Banjo Ben's General Store — Local services in Exeter

I have bought two new banjos over the past few years. The first one came from Banjo Ben, and the latest one came from Ross Nickerson. Both of these dealers regularly receive praise, but since the banjo community is rather small, I assume that is why nobody is willing to speak out negatively when things do go wrong. My experience with Ross was a pleasure from the first time I called him. I never got the sense that he was in a rush, or that he felt like I was wasting his time with questions. When my new banjo arrived, everything was perfectly set up. Any time I had questions or needed advice on a new accessory, he was more than happy to help, and the transaction always went extremely well.

However, when I got my newest banjo (Gold Tone OB-GRANDEE), I started to compare the differences between it and the Twanger that I previously purchased from Banjo Ben. As I figured out more about what was correct and incorrect about banjo setup, I realized that the Twanger was sold to me with a very bad setup job, despite the fact that Banjo Ben touts their setup process as one of the reasons to buy from them. Specifically, the railroad spikes had very sharp edges, the 5th string nut was not in the correct position, and the main nut was not slotted properly. The few times I have had to call the Banjo Ben store for advice, I felt as if I were somehow being a nuisance to them. One time I called them wanting advice on which pickup to buy, and they basically made fun of me for wanting a pickup in the first place, saying their customers were hard core bluegrass pickers and didn’t use pickups.

Most recently, I called the Banjo Ben store asking about the warranty on Gold Tone banjos, since I was trying to figure out what to do about the poor setup job that I received. Instead of trying to help, whoever answered the phone just wanted me to go to the Gold Tone website for information, and he said that Banjo Ben only offered a 72 hour return policy, with no warranty on their setup work. I asked him if people ever attempted to send banjos back for setup adjustments, and he said that shipping alone would be over $200.

In my opinion, Banjo Ben is now a big business just like any other big business, and I won’t treat them the same as a small, locally owned business that actually cares about customers. There are too many other good banjo dealers that will take care of their customers, rather than just trying to pump products out the door with no intention of providing service after the sale. When I asked if there was anywhere local that I could take my banjo for service, the man on the other end of the phone just told me to fix the banjo myself. To fix it properly would require the 5th string nut to be moved, and while that might be something simple for him, drilling holes in an expensive banjo is not something I want...

Wow! I stopped in to have my mandolin strings changed because one had snapped and I didn't think I had done a good job of replacing it. Long story short, my strings were fine, but my mandolin hadn't been set up. They took the time to properly set up my mandolin for me. I didn't catch the name of the guy that did it for me, but he let me watch and told me what he was doing and why. The guys there were super nice, professional and helpful! They didn't try to talk me into buying a bunch of stuff, but I did buy a couple of things that I personally felt were handy. I have purchased a few things from their website in the past, but it was great to get to go to the store. They have definitely gained my trust with instruments and I HIGHLY recommend this place...

Your guitar hard to play or sound squeaky? The doctors at Ben's can fix you up with an adjustment and new strings or other accessories. Great folks here, not just warm bodies holding a job. Knowledgeable and passionate about acoustic music. They can take an instrument off the wall and show you how to play it, not just sell you an instruction booklet. My new Martin sat in its case for 3 years without being played due to life stuff. Jake pulled it out of the case, tuned er up and within a couple of minutes, put my heart at ease telling me the guitar survived being ignored. Go here, get fixed up then go make...