Review Section?

[Adam Tracksler]

another site that I look at for another instrument (umm..banjo...) has a review section that I think would be great to add to the cafe, Maybe we can add one here? I would be willing to help program it.

Opinions?

[jjboone101]

Would they be third-party reviews from publications, or Cafe members? If it is the latter, doubt we'd see too many less-than-stellar reviews about one's new acquisition!

[Adam Tracksler]

Cafe members:
Here is what they have at the BHO:
BHO Reviews (http://www.banjohangout.org/reviews/)

[DryBones]

it might stop all the "what about..." posts

[Flowerpot]

Yea, I browsed through the banjo reviews... the Goldstar, Aria, and Hohner models I looked at all rated 9 or 10 (perfect) in sound and appearance, which is what I figured would be the case... c'mon, there HAS to be some differentiation between a $500 product and a $5000 product. Every instrument is going to look and sound great to somebody, depending on their background, budget, and taste, and that somebody is going to be enthused enough to write a review. So everything gets 10 stars. It's hard to get meaningful comparisons between different tiers of instruments without the same person (or committee) doing every review. And then above a certain quality level, it all boils down to individual taste.

[kyblue]

Well said, flowerpot!

Paula

[JGWoods]

The bho reviews make a good case for not doing it here.

[mrbook]

I've read many of the banjo reviews, and in a couple cases looked up the reviewers. One guy who claimed to have owned and reviewed over 25 banjos also claimed to have been playing over 25 years, yet his profile said he was 22 years old. That site is entertaining at times, because members are much more argumentative than here. However, when I buy an instrument I take all the reviews I read with a grain of salt.

[Ted Eschliman]

N.Y. Times Columnist, Thomas Friedman pondered that the Surgeon General ought to require a warning label on every computer modem purchased (like the government requires for tobacco products) to alert the consumer, "Warning: Discretion Not Included."

[fredfrank]

Just to save time and space, let's just assume that every mandolin is the best we've ever heard right out of the box, sounds more like a Loar than any of the Loars, and has more bang for the buck than any mando we've ever purchased!

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[red7flag]

In many cases, when a person upgrades, it maybe the best he has heard and compared to the old clunker, it is a 10. #I think back on things I said about my early instruments. #That is why when certain Cafe members, a number of which have contributed to this thread, speak I listen. #Not necessarily agree, but listen and process. #I think of how my knowledge has changed since I brought home my first one just a little more than a year ago. #A review I might have written about the Collings when I bought it, would not be radically different than what I would write now. #My structure is deaper and I have played a lot more mandolins since and would have more of a reference point to place it. #I would still buy it today. #My gut feeling would be the same, just the intellectual explanation would be more complete.
Tony

[JEStanek]

This section seems like the right place for all of these posts and the "What about so and so mandolins..." #Sure the less expensive (even the more expensive) brands will get the obligatory "look at Mid Mo/ consider the Eastman / I love my MK / look in the classifieds / get an A style for more money/ I love my brand X mando" Those are threads I either read or not... #That's our choice. #I like having the whole shebang in this section 'cause it's still a goldmine and, like a goldmine there's plenty of soil and rock around the gold.

Jamie

...will get the obligatory "look at Mid Mo/ consider the Eastman / I love my MK / look in the classifieds / get an A style for more money...
Amen. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Lee]

Harmony-Central already has a site for guitar reviews and I note that some brands already have reviews of their mandolin products. #Anyone can add a new brand or submit reviews. Even though it says "guitars" there's nothing preventing mandolins from sneaking in there.

[Wesley]

I'd like to see a section where our members could review new or rereleased CD's. Taken with a grain of salt it might be a good way to find out about artists that we otherwise would not have heard of.

[pickinNgrinnin]

[QUOTE]Just to save time and space, let's just assume that every mandolin is the best we've ever heard right out of the box, sounds more like a Loar than any of the Loars, and has more bang for the buck than any mando we've ever purchased!

Sounds like an Eastman review http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif