I’ve been looking to buy a better banjo but cant afford a 2000 dollar Gibson. What is the best banjo you guys would recommend for the money??
Whats a good Banjo?!?
The best for the money is by far a Hatfield but they run 2400 new and very hard to find used.
I’d suggest looking at Recording King for an “affordable” instrument. they get good reviews from what I’ve read.
I’ve heard good reviews about Recording King, and they seem to be affordable for most people. They were still out of my budget when I started out (and still are).
I started out my banjo playing with a bottom-of-the-line Fender FB300. It ran me about 100 bucks, but it got me started and I learned to do a great deal of picking on her. Sure, you don’t see Ben Clark puttin’ on a concert with the Purple Hulls whilst pickin’ a FB300, but I wasn’t about to perform any concerts either.
While I was learning and falling in love with the banjo, I scoured through ebay almost daily just waiting for a deal to come my way. I knew how much I had to spend, and I would bid and bid and bid and lose almost every auction I started. Then, one day I snagged a Washburn B19 for a very decent price. It’s still no top-of-the-line banjo, but it was a huge upgrade from where I started and I’m still very pleased with it.
I currently have a money jar going. If I ever get Christmas, birthday, etc. money, I throw it in that jar and put it out of site and out of mind. When I get about $5,000 in that jar, I’m going to drive to Hendersonville, TN and talk to Steve Huber about building me a custom Huber Roanoke ( huberbanjos.com/roanoke/ ).
In all that I’m trying to say: buy what you can for now, pick it, and love pickin’ it. Then, save up and do what you can as time goes on. You might even be able to trade up or straight across someday. It’s part of the fun.
— Begin quote from "fiddlewood"
The best for the money is by far a Hatfield but they run 2400 new and very hard to find used.
I’d suggest looking at Recording King for an “affordable” instrument. they get good reviews from what I’ve read.
— End quote
My cousin had one made ‘Hatfield’ and it is a very well built instrument call me ignorant or what ever but it was the easiest instrument (stringed ) that I have ever played . I really regret not getting in to\ the banjo much sooner , dang I am running out of time. One thing I might add “what makes a good banjo is the guy or gal or child playing it” for the price I would go with recording king .