Buying your first Banjo

Buying from a Specialist Banjo Dealer

Buying a Banjo should be straight forward enough...but there are some pitfalls to be aware of. If you buy from a specialist banjo dealer, your passage to becoming a banjo player should be fairly smooth. This is the easiest way to get yourself a half decent banjo and make a new contact at the same time. A word of warning though, just because someone has a few banjos for sale hanging in their window, does not make them a specialist banjo dealer.

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Banjo dealers survive by their reputation, ripping you off from your hard earned cash, does their reputation no good what so ever, but never send money through the post to anyone until you are 100% sure who they are. At the bottom of this page you will find a short list of some banjo dealers and manufacturers with links to their Website.... As good a place as any to start looking..
Its best to go see the dealer when things are quiet, that way you will have more of a chance to talk to them at length and in general you'll find most dealers are Banjo Nuts anyway... and are more than happy to spend 20 or 30 minutes talking banjos. If you ask they may put you onto someone who gives lessons, i cant stress this enough... GO TAKE SOME LESSONS!!!
Learning the basics of banjo playing by taking some lessons, will get you off to a much better start than reading a library full of banjo books.



Buying from the private Ads


The Golden Rule is......dont be rushed into buying any instrument until you can inspect it closely. This is especially true when buying a used banjo privately, once the deal is closed, the banjo is yours for better or worse. Whoever is selling may have a good reason for doing so, but whatever their reason, dont let that sway you into buying it.
If at all possible take along some one who can play the banjo and have him play a few tunes on it, this is really the best way to find out how good a banjo is...by playing it and listening to it!!

Know what type of Banjo you are looking for!!.... most beginners aspire to playing like someone they have heard or seen on Television, or C.D. Knowing what type of Banjo is best suited for that particular type of sound will save you buying the wrong style of banjo. Tenor or 4 string Banjos produce a distinctive sound and are often heard in Irish Jigs or Reels, they are very popular with Jazz style Banjoists. G-Banjos or Bluegrass Banjos as they are better known as, produce the bright driving sound heard in Duelling Banjos and Foggy Mountain Breakdown. Frailing or open back Banjos produce a deeper plunky sound associated with Old Time or Mountain Music. or the Melodic Clawhammer style of Ken Perlman.

The used banjo market has some very good middle range banjos at bargain prices....banjo players are always looking for that ultimate sounding banjo,consequently they are forever upgrading, selling or trading their banjo for a better one. If you decide to go down the road to buying a used banjo, keeping these tips in mind might save you some money further down the line:



1. Listen for buzzing sounds while you pick the individual strings, a buzzing sound can be simply old or tired strings...or a badly setup banjo, but buzzing strings can indicate a raised fret or worse..a bowed neck, having a fret replaced is no big deal, but trying to straighten a bowed neck can be quite a job.

2. If you hear a buzzing sound........you can normaly find which fret is causing the problem by following this simple rule... start with the bottom string and work your way up the fretboard from the first fret, holding down the string on each fret and picking the string. Do this until you hear the buzzing sound , the next fret is usualy the culprit, though more than one fret may be causing the problem. Have a look at the fret and see nothing is obviously wrong. It does'nt take much movement in a fret to make it buzz though.....note what fret is causing the problem.
now repeat the same test with the rest of the strings


First off, let me say Buzzing Strings can drive you completely nuts, you can spend weeks tinkering, changing the Banjo setup, changing parts, and you may never get to the bottom of whats causing the buzz...if it gets to that point its time to either sell up and buy a better Banjo...or admit defeat and take it to a Luthier (Instrument Maker/Repairer) for peace of mind.

A. Buzzing on Open Strings

CAUSE: Strings need Replaced ; Nut has been cut too low ; loose nut/bracket/fittings.

REMEDY:

Replace String

These are only Guidelines as to what might be causing the buzzing, mostly its a process of elimination as to what the problem might be, it could also be a combination of any or all of the above symptoms...and will usually take some time to pin down what is actually causing the buzz...before attempting any major repair, seek out the advice of a qualified repair Person...Buzzing Strings are no doubt very annoying, but if in doubt dont mess with your Banjo Setup, you'll almost certainly make things worse and only incur further expense.



3. To check if the neck is Bowed or Warped ...look down the length of the neck, as if you were holding a rifle. The neck should be straight, with no bowing or warping either way. (see diagram above) very slight warping or bowing can sometimes be corrected by adjusting the truss rod, if your banjo has one.

4. Effects of Warping and Bowing on your Banjo.....Warping of the Banjo neck makes the action of the Banjo increase in distance ( Action = the gap between the strings and frets) . On a badly warped neck you will find it increasingly hard to hold down the strings after the 2nd or 3rd frets.....making it uncomfortable to hold chord positions. A Bowed neck is a different story. What actually happens is the action decreases to such an extent that the strings are very close to, or touching one or more frets.This is what causes the characteristic buzzing sound when you play or try to play a banjo with a bowed neck. Older style banjos with no Truss Rod tend to suffer more from bowing and warping.

5. Remove the Resonator (see parts section) or if you dont know how.. ask the seller to do it for you, the reason i say this is ...some years ago i went to buy a Gibson RB250, that had been advertised in the local ads. when i first saw the banjo i thought i had come across a real bargain, it looked great, had loads of accessories... case, extra strings, picks, etc. and the selling price was way below what it should have been. The seller was very anxious to close the deal and had a good enough reason for selling at such a good price....or so i thought, after removing the resonator i discovered a 25 mm crack in the heel, on closer inspection the lag bolt for securing the neck to the pot was completely loose as was the rim rod. When i asked him how come he hadnt' noticed it he said...i never take the resonator off....Yeah Sure ....the moral of the story being, trust no one until you are sure just what they are selling.


Mandolin Brothers Musical Instrument Specialist, always have nice banjos.
Elderley Instruments Banjo Dealer, Buys Sells, or finds Rare or Specialised Instruments.
Bernuzio Vintage Instruments Specialist Banjo Dealer in Quality Banjos.
Mike Ramsay Instruments Builds Beautiful Frailers or Reproductions to order.
Deering Banjo Company Makers of Deering Banjos.
Ome Banjo Company Makers of Ome Banjos.
Stelling Banjos Makers of Stelling Banjos.
Makers of Richelieu Banjos Makers of Richelieu Banjos.
Mugwumps Online For sale section of Mugwumps Online
Lark in the Morning Not really a Specialist in Banjos, but has quite a selection of Instruments
Chubby Dragon Specialist in Banjos, and Fine Inlay work, have a look
Hobgoblin Music One of the few good UK banjo Specialists
Turtle Hill Banjo Co. Musical Instrument Specialist, Some lovely Banjos