TESTIMONIALS - WHAT THEY SAY

Here's the bit where we brag a bit. These are just a few of the comments that are on file from Eucalypt Banjo owners, they have all been received freely and without request. Scroll down to read what just a few of these Eucalypt Banjo owners say. We have many, many more on file but these will give you an idea of how happy our owners are with their Eucalypt Banjo.

From Richard Miers (Fort Wayne), a Eucalypt 5 string custom owner :-

The banjo arrived this morning. It arrived unscathed. It is beautiful. Three Strings were even still in tune (almost). It took two minutes to tune up. Tried it out on my best tunes, 'Earl's Breakdown'. 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown', 'Cripple Creek', 'Under the Double Eagle'. It seems to know them all!. Great sound. Anne, the inlay is marvellous, we thank both of you. What a great memory of Australia ... this one is very special. Our November jam session is Sunday and I plan to take the banjo to show it off. Hope they are as impressed as I am! 

  From Mike, a Eucalypt Custom 5 string bluegrass owner :-

A couple of months ago I decided to reignite my desire to play a musical instrument. Having played the Banjo Mandolin in my very early years, my real interest has always been to learn to play the 5 string Bluegrass Banjo.

I firstly surfed the net to find a teaching source – videos etc,  and after an exchange of emails concerning my questions as to where I may purchase an instrument I was directed to Roger Simpson’s Eucalyptus Banjo in Brisbane.

From the outset I decided that I wanted good quality without having to hand over real big dollars. At the top end of the price scale there is for example Gibsons at $10,000 plus and the real shabby poor quality $300 - $500.

After a most enjoyable telephone discussion with Roger Simpson I ordered my Banjo. It arrived totally unscathed at my Sydney house via air parcel express a couple of weeks ago. I was like a big kid at Christmas morning waiting to open his presents. My first impression and (it remains so) when I opened the case was WOW what a beautiful instrument and again WOW what superb craftsmanship, eg :-

·        The inlay/ design work on the back of the resonator – “Grassland” of my Banjo is unique. How it is achieved is beyond belief! Roger’s lovely wife Annie is the artist!
·        The Australian timber featured is purely a work of art.

Two weeks on from taking delivery of my Banjo, I decided to really get into it and found myself a teacher in Sydney. The Teacher has been a professional musician for 50 years. When he first saw my Banjo he was also blown away with what he described as the exquisite workmanship. When he played it, he said the tone was excellent and noted that there was no string buzzing a real problem with the poor quality instruments. The Teacher said that the Banjo in his opinion was superior to a Gibson and couldn’t believe what I had paid for it – Aussie Dollars 2,500! He asked me to stay to show my Banjo to other students arriving later in the day. Their impressions of my Banjo were the same as already outlined.

Anyone after a top quality Banjo without the hurt of paying big bucks should go immediately to Eucalypt Banjos and not “pass go”!

From Dennis, a Eucalypt tenor/plectrum owner :-

"I feel as if I have always had it (the banjo) and my chord changes are improving at a much faster rate"

From Aaron, a Eucalypt 5 string bluegrass owner :-

"The banjo arrived today and it's magnificent!"

A week or so later Aaron sent us this :-

"First, let me say I am loving my banjo, everyone I show it to seems to be equally blown away. There is a problem though, because of this banjo my guitar and other instruments are starting to collect dust! I think I'm hooked and Ingrid, my partner, is holding you responsible for this addiction"... I do love this banjo and am very glad I was lucky enough to stumble across your site"

From Hamish, the VERY proud owner of a Eucalypt 5 string Custom bluegrass banjo :-

Banjo Heaven! It's everything that I could have wished for, and more. Sounds even better than it looks (and it really looks GREAT), superb action and Anne's exquisitely executed marquetry inlay on the resonator. Roger's attention to small details has resulted in an instrument of the very highest quality. I very much doubt that even a pre-war Gibson could be set up to sound better. Once again it underlines the wisdom of buying a hand-made instrument from  a maker  who really cares about what they create. Like many other aspiring bluegrass exponents I've had a lot of fun learning 3- finger picking from Wendy Holman's excellent video. Parts of it have even helped me with my guitar and Dobro playing!

From Tony, a Eucalypt 5 string bluegrass owner :-

Hi, just saying thanks again for the banjo. I've been playing it every day for the past 2 weeks and love it. It takes pride of place in the family room and thankfully the Galah* hasn't taken a liking to it. The mother in law rang up whilst I was practicing and asked Deb who was playing the music?, I was only playing a few notes. I had to do a recital for Deb's sister, she was extremely impressed with the sound. I'm doing the lessons off Wendy Holman's video at the moment, as I find it very well structured and I appreciate  the " like this, do that" approach. ( the Army way of teaching!!!). Anyway, thanks again to both of you for the lovely banjo, it's a work of art.

For those that don't know, A Galah is an Australian parrot, not known for its brains but with a love for chewing up lumps of wood, the more expensive the better.

From Eric, an American owner of a Eucalypt :- 
You can find this review on the web at the Banjo Hangout site. See links page.

Submitter Eric Albetski
Where Purchased Eucalypt Banjos
Year Purchased 2002

Sound
The Jarrah is a very bright banjo, and works well played loud or soft. It plays well all the way up the fret board. Pull offs and hammers are clear and loud. Sound Rating 10

Setup
The set up was perfect when it arrived from Australia. I had to tune it and then just played. There is absolutely no buzz, but the strings are close enough to require minimal pressure. Instructions are provided to make set up changes, but it wasn't necessary. Setup Rating 10

Appearance
The Jarrah is made out of various Australian hardwoods, including Jarrah and Cooktown Ironwood. On this model, the inlays are simple and clean. The resonator is Jarrah, a rich reddish brown wood. with an inlaid stripe down the middle. The wood is not stained, just lacquered. The hardware is a combination of gold toned and nickel plate. A good clean looking banjo. If you want a fancier banjo, other Eucalypt models come with some fantastic inlays on the resonator. The Jarrah has minimal inlays to keep the price down. Appearance Rating 9

Reliability
The hardware is very rugged. The tone ring is a solid brass/gold alloy and is machined. The tuning pegs are planetary and the tailpiece is a Presto. The finish is very hard and seems durable. Time will tell if it is reliable, but nothing indicates it won't be. Reliability Rating 9

Outstanding. I dealt with Roger Simpson over the Internet, and he was very helpful as I made my decisions. Two professional Aussie musicians both played the banjo and gave me their input before I purchased. The warranty is 100% for 12 months. Roger and I both sweated the journey over to the US, but he selected an excellent carrier and we tracked it via the Internet to my door. Customer Service 10

The tone ring is excellent, brass/gold alloy. The tone chamber is segmented Jarrah wood (not laminated). I do not see the need to upgrade anything on this banjo. All the parts are top quality. Components Rating 10

Overall Comments
I would recommend this banjo to anyone who wants a professional banjo at a moderate prices. Even with the shipping and insurance costs of $350 AUS, the total prices was under $1200 US dollars. If this banjo was stolen, I would order another from Mr. Simpson without hesitation, though it may take a while, since they are all handmade. Overall Rating 10

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