Decent Entry Level Banjo

  • Thread starter Thread starter ez_willis
  • Start date Start date
I play. I have a rather shitty banjo. I've rented/borrowed nice ones to play for shows. I think there are some decent ones in the $3-400 range. The sub $200 ones are mostly shitty. I looked at the Fenders, Epiphones and washburns in that range and I thought they all were adequate. The cheaper ones sound like shit and are harder to play, but they tend to be really loud. The mid range ones feel like a real banjo, but are quieter. I think that's a good thing. Banjos are too fucking loud when you are sitting around noodling.
 
If you know someone who can do a good setup, go through the frets and get the right head tension, a cheapy banjo can be a good player. There's a Rogue resonator that I'll be borrowing again this year for an arts camp I teach and it hangs in very well with the rest of the 'real' banjos. I was suprised.

Still, it's probably best to fork over a little more money and get a Deering Goodtime, they're good out of the box.
 
Those deering ones are supposed to be cool. I defintely wanted a resonator. I never really cared for the maple, cosmetically (I'll admit it). Unless something breaks or I absolutely need something else, I will be buying a banjo this year. I'm lucky because I can play well enough to pick out the best cheaper one, so I won't have to go too deep.

I assumed that this was because you were going to do the whole bluegrass 5-string thing. If you just want to get a banjo sound for recording, then they have 6 string ones and any shitty one is good enough to take the 5th string tuner off and tune like a tenor (or the bottom 4 strings of a guitar).

I think it's hard as shit to play banjo. You always have to know where you're going. On a guitar, I can kind of live in the moment and not worry too much about the next chord change. On a banjo, you have to think at least a chord change or two ahead so you don't step on your dick. I quit playing for a while because I just couldn't play as fast as I wanted to, but then heard some slower folkie things and I know I can play that well. I always wanted to play east bound and down with the band and play banjo. Can't do it three piece, though.
 
TelePaul said:
I play but not clawhammer so i doubt I'm any good.
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Claw hammer is that old grandpa jones shit.

I think the Dueling banjos/bluegrass style is called "scruggs style" isn't it? It's where you wear a thumbpick and two fingerpicks and play patterns all the time.

Claw hammer is like playing a uke or something. Sort of a pick strum thing. Since the banjo is tuned to an open G, you can kinda plonk out a melody and keep the rhythm going behind it.

Scruggs style is like metal. It's complex and speed=big dick.
 
ez_willis said:
Never played one, but I want one. Recommendations?
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Doesn't matter. One probably makes as good of firewood as the next one.
 
cephus said:
Claw hammer is that old grandpa jones shit.

I think the Dueling banjos/bluegrass style is called "scruggs style" isn't it? It's where you wear a thumbpick and two fingerpicks and play patterns all the time.

Claw hammer is like playing a uke or something. Sort of a pick strum thing. Since the banjo is tuned to an open G, you can kinda plonk out a melody and keep the rhythm going behind it.

Scruggs style is like metal. It's complex and speed=big dick.
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I assume you're talking about 5 string banjos? I play a four string banjo, a tenor banjo tuned to G,D,A,E low to high, Irish tenor banjo.
 
cephus said:
Those deering ones are supposed to be cool. I defintely wanted a resonator. I never really cared for the maple, cosmetically (I'll admit it). Unless something breaks or I absolutely need something else, I will be buying a banjo this year. I'm lucky because I can play well enough to pick out the best cheaper one, so I won't have to go too deep.

I assumed that this was because you were going to do the whole bluegrass 5-string thing. If you just want to get a banjo sound for recording, then they have 6 string ones and any shitty one is good enough to take the 5th string tuner off and tune like a tenor (or the bottom 4 strings of a guitar).

I think it's hard as shit to play banjo. You always have to know where you're going. On a guitar, I can kind of live in the moment and not worry too much about the next chord change. On a banjo, you have to think at least a chord change or two ahead so you don't step on your dick. I quit playing for a while because I just couldn't play as fast as I wanted to, but then heard some slower folkie things and I know I can play that well. I always wanted to play east bound and down with the band and play banjo. Can't do it three piece, though.
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Forget it. You ruined it for me.
 
ez_willis said:
Never played one, but I want one. Recommendations?
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Did someone tell you that you couldn't hit a bull on the ass with a banjo and you want to prove them wrong?
 
cephus said:
I think it's hard as shit to play banjo. You always have to know where you're going. On a guitar, I can kind of live in the moment and not worry too much about the next chord change. On a banjo, you have to think at least a chord change or two ahead so you don't step on your dick. I quit playing for a while because I just couldn't play as fast as I wanted to, but then heard some slower folkie things and I know I can play that well. I always wanted to play east bound and down with the band and play banjo. Can't do it three piece, though.
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heh. ever tried to play a fiddle? THAT shit is hard.
 
Average banjo is easy, good banjo is difficuly, most banjo is annoying
 
My previous comment aside (Hey! I thought it was funny!) sometimes a banjo is what a song needs. Think the outro on "Take it Easy" or John Hiatt's "Slow Turning"

Plus, they're open tuned....at least you'll be able to play major chords from day 1.
 
Dang, you guys would be extremely helpful if I was curious about your opinions of the instrument or if I should get one, or even if I wanted know about an alternative instrument that is similar to a banjo.
 
none of us are cool enough to play the banjo. what the hell do you expect? i've wanted one for quite a while but i don't have the extra time to learn how to play it. want to buy a used set of harmonicas?
 
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