Fender Banjos ?

[Casio]

Hi, I am really interested in purchasing a banjo but I don´t know a thing about them. I´ve been checking them out and I´m thinking about the Fender banjos, eather the FB58 or FB59... has anyone here tried them out? Any other recommendations? I would like to get a decent banjo for a decent amount of cash, not something I will regret buying after a few months because I wanted to save a 100 bucks.

 

[mixmkr]

The Fender would make a good "student" level banjo and carry you thru an imtermediate player status. You'll need to fork out some $$ to get a quality pro level banjo. Check Ebay or dealers like Janet Davis, Folk of the Woods, etc for used deals. You should be able to find a used Deering Sierra, the cheapest no frills pro banjo for about $1000 or so. I'd stay away from the Asian stuff for banjos, unlike guitars. The better stuff generally stills seems to be American made.

 

[Zona Mona]

Do not, under any circumstances, buy a Fender banjo. The craftsmanship on almost all Fender bluegrass instrumens is poor. Go buy the Deering Goodtime II or Special. They may not be as pretty but they are better banjos by a tenfold, and they are less expensive.

 

[stonepiano]

well that answers that question!

I too have heard horror stories about these. I have not heard the same thing about their mandos, however...

 

[Casio]

thats too bad about these Fender banjo horror stories because they look so sweet with all the fretboard inlays and stuff, thats maybe jusy to fool people into buying them.

I tried out a washburn banjo today, to my ears it didn´t sound too bad. Any horror stories of them, and what about epiphone?

 

[dtb]

two thoughts.....one of the absolute best banjo pickers in my area, which is overloaded with banjo players, has played his Fender banjo for as long as I can remember. It sounds good, he plays good, and another big plus...he knows how to take it apart and put it back together. And this may be his ace, with the Fender. His set-up. I'm sure they don't come off the self that way.

I bought a Washburn, and learned on that. It was a great little banjo. It stayed in tune. And that my friend, is a must, because of all the "acoustic" instruments, I think the banjo is hardest to tune.

I have a nice old Sigma banjo now, and it's a charm. I think it's a '86 model. Very nice. I don't play a lot of banjo, cause there's many around that take those duties, and can play the shit out of it. I can't play from shit.

My advice, whether you go student, or medium, or pro level, find one that will hold it's tuning, learn how to set it up as well as how all the parts work, and take some lessons, or at least find a friend that can help you out. The "correct" playing technique is a big bonus for a beginner. It will carry you a long way to leaning the banjo. I never mastered the "correct" rolls, forward and backward, to be able to play with other folks. And for that, I kick my own ass every day.

A Scuggs style banjo picker is a joy to listen to. And if you listen to a lot of other styles of music like I do, the banjo seems to be able to slip in there, and make a huge impact, with the right stylist playing it.

Have fun.