Topic: Banjo Advice

[blueshome]

Gut strings, no frets.

[frankie]

Gut strings, no frets.

Now you're talking.  What's your budget?  You can get a fantastically inexpensive instrument from Eric Prust in Sequim, WA for a little more than $200...  if your budget is higher, there are a few makers that do minstrel reproductions (Flesher, Wunderlich) and a few that make minstrel-inspired instruments (Menzies comes to mind) - and then there are gourd banjos (Hyatt, Ross, Thornburg)...  if you're handy with tools, building your own gourd banjo might be a worthy project.

[dj]

We should probably start with your definition of that phrase

Frankie, realistically my banjo budget would top out at around $800 and hopefully remain quite a ways below that.  Frets are a necessity.  And having played a gut stringed viola da gamba in my youth, I'm staying far away from those - I want to spend more time playing than tuning.   

[banjochris]

Something like this, maybe? It's on sale...
http://bernunzio.com/item.php?sku=0913138

[dj]

Yeah, something like that!  Thanks for pointing that out, Chris.  Coincidentally, I'll be in Rochester in a week and a half.  Time to start negotiations with my wife!

[frankie]

That's a cool banjo - dj, you should note that it's set up currently for synthetic strings and might need a slightly different setup for steel.  You might like the synthetic strings, though.  They have a warmer tone than steel, not nearly as nice sounding as gut, but hold their tune much better and last practically forever.

[Parlor Picker]

Gut strings, no frets.

Gut frets, no strings???

( )

Sorry - but it's all Blueshome's fault for setting me up....

[Richard]

Keep the topic going I'm learning 

[git-fiddle]

I agree Richard...Let's keep this tread going! Anyway I got my banjo the other day Nice open back with a maple neck and 11 inch pot..I will post pics soon so you guys can tell me what you think....it's got a fat neck on it for one thing which is great for me, I have fat hands.... ( The neck was custom built by the previous owner )

[Dobro33H]

ealistically my banjo budget would top out at around $800 and hopefully remain quite a ways below that. 

Old banjos don't always make good starter instruments. Most of the cheap banjos built between the 1890's and the 1920's are going to have issues - and the good ones will be pretty expensive.

Years ago the old catalog banjos (Kay, Harmony, Silvertone) made good starter instruments - but it is hard to find good ones in playable condition nowadays.

The modern imported banjos usually feature an aluminum rim and a resonator. They will get you playing - but price and quality are all over the board.

The best imported started banjo I have found is the Tyler Mountain TM5-35. It's a simple open back banjo that plays well enough to get started. We sell the TM5-35 with a complete set of instructional stuff for $269.95 so there is a lot of bang for the buck.

Savanna (http://www.savannahacoustic.com/Open-Back-Banjo.1809.0.html) and Rover (http://www.sagamusic.com/catalog/details.asp?ProductID=RB-20) are also offering some nice starter banjos.

I have also gotten word that Poppas Boxes (http://www.papasboxes.com/photos.html) is going to start making cigar box banjos again. I wound up the their prototype instrument last year (yes, it is cool to be me) and I am still head over heels in love with this little instrument.



A few months ago we started building an American-made affordable banjo. the The Somerset S-5 Minuteman starts at $649.00. The banjo is built by Chris Via on his farm in Virginia and I'm really proud of the way the project turned out.
http://somersetbanjo.com/s-5.html

There are a lot of options within your budget. Have some fun shopping around.

-Patrick