I was given an Emperador banjo and am still very new to the bluegrass world. One time when I took it to a shop to get it worked on, the owner told me it was more expensive than anything in his store and that it was in the ballpark of $1000-$2000. When I researched it on the internet, there were few and contradictory inputs. So, I was wondering if anyone knew a little more about them than Mr. Google. What would its strengths and weaknesses be and how could I capitalize on or adjust to that?
About Emperador Banjos
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Hi @garrett.e.williams10 Garrett 
to @BanjoBen 's Forum.
I have to admit I am NOT familiar with Emperador Banjos and as I am sure you’ll know from your Google Research the Emperador appears to have been made in Japan and very possibly in other Asia countries. One ad I found dated the banjo circa 1970. It would be difficult to put a value on these instruments a lot depends on the woods used and the quality of the construction. Many early Asian banjo’s were mass produced and of poor quality. More modern mass produced Asian banjos are of much superior quality and sound great.
So you could say the value of your instrument is what a buyer is prepared to pay, likely as not a lot less than you might hope it’s worth. Setting aside monetary value. In the hands of a good luthier it could be made to look and sound like a quality instrument.
As I said at the outset I am NOT an expert on such matters. You might find a better response to your query in the Collectors Section of the Banjo Hangout. Those guy’s know what a good banjo looks like. It would help them greatly to see some photos
Good luck
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Great advice from @Archie. I’d try to find someone around you that actually works on banjos, sets them up, and get it looked over. No offense to the owner, but if this banjo is the most expensive thing in the store, you should find another music store where they deal with quality instruments. Hopefully, they would therefore have more knowledge about setup.
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Thanks for the help. I’ll definitely continue my research.
Speaking of expensive instruments. I reached out to Jim Britton over at Ceres Banjo Works to see what they were asking for the 1939 Gibson RB-75 “G.W. Ragan” Banjo. It was $100k. But hey, no worries, Turtle Hill Banjo has a 1929 Style 6 for $11.5k. Thankfully, I was given some wise council from a local picker that saved me from hemorrhaging my hard earned retirement savings “Brent, you don’t need a pre-war.” A mantra that I have to repeat often.
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Amen. I am the proud owner of a Stelling Master Flower and a Gold Tone Twanger plus a few other banjos that hang around my room or sleep in their cases. My got to is the Twanger.
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I bought a new Emperador back around ‘73 or ‘74 and gave it to a family member just a few years ago. It was made in Japan as I recall. It was a Masterclone , except the rim was some kind of plastic or composite material and the tone ring was quite light weight and sat on top of the rim. The neck was ok, and the banjo could be set up to play and sound pretty well, just fine for a beginner like I was. I paid $300+ back then and the last one I saw for sale a couple years ago was still in that same range.
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Hi @charles.campbell101 Charlie to @BanjoBen 's Forum. Thank you for your input I am sure it will be helpful to @garrett.e.williams10 Garrett 's with his research.
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Thanks Charles/Charlie. I mean whichever you prefer.
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