wood. It is loud and can be played well with other instruments. UPDATE! After owning it and having it serviced by someone who knew what they were doing...It is a better sounding instrument than I gave it credit for. After having it adjusted properly, it's tone matches it's volume. I am raising my rating by two points. It is still cumbersome, but, it rings out a sweet, heavy sound as well. Unique in it's quality. I would recommend it.

one of the pegs broke that held the strings in at the very bottom while tuning, litterally snapped off. Now I have to go back to see if I can get my money back for this piece of garbage. However I give this 2 stars because before it broke it played wonderfully. But now it's broken.

Number 1 It cost me over 100.00 dollars than I could have bought at my neighborhood store, I took it there and I found it was way out of tune and I coulden't tune it so they showed me how and said that the strings were not secures at the end of the drum and kept slipping up through the fixing point where the strings are attached and will not let it stay in tune. I also found that when it was assembled fret body was not square with the the Drum body and the # 1 string a littie two high for the right tone. After making all the corrections I felt were Nessary tried to tune it again and it will not stay in tune,So I am going to restring it with new set I ordered from amazon ( And by the way I thought I was ordering 5 items togethers that is why I wanted them sent Next day shipping but they came shipped separately and it cost me over 80 dollars in shipping costs) And as you may have guessed I will not do that again. From now on I will deal with my local Store Where I know what I buying.

Once I got the bridge in place and tuned...the smile on my face was evident.... Lovely tone, impressed quite a few banjolele friends. I'm happy as a pig in mud...Thank you for being so prompt with delivery it travelled a long way..... the parcel arrived in perfect condition. Regards Carol

I purchased this banjolele (banjo ukulele) after combing the internet, ebay, and pawn shops looking for an antique in good condition. I ended up going with this new one, after considering all the costs of repairing an old one to ideal playing standards. This one is constructed from maple and finished with antique brass hardware that gives it the "old" look. The neck and resonator has maple binding. The REMO head is also finished with an "old" calfskin look. There is also a brass finished arm rest. It is quite loud as stated before; but I brought the volume down with a hand towel I wrapped around the coordinator rod inside the resonator that just barely touches the inside of the head. (THUNK!!!) The resonator, buy the way, is easily removable with four thumb screws. The action is a little high, and I might adjust it as time goes on. If you attach a strap, Ukulele Mike shows you where he's attached his on a youtube clip. You won't bend anything that way. It is also heavy, as stated in other reviews. My wife needs a donkey to move it around. Don't think you'll play this thing standing up without a strap. It plays well as an easy crossover from a four string uke; although I replaced the forth string with a "low G" for more resonance. No sweat setting up the bridge...just measure 15 1/2 " down from the nut, and check tested tone at the twelfth fret for fine tuning adjustment. Don't forget that Aguila strings will continue to stretch for about a week before they settle down, so you'll be returning it often until then. Lanikai does not offer a hard case for this instrument, and the gig bag is pretty cheesy quality. Buy your hard case from "KALA", model HCBK-BNJ-C. It fit's like a tight glove (thanks KALA rep for promptly returning my inquiry about size dimensions and suitability). Would I buy it again? Absolutely, but not before comparing this model (Tonewood Dub 1 F Resonator Ukulele Banjo) which appears to be identical and offered at a very competitive price. Four stars, because it's not a Gibson UB5. Happy plunking!

I purchased one of these instruments to use for various ukulele gigs. The sound is great, but the tensioning brackets are made of soft metal and can't be properly tightened. Any proper attempt to tighten the head will result in the hook straightening out--instead of pulling the tension ring down against the rim. Once I replaced the brackets with proper units, and I was able to tighten the head, the instrument came alive with huge volume and sustain.

Good value for this great instrument. Looks much nicer in life than these pictures show. Sounds great! Just buy one already!