im playing my flesher quadrille elite ( with ebony tone ring) more and more in preference to my other metal tone ring models ( tube-a phone wildwood, super punchy nechville)....the latter 2 are great banjos , but that flesher is somehow as much a complete musical instrument than just a great banjo ( i play alot of classical/baroque stuff in addition to old-timey and bluegrass)...the flesher sound satisfies me and also doesnt seem to grate on my banjo-phobic wife as much as others ive had...my only reservation is that i wish it had a full fretboard instead of a frailing scoop since i need it for some tunes...but i knew that going in to the purchase of a used instrument...if i had the time and $ i'd commission a full fretboard one from bob without a moments hesitation in preference to any other brand on the market.