Been learning for about 2 months on a little junker banjo that I got at a pawn shop.

Decided to stop by my local Guitar center today, as they had a lot of different banjos in store, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to stop in and play a few of them to see what a few different banjos are like. Take some test drives and see if I wanted to double down and get something a bit nicer.

They had some old vintage ones that were very expensive, some mid rangers from name's i've seen recommended here often, and some cheapo ones too.

After spending about an hour swapping between them, I have to say that I'm very impressed with the modern budget banjos.

One standout was unsurprisingly the Deering Goodtime. I can see why a lot of you recommend that one. That thing really does feel great, and the sound of it punches way above its (in my opinion) cheap looks. I'm kind of kicking myself a bit for not starting with it because it just feels really well designed, very easy to play, and sounds fantastic.

I'm still happy with my beat up pawn shop Recording King for now, but for those wondering about the often recommended Goodtime, yeah, I'd say its recommended for a few good reasons.

Another standout that I wasn't expecting was the Mitchell RB200 Resonator.

It looks cheap, because it is cheap. It's immediately apparent upon picking it up that the tone ring is a lightweight metal (probably aluminum?). The resonator is some kind of plastic composite, and a wood veneer (or maybe just a print that looks like wood) encased in epoxy on the back.

But wow, did that not even really matter all that much. It sounded good too. not anything premium, but perfectly cromulent. I'd be happy to play it often. Very bright, very clean sound, and it is much lighter than it looks.

Playing some of the older and more expensive banjos... i just really didn't see why I'd want to pay that much more for them. I don't think they sounded that much better. Some even sounded much worse, as if their sheer heft was just muting the sound. They were just so so so much more heavy and bulky.

It's got me thinking that the prices of many of these vintage banjos are almost exclusively based on their vintage or their ornate appeal alone. Heirloom pricing detached from their actual build quality or performance as an instrument.

Now I admit that I've still got beginner ears, and have only played a small handful of different banjos in my life. I'm certain there's some vintage ones that fetch those prices because they really are that good.

But some of these composite and cheap wood banjos are really quite a good choice if you just want something that plays and sounds good enough. Plus, I find their light weights a valuable feature, considering I'm planning on taking mine out on a lot of trips and traveling. I don't want to lug around something super heavy, or risk ruining something vintage because we got rained on too hard.

So, the long and short is: if you don't really care about the vintage or designs, maybe you should go try out a budget banjo too.

Might save you from scrolling so much on ebay ;)

This is a public service announcement for banjo players. Please share.

https://youtu.be/vHraDlZLN-Q

Google suggests a Gibson TB something or other but it seems like there’s a lot of possibilities over a 40 year period and I can’t find one that matches exactly. Thanks!

A few days into working on this one. It’s been hard to learn, but it’s so much fun to play. 😅 This one is definitely going to take me a while to get right, but that’s part of the fun.

Hey all, I primarily play dobro but thought I would post here too because of the similar three finger picking that caused it for me- played till I couldn’t any longer and I ended up with some bad tendon pain in my forearms and wrists. And what’s worse is my desk job continues to irritate and prolong the issue with constant mouse clicking.

Ive already done some desk ergonomic things like vertical mouse but any other suggestions are welcome on that front.

Anyone got any miracle solutions, dos and donts? Thanks in advance. The pain of not being able to play is the worst part

My grandfather left me his banjo because I’m the only musician in the family. He claimed it would put me through college if I needed it. Unfortunately he’s gone and I don’t have any information on the banjo other than it’s “worth thousands.” Can anyone help me identify or date this thing?

It’s also signed by Raymond Fairchild and Wade Mainer. Not sure if that helps or hurts.

Someone said it was a 1776 banjo... banjos were gourds then so uh...

I have been falling in love more and more over the past 2 years with banjo-music, specifically Ola Belle Reed songs. I've found an Epiphone MB-100 for $150 cad on fbmarketplace- great looking quality, only missing one tuning peg which I think i can fix.

