About banjos??
 

What is a good, inexpensive middle of the road banjo. Does anyone know?

Build your own. Heres a couple sites. Google for more if you like.

http://www.wannalearn.com/Crafts_and...l_Instruments/




http://www.banjowizard.com/banjbild.htm

Watch for one on shopgoodwill.com.

When you find one, check it out to see if it's a good one or not. Sometimes their items need repair, but you can get some great deals there. I got my son an almost brand new tenor sax for about $400! Would have cost $1500 for a used one in the music store.

I always wanted to learn the banjo, but I bet I couldn't even find anyone to teach me...

Jena

The Goodtime Banjo is a great starter banjo...

http://www.deeringbanjos.com/goodtime.htm

Deering is probably the best banjo-luthier out there, for the money.

You have to figure out exactly what kind of plucker you want. tenor, 5-string, mountain, banjitar, banjolin..... it goes on and on.

As a professional musician -- who also plays banjos :) -- the Goodtime is a good beginner banjo. I prefer GoldTone banjos, though, for the same money. Looks ALOT nicer, has a nicer neck, includes the wrist rest, has a geared 5th string instead of friction, etc.

Watch eBay, too. You can sometimes get a good deal on there. Also, check out "Elderly Instruments" on the website. They carry lots of used stuff and ship all over.

I have a Goldtone and love it!!!!! It has a heavy tone ring, and sounds great for the money. I am a little disappointed with the chrome finish though.
If I were broke or unsure I wanted to stick with it, I would consider another option: Sometimes you see very old banjos at flea markets or auctions. These will not have tone rings or a back, nor are they full size. They are often in pretty sorry shape, with no strings, torn heads, etc. I would NOT pay more than 20 bucks or so for one of these. With a little research and work on your end, these can be repaired and played. Again, make sure you do your research before you put a dime into one!!!!!!!! You might be able to buy one and repair it and still have less than $75 in the banjo, which would be a good starter model. Make sure it is a 5 string model or capable of being modified to one.

My point is this: I waited for years and years because I couldn't afford a decent banjo, couldn't find a used cheap one like the Goodtime, and certainly didn't want to take the depreciation on a new model if I didn't like it. I wasted years of learning the banjo, and now bitterly regret that wasted time.

Again, do your research!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Know what parts will cost, availibity, etc.

I see a banjo in my future. I want to hear it too. I will go the library to see what I can learn first. I picked up a used Gibson to hold yesterday, just to look at, in a new music store. It was very heavy compared to my violin. Anyone want to add to this very old thread? How is your beginner or experienced banjo progress? What banjo do you have?

My janjo is an old one. It was a gift from an old friend who was moving to Florida and eliminating things he had to move. I've had it about 28 years. It only has the name "Oriole" on the top of the neck, by the Tuners.
The books that were given to me with the banjo were from 1919 and 1920.So I know the banjo is pretty old. My banjo has a big wooden resonator on the back with about a 3/8 inch bronze tone ring under the head. It has a solid wooden hard shell case. But that has seen it's better days.

I messed with it a little bit. But, I'm a guitar and bass player. My old Uncle use to play tenor guitar and tenor banjo. He told me I could tune my banjo like the top 4 strings on a guitar and play it like a tenor guitar. It works okay that way. But I'm use to finger-picking on the classical guitar. And only having the 4 strings to do my finger rolls on kinda limits me. I flat pick on it sometimes, using the tenor guitar tuning.

I have a brother that plays his 5-String banjo with aGospel group. He laughs at my efforts with that old Tenor banjo. But, heyy, I'm a guitar player.
ETA....I do fine on my guitars, 6-String, 12-String and Classical.

Wow- this is an old thread! Banjos are very heavy- at least good ones are. I bought a 1953 Gretsch New Yorker on ebay a few years back (cheap) but I haven't done much with it. It really needs a set of geared tuners, as the friction pegs are tedious to work with. I can finger-pick guitar a bit, so I think I can learn banjo. It's one less string, after all!

Here is one made from a cookie tin. Sounds pretty durned good, too! He's playing it clawhammer style. Check out some of the other youtubes from OLDTIMEDUO, too, to hear other banjos and styles.

Here's another one. This is an older instrument. I think this video was put up when he had this banjo listed for sale - and it was maybe $100 or so??

Inspiring. I don't have to spend a lot to get something to learn with.

wow, not one banjo joke which oddly leads to bagpipe jokes...this is a good crowd

I'll drop the needle on some scruggs now , happy holidays

Acoustic

Good value.

stewmac.com is the place to go for parts for any stringed instrument. Flea mkt finds can be spruced-up with new strings, bridge, tuners. OR....you can buy parts as budget permits and build a new one.

