Banjo Ben's General Store?

[jimmy bookout]

OP,
You should buy from them just because of THIS video!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBU0T7dz_YU

[rllink]

I looked around locally and didn't know what I was even looking at. Neither did anyone else. I called Banjo Ben's, talked to Jake there for fifteen minutes and learned a lot. The banjo should be delivered Wednesday, give or take.

[Skydog]

I bought some Wegen picks there and an Eastman mandolin. Great shop!

[Pickcity]

I would recommend Banjo Ben. I bought an Eastman mandolin from Banjo Ben 5 years ago. It was set up perfectly. Every instrument he sells comes with a pro set up. That alone makes his place a better deal. Add in the free shipping and it’s really hard to beat.

[rllink]

There have been a few issues and looking back I probably would still do business with them, I just might not have gotten that banjo. They discontinued carrying Morgan Monroe banjos just a couple weeks after they sold me mine, citing quality control issues. They assured me that they went over mine carefully setting it up and that there are no such issues with mine. That might be good in the sense that it got a good going over before it was shipped out. They gave me a good deal and threw in a hard case. I guess there was a reason though.

I like the banjo. I did take it to a bluegrass festival and attended several banjo workshops. A couple of the instructors looked it over and seemed to like it well enough, although a couple of them were not impressed with the tailpiece. But that is the only negative feedback I got from anyone about it. I ended up switching it out when I got home for a Prucha Presto tailpiece, which is what everyone I talked to recommended. It wasn't difficult to do, but it was fifty bucks more that I needed to put into it. I don't like that I have to take a brand new instrument and immediately have to start upgrading it. But I guess I could have left it the way it was, it certainly was not holding me back. I have already learned though that banjos are way easier to mess with than guitars.

Anyway, all that aside I'm pretty happy with it and satisfied with the purchase. I've had a few questions since this is my first banjo and have gotten some non definitive answers back. Like, we don't know what strings came on that banjo, we don't carry them anymore, and we don't know where the serial number on that particular banjo is located, we don't carry them anymore. Maybe there aren't any definitive answers to my questions, but it makes me wonder how much they did actually know about the banjo when they sold it and I'm left to figure that out on my own. I would do business with them again, but probably without the high expectations I was led to have.

[columbia]

I feel like bluegrass banjos really start to get good around $1K, around the price of a Recording King RK-35/36 (although you can get them for less used). Below that there are a lot of compromises. My first banjo was a Fender that I paid $350 for many years ago, and most of that was education in what not to look for in a banjo. Whereas with guitars, there are $250 Yamahas that could be lifetime guitars.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by columbia

I feel like bluegrass banjos really start to get good around $1K, around the price of a Recording King RK-35/36 (although you can get them for less used). Below that there are a lot of compromises. My first banjo was a Fender that I paid $350 for many years ago, and most of that was education in what not to look for in a banjo. Whereas with guitars, there are $250 Yamahas that could be lifetime guitars.

I am new to banjo but I learned a lot at the bluegrass festival talking to other more experienced banjo players and vendors. There are a lot of good things comparatively with the Morgan Monroe that I bought, but some compromises as well. One was that tailpiece, although the price difference between the one that came on it and the one I switched it to amounted to twenty-five bucks. Seems like not a lot to scrimp on, but I guess cumulatively that is what brings the price down.

Right now I think that the Morgan Monroe I have is sufficient for where I'm at. I'm happy with it. And that new tailpiece made a surprising difference. It certainly isn't holding me back. I played several more expensive banjos and they didn't transform me into a better player. But it does seem that a lot can be upgraded and it isn't hard to do. Changing that tailpiece out took me fifteen minutes and that included a string change. So the question is, spend money on upgrades or just play it until I feel the need to buy something else. A couple fellows who seemed to know banjos said that it should get me well into the intermediate level. Considering I would be happy just to reach the intermediate level, I might be good.

[frankmcr]

Banjo players usually do a lot of tinkering with their banjos before they settle on something they like. It is VERY common to switch out tailpieces, bridges (compensated or not, and if yes how?), heads (clear? frosted? Fiberskyn? Renaissance? etc.), 5th string capos, and then there's string and thumbpick and fingerpick options.

Long story short, deciding to switch out a tailpiece says absolutely zero about the dealer who sold a particular banjo.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Banjo players usually do a lot of tinkering with their banjos before they settle on something they like. It is VERY common to switch out tailpieces, bridges (compensated or not, and if yes how?), heads (clear? frosted? Fiberskyn? Renaissance? etc.), 5th string capos, and then there's string and thumbpick and fingerpick options.

Long story short, deciding to switch out a tailpiece says absolutely zero about the dealer who sold a particular banjo.

My issue with them is not about the tailpiece..

[frankmcr]

Stick with it I'm sure you'll do fine.