To Banjo or Not to Banjo?

[keithjfuller]

...not to banjo.

But, my question is this. My buddy wants a banjo and his mom was thinking about getting him one for Christmas. She's will to spend $300-350 and I know nothing about banjos. What do you guys recommend?

[schneb]

Don't diss the Banjo, it is an excellent instrument for its genre. Where would Steve Martin be without it? "It's such a happy instrument... Oh, death, dying, murder..."

I was actually looking for one for my daughter. There are some good deals on eBay for Banjos. Look for the Banjos that people are bidding on. Those are usually the good ones.

Hohner has a nice one for a reasonable cost. It might be a good choice for a beginner. (http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=banjo+hohner&_sacat=0&_fromfsb=&_trksid=m270.l1313&_odkw=banjo&_osacat=0)

If you do not want to deal with eBay bidding and such, don't forget Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=banjo&x=9&y=15). There are some used ones there at a pretty decent price. Be sure to pay attention to reviews. I have found that the users at Amazon give some pretty accurate assessments. For example, there are some very good reviews for the Oscar Schmidt banjo for the average beginner.

[Tony Monaghan]

Well, playing banjo has opened so many doors and made a ton of money for me over the years not to mention the sheer pleasure it's given me.

If you need any advice on buying a banjo please PM me and prepare to be bored to death ;)