wonderful sounding instrument. Seriously.

A friend of mine -- banjo player I regularly play with -- bought one and we sat in his quiet home and played it for quite a while. I see it as a wonderful vocal accompaniment. My friends all play clawhammer style and it was a wonderful sound.

It is quiet. If you play with a well controlled group, solo, or mic-ed you'd be just fine, but it isn't a loud instrument -- by contrast, another friend recently acquired a Buchanan short scale octave mandolin. The octave mandolin doesn't have that biting high register of its smaller cousin, but is still loud enough for me to play in our large group -- and still be heard. I'm not sure this banjo-based thing would do as well.

In short (yeah, when have I ever been?) it's a GREAT instrument -- a unique voice, and my guess is that anyone who is musical would have trouble putting it down.