Flinthill FHB-260A Archtop Banjo with Case

I waited a while for this to come and was delighted to see it arrive. My immediate impression soured when I took attention to the craftsmanship of the item. There were "minor" flaws in the resonator, headstock, and fretboard top near the nut that you simply just don't expect when you dish out this much money. These are the sorts of things I did not get when purchasing my first banjo (Washburn B8 for $230) and I was expecting at least comparable attention to detail in the Flinthill. I'm not just talking about variations of color in the perloid and imperfections of the wood (in the resonator, which might be excused) but visibly shoddy gluing of the nut and - here I am guessing and can't be certain - it looked as if the rear of the headstock was scratched and covered up with black magic marker. Yes. The bracket hooks and tailpiece were unimpressive. On the positive side, I found no fault with the pot. The sound was adequate, and might be improved with tinkering and better strings. Amazon was contacted and I am returning this item. I will *not* get another FLinthill, and write to share my own experience for any who are looking into this brand/model.

What incredible tone and sound. Such bright and crisp sound. Oh and not to mention its gorgeously made. My son will be thrilled to receive his flinthill as a Santa gift! He's finally graduated to a regular size banjo. My father in law loves it. He has an OLD Gibson and loves this over his!

I have been playing for several years and I own a few banjo, including an old converted Gibson TB-11 with a Yates tone ring and nice maple banjo made by Frank Neat, with an old Gibson rim and A Dannick tone ring. I have also owned a wlanut Tennessee and a few others.I bought the FHB-260A to have an inexpensive archtop banjo.I was completely surprised with how good the banjo looked. The pearloid looks surprisingly great and the overall fit and finish on the banjo was excellent. I was concerned it would look cheap but it doesn't at all.The fretboard inlay was also really nice.I have heard of some slight cosmetic issues with the Flinthills, but that wasn't the case with mine.The case was slightly thin and a little more flimsy than I'm used to. That is my only small complaint but for the price, I'm glad to get any case.Now on to the important part. The banjo plays and sounds great! The action and setup were great right out of the box. I haven't even adjusted the head tension. I just checked the bridge location, tuned it, and it was ready to play.I've had it for about 3 months and I play it often. This was my first archtop and I really like it! I think that it is so much fun to play because it is incredibly responsive. When I play out in front of people, I tend to take my old stand by banjo. I think the old flathead is a little more versatile, and I have owned it for 10 + years. Im attached, but the Flinthill would be perfectly acceptable too. It is on par with any professional banjo.As far as playing around the house, I tend to pick up the Flinthill more often. The archtop Flinthill is just fun to play!I may try a new bridge on it one of these days, but even that would just be for fun. My Flinthill came out of the box ready to go and I don't think there is anyway that you could beat it for the money!All of the parts are designed and fitted like a Gibson Mastertone. I would highly recommend this banjo over most other inexpensive instruments. The Recording King R35 is another favorite inexpensive banjo, but RK doesn't make archtops now. If you want an inexpensive archtop, Flinthill is it in my opinion. If you want a flathead, any of the mastertone style banjos by Flinthill or Recording King are great! The FHB-260 or FHB-260A are the absolute best that can be had for the money. Don't buy a junk banjo for $400 when you can have one of these for a couple of hundred more. These are true professional instruments.