I had reached out to Hunter as I was in need of a plectrum neck. I've ordered from Lemon Banjo fairly early on and was pleased with the communication and quality of work.

For this reproduction neck, I send my old Gibson pot to Hunter. He turned the order around in extremely reasonable time - well within his posted time expectation.

Hunter Lemon's attention to detail and customer service cannot be exaggerated. The neck feels great and I'm eager to do the finishing work myself, as I had requested to do so.

Nice match to real stuff. I’ve been looking for years .

I ordered the hard maple block rim blank to finish to size on my own 12" metal lathe. A great value and quality product. Love how the banjo sounds. Will try something else in the future. I've had 2 RB-250's and a 90's Style 6 for reference.

Good Job! Love it , beautiful work

All I can say is wow!!!
This Torrified hard maple block Rim made by Lemon Banjos has allowed my Banjo to open up , Give me that 4th string Growl with clean defined notes all the up the neck !
It also gave my banjo that open hollow Pre-war sound as well.

Ive always desired to have a prewar Mastertone Banjo , but as the old saying goes ....poor people have poor ways However this is NOT the case with this Rim .
I can say that just the Rim swap gave me that instant PRE-WAR sound !
My banjo with the Lemon Torrified Hard Maple Block Rim was compared to a 1928 Pre-war Mastertone and you honestly can not hear any difference in the tone.
This Lemon Block Rim sits under a Huber Vintage Ring with a prewar setup that will blow your socks off !!!

If You've been searching for that Pre-War sound you are at the right place , just do yourself a favor and get cha one !!

For the record I have Hunter @ Lemon Banjos Making me another Rim For another Banjo , I promise You wont be disappointed !

Hunter got this done sooner than I expected and it’s great. Tonering has the Goldilocks fit; not too loose, not too tight. It’s perfect. Put a head on the pot assembly and the tap tone is powerful.

Hole location were right on and well done!

Excellent quality and great communications!

Excellent workmanship ! ! !

Thanks, S.M.

Perfect fit, very good job !
Thanks, S.M.

The stain and finish, just like all the rest of the project was done with the upmost care and quality. Very good workmanship, and it didn't take a year ! S.M.

Review originally posted on Banjo Hangout
Sound

I was specifically looking for an RB-00 or RB-100 as some of my favourite players (Walter Raleigh Babson, Ola Belle Reed, e.g.) used these. I play a mixed style of bare finger up-picking and frailing and I wanted a banjo that had a distinct sound.

This banjo has a crisp snap when picked near the bridge. Closer to the neck, the tone darkens to a degree which my other banjos do not. In this way, it has a wide range of sound. It is loud, but not piercing. I'm still trying to find the sweet spot when frailing. Right now, I am favouring over the head, about and inch back from where the neck joins the pot. There, it sounds a lot like my tubaphones, but just a little brighter.

This banjo has a thinner rim (5/8") and I feel like this contributes a good deal to its unique sound. It lives somewhere between our expectations for a modern old time banjo and a bluegrass banjo.

Sound Rating: 10

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Setup

Hunter had set the banjo up well. I made some minor tweaks to it after playing it a bit, and to account for the banjo's settling as it is brand new. There was a minor nut issue with one string's spacing, but it was easily resolved and probably not noticeable to many people, but I'm particular.

Setup Rating: 8

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Appearance

This banjo's foundation is the Gibson RB-00. It is custom and departs from that foundation in the inlay pattern (diamonds& squares and not just dots) and the volute for additional strength in the neck. The sunburst finish looks great and is a match for some of the 1930/40's examples of RB & TB-00's that I have seen in the wild. The diamond & square inlay makes it stand out a little, but without being garish.

Appearance Rating: 10

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Reliability

The finish is great and it arrived well set-up. I did some minor tweaking because set-up is a personal thing. This will be my main performance banjo moving forward. Everything is snug and I do not see any issues that would impact the banjo's reliability or sturdiness.

Reliability Rating: 10

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Customer Service

This was a custom order. It began with an internet form which led to a couple emails and a phone call. From the initial phone call, Hunter estimated a six month period for the banjo to be completed. The banjo was ready within that time period, and may have even been a bit earlier yet were it not for some supply shipping issues. Hunter kept me abreast throughout the entire process and would contact me if there was ever a question. He also emailed pictures of the progress.

Customer Service: 10

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Components

Hunter strives to make his banjos the best, and he favours the best parts. I specifically requested a grooved stretcher band and he obliged. At one point, he contact me to ask if I would prefer the high tuning ratio Rickard tuners, but I declined because of my frequent tuning changes.

Components Rating: 10

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Overall Comments

This banjo is still new to me, and it is only Lemon Banjo's fourth build. Hunter will certainly get better with experience and I am happy to have been on the ground floor with one of these early builds. His attention to detail is 20/20 and I appreciate his reevaluating some older make which have been overlooked by others in large part because they lack a heavy tone ring. I see the banjo world as entering a sea-change in the widely held tone ring beliefs, akin to the electric guitar world and the felt need that everyone needed a 4x12" cabinet. I am considering purchasing a Lemon Almost Flathead rim in the near future.

I am extremely happy with the banjo's look, feel, and sound. I wish for Lemon Banjo's continued development and success.

Overall Rating: 10

Mr. Lemon has always been courteous to what I want. He built this custom osage rim for a longneck banjo I’ve been building. I have everything I need to do my projects except a lathe for rim building. He is the only person I turn to for my rims and this is because he does exceptional work. I couldn’t think of any other luthier that would custom build banjo parts like this. He is amazing. The reason why I wanted such a strange and unconventional rim is because I built my first banjo out of walnut and osage. The rim was not very round and not well made, but sounded great in drop C and in open D, and I wanted an expert made rim to have the same tone as the very first project I made. Mr. Lemon was the only guy I turned to because I know he makes great things.

I had wanted to try a “woodie” rim for a while and came across Hunter Lemon’s offerings. We talked a bit and he constructed a torrified birch woodie rim for me. The result is a gorgeous birch block rim, stained to match my resonator and with a perfect fit. The tone is punchy, rich and sweet, very consistent up the neck too. I’m pleased to have come across this excellent craftsman and will likely order a second light weight woodie from Hunter to mount in another banjo.

I got an RB 100 for Christmas and it was not original. I really thought it was and I was very disappointed. I had no idea what would be original for this banjo and Hunter helped me out. He looked up the serial number and the year it was made and he told me the specs for the rim. I told him I wanted as close to original as I could get and he sure did deliver. He synthetically aged the rim (baked it) and cut the rim for a brass hoop like what would be in an original banjo. I love archtop banjos, and I asked him if this would’ve been originally an archtop and he said no. I went with his advice and got the flathead hoop because I wanted this 100 to be as close to an original as I could possibly get. Now, this banjo sounds very similar to my teacher’s banjo, the only difference is his is a few years older and an archtop. I am very pleased with what Mr. Lemon has done.