Banjos & Mandos...

About

There are few things as quintessentially American as the image of a player sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch strumming on a banjo. One of the essential instrumental voices in American bluegrass, country, dixieland jazz, and folk music, the banjo is lots of fun to play, and mastering it can offer a lifetime of satisfaction. Its bright and articulate tone is relatively easy to produce, and the banjo’s percussive rhythms add bounce and drive to many different music styles. In its modern form, a case can be made that the banjo is among the few musical instruments that’s purely American-bred. As with most things, you get what you pay for. You’ll find no-frills, mass-produced student banjos that are made in Asia and priced from around R7000 to hand-crafted professional instruments with deluxe appointments and the highest grade materials that carry serious price tags. In between those extremes are dozens of moderately priced banjos, most of which are very playable and tonally satisfying. Even the lowest-priced models are usually quite playable and offer the student with limited funds a worthy introduction to playing the banjo. How much you should pay is a function of your budget, your commitment to mastering the banjo, the type of music you want to play, and your desire for certain features. As a general rule of thumb, buy the best banjo your budget allows to get the best combination of playability, appearance, and sound. [fullscreen_image]//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0668/1001/files/collection-banjo-full.jpg?v=1602415209[/fullscreen_image][fullscreen_mobile_image]//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0668/1001/files/collection-banjo-mobile.jpg?v=1602415209[/fullscreen_mobile_image]