Gold Tone BU-1: Concert-Scale Banjo Ukulele with Gig Bag

I was pleasantly surprised with these Gold Tone Banjoleles.First of all, the appearance is excellent. The finish is a superbly done satin with a subtle sunburst on the back of the neck, the rim hardware is simple but well executed, and the unbranded tuning machines are of good quality. The fret ends are well dressed and smooth.The neck is quite a bit thicker than your typical ukulele neck, more like a banjo neck, which helps balance the weight of the banjo pot. The only down side to that is that many of the ukulele capos won't fit. (The kind with the elastic band around the back do fit).At 15-1/2", these are at the longer end of the concert scale. The fretboard, at 1-7/16", is wide enough that it feels roomy and comfortable to play, especially if you are accustomed to a tenor -- it has that sort of feel. (For comparison, The Gold Tone Concert Resonator Ukulele has a 14" scale, which is definitely a little less roomy)I don't know the brand of the strings used, but I'm happy with them. So far, I've bought 3 of these banjoleles as gifts, and each one arrived with the strings settled in enough that they could be tuned and would stay in tune right away, which is a plus.The intonation is spot on all the way up the fretboard. You will probably want to double-check the position of the bridge and ensure that sits at twice the distance to the 12th fret as it is possible that it has moved somewhere along the line. If memory serves, one of the 3 I received required the bridge to be repositioned slightly.The soft case is more than adequate. It is well made, it fits well, and it seems to offer enough protection if one takes a reasonable amount of care.These banjoleles are loud. They do sound more like a banjo than a ukulele, but with the reentrant tuning and ukulele strings, they definitely have their own voice, and they are a lot of fun to play.

The media could not be loaded.  High quality build, nice sound. Great price for the value. Highly recommend

Great quality, sound and price point. I have loved this as a beginner banjolele.

Sound quality better than I expected.

Not played either but love the ukulele and the banjo, can't afford both, so got this - and love it. I play guitar so have a sense of an instrument - and this felt great from the start - sturdy, weighty and solid feel, clearly well made. I clipped a strap to it and it feels well balanced and easy to hold - played it for hours first time out without fatigue - it's responsive to touch but no rattles or buzz.The sound is wonderful - it's extremely banjo with hints of Uke, and surprisingly loud for a small instrument. Played normally there's a tendency for the back to rest on your chest/belly - which mutes the sound (it's still more than loud enough) - and you have to find a way to hold it at a slight angle to get the full volume/tone. I've managed this without too much effort - but it may be worth considering a closed back if an exact playing position is important.The pickup is a big bonus, as I hope to take it to open mics once they start again. Its a Red-Dot pickup which is a quality job. After a little research I found adding your own pickup would be about £40-50 for the pick-up, plus the fearful drilling of a hole, or the ugly gluing to the body... so it's excellent VFM to have it pre-fitted.With no real experience of Uke/Banjo - just a rare play here and there - I can't compare this to others - but I can say that I am extremely happy - it sounds amazing, is easy to play, pretty to look at and has a built in pickup which is rare at this price range. Very highly recommended.(EDIT) A few weeks in and I'm really at home with it now. The chords are weird shapes compared to guitar, but with only 4 strings not too hard to pick up. I'm writing with it and have found dozens of songs that sound great. You can play sad stuff and it still sounds bright and lovely, like it's crying and laughing at the same time. Quality-wise, first impressions were right, a really good build. If you're 'Uke' curious - just get it done, you won't regret it :)

Bought to accompany my mahalo uke and to play all my tunes on the banjolele.Gutted it doesnt have the strap with it.. but I didn't read the detail properly..Great build quality and soundMakes for some fun when plugging it into my spark amp 🙂👍