I've had a Lero banjo since the late 70's. It's a japanese make. Seems pretty good , plays well. I guess it all depends what you want it for.

First question: what kind of banjo do you want? An five string, closed back 'scruggs' style banjo? Or an old-time, open back banjo?

My brother has a 'Scruggs style' banjo, best one we couple find for good quality and price was the Cripple Creek 50RP. Very nice!

Hope this helps you! :)

Deering is a GREAT banjo but Not Cheep. There are some new Recording King Banjos that are very affordable for the beginner but I know some men who play ones that range in the 2 to 4 thousand dollar banjos and were still impressed with the Recording King's There prices are affordable!

Some really nice tips here. Thank you all for your suggestions. I am pretty sure that I want a closed back 5 string type. I will keep doing homework to help me decide what I really want. I have looked at Deering and REcording King web info. Will check Acoustic.

I am lerning piano and violin at the same time. I am committed to learning violin vibrato and demonstrating it consistantly as my motivation before getting the banjo.

I want the banjo for the sound and the fun. I am not affraid of used or scratches. We are all used and scratched up a little. A perfect banjo will not make me play perfectly.

Play'em if you have'm.

Any life left in this thread?

I bought a banjo soon after this post. It was way less than $1,000. I wanted the best tone I could afford. It is closed back with a solid tone ring and it weighs a ton...about thirty lbs.

The sound is resonant, deep, bright and loud. When I play the open lower D it vibrates into my pelvis. A good feeling. It is a nice looking recreation from China with some inlays that make it look richer than the truth, but not over done.

I wanted an honest banjo that does not look better than it is and that I could grow with. It has no scratches though. I will add those as I have time and experience. I pick it up morning, noon and night. The more I learn, the more I am compelled.

Violin vibrato is improving with the tone and fun. I wore out a bow.

When I first got the banjo, it was so heavy that I had to sit down to work and practice. Now I can work, for half an hour, standing up three feet from a corner. This provides for the best sound reflection for tone work.

It is a magic banjo because it consistently turns 20 minutes in 2 minutes. My biggest challenge is dropping four fingers out of the sky onto the frets without each one squirming to find where it needs to be when it's time, and not being in the way of other strings. The parking lot is full.

Picking is as natural as pounding on the table when I have had too much coffee.

I want to learn about your banjo fun.

It sounds even better when I have had too much bourbon. ;)

What make of banjo did you buy, Brett?

This one. Nice to see you in K'ville.http://banjoteacher.com/MorganMonroe/IMAGES/MNB-5.jpg

Nice looking banjo!!! Yes, was nice to see you, too!!! I still need to see those summer kitchen pics, though. Sorry that we kept missing connections. When I'm there, I'm so scatter-brained. It seems like I'm always running to and fro and never sitting long enough to enjoy anything. One of these days, I want to attend a bluegrass festival that I'm not working at!!!

Told ya so.

They make a good value mandolin, also.

Just remember the whole ideal of the banjo is a cheap affordable instrument to play when you have visitors and family.

Nergo slaves made the first real American banjos. Gourds and possum skins, cat gut for the strings perhaps.

Fun. I want of those too.

If I'm not mistaken ground hog or whistle pig is preferred for the skin.

At least for this side of the Atlantic.

I play a Goodtime banjo, however, no fancy 3 finger Earl Scruggs picking for me. I enjoy flat picking the old campfire songs on mine. Strum the chords and do some bad vocals. But hey my dog seems to like it, of course he may just be deaf.

My favorite song is Cotton Fields, my Mom and Pop used to play that when I was a kid at our family hootnannies. Lots of good memories there. I was just playing over the weekend with my sons, Jr on the 12 string, Dave on the 6 string and Jaybird on a percussion box. I never seen a percussion box before, it looks like a speaker, you sit on it and hit it like a drum. We sounded pretty good.

It was a fun weekend.

This thread threw me for a bit. I know tngirl and seeing a 10 year old thread resurface was giving me hope it was tngirl posting again.

Nice you have a banjo. Good banjo music sure is enjoyable.

I will check out Cotton Fields CM.

Sorry for the false hope Angie. :)

Working to make it good.

WOW, old thread. lol. Must say, though, it making me want to pull my old banjo out of the back of the closet and start picking again. I've probably only played about 2 hours worth the last 20 yrs. Kids are getting older.....maybe I could work in some "me time" now....

Like falling off a...banjo. I want to hear it.

Give it a quick try yesterday....um....arthritis has a hold on me...when did my fingers get so old? Going to take some time to get these fingers back in shape. But my brain knew what to do :)

Good...keep at it. Sound like you already decided. My brain knows nothing about anything. I think it's a brain stem thing for me. I sometimes look at my fingers while they are working on the banjo and while I'm thinking of something else, wondering, "what the heck are they doing."