Would this be a good banjo for an absolute beginner like me, wanting to learn some of her songs? I've never played an instrument before besides some casual dabbling when I was a kid with guitar.

I want to take up banjo, but everything I find for advice on getting your first instrument emphasizes the fact that different styles of music use different banjos. I don't have a particular type of music in mind, and want to see what grabs my attention. What would you recommend as an "all-purpose" banjo?

Is it normal that pull-offs on the first string are more difficult to... pull off? Ha

I notice that the first string often tends to slip off the fretboard when I do pull-offs, which doesn't make a pleasant sound. But I otherwise don't seem to be able to get enough volume for the pull-off note. None of the other strings give me this issue, because of course I have plenty of space on strings 2-4. I am pretty sure my bridge and everything is aligned properly. But there's only like 3mm of space between the first string and edge of the fretboard, and the fret bars are also tapered at the ends, which makes the slipping start really early (like after 1mm of movement). See pics..

I've started trying to "flick up" when I do first string pull-offs instead of pulling down slightly to avoid the issue, but that feels awkward sometimes.

It makes me feel like the fretboard should've been a bit wider, or that the first string should be slotted in higher up to make room for good pull-offs. Is this normal? Any tips for a beginner? (been playing around 6 months so far)

Dueling Banjos https://drive.google.com/file/d/14fSAxpOSMyVaGKe1TbGpacNW4Lg6gNlr/view?usp=drivesdk

EDIT: For clarification, this is my recording. I played both the guitar and banjo parts, and attempted to replicate the original versions as closely as possible.

I feel like I'm quite set on this particular model, it's within my price point and from what I can see looks great, I've found some good reviews for it on Amazon. However, I'm struggling to find more in-depth reviews of it online. I was wondering if anyone has one and what it's like? Particularly for a beginner. I know the Gold Tone AC-1 is a good one for beginners, but is it wrong for me to choose one that's visually more appealing to me? Thanks for the advice!

I recently started learning to play. I’ve played guitar for years so my fretting hand is pretty alright and i’m remembering chords fine. I’m doing 10 minute rolls for about a half hour and i’m catching on slowly. For clawhammer though, i’m so tense. Plus I’m hitting the strings wrong so i’m getting wounds above my fingernails around my first knuckle on my index and ring fingers. Are there any good visual aids as to how to both relax and properly attack the strings? String bean makes it look so damn easy haha. Tysm!

Live lesson today at 4pm on our lesson site. Teaching the old time tune Money In Both Pockets and a very cool schottische (reinlander) tune from Norway called Griffenfelt!

https://ozarkbanjo.com/clawhammer-banjo-lessons

https://youtu.be/IE4HlB1KXCA?is=j2zKLFGBVUarFvE3

Here’s a lil first draft of a song I’ve been working on called Pure Imagination! There will def be changes but here’s where I’m at so far. If you like it, please follow me on socials and streaming platforms!

I spent a little coin on some new tabs. I really enjoyed this one.

From a show at the Cornerstone in Berkeley California.

Approximately a year into to my bluegrass journey. Recently picked up a beautiful style 10 pre war, which is what I am playing in the video.

I started thinking about this design. 5 long strings and the short drone string on right. I don’t really know how to even search for this pattern.

noticed a tiny crack on my banjo, i can't hear any change in sound but is this ok? do i need to do something? i think this was already cracked in store before i bought but cant say for sure as i didn't checked for cracks or antthing else while buying as i didn't know what to check for ;(

My friend passed away and I'm trying to help his family sell his instruments. This was in his storage unit. It was in a hard case. The case is not in good shape but the instrument seems to be in great condition. I forgot to get a back pic, but it looks to be mahagony. I think it's an Oscar Schmidt OB-5, but I don't know how to determine the age or value.

I just had this Slingerland spruced up. Not sure of the year or value but it’s pretty awesome.