5-String Banjo 24 Bracket with Closed Solid Back and Geared 5th Tuner

I love this banjo! It is a great one for the price. Everything A-1. I play clawhammer style (mainly at home) and already own several open backs and a resonator with a tone ring. I love all my banjos but some tunes simply sound better with a resonator even played clawhammer style. The Jameson is a perfect go between. It is louder than an open back and resonates longer which is lovely for some old time music. My banjo with tone ring is louder and resonates even longer--too long for clawhammer IMO-- AND it was much much more expensive and I believe not necessary if you only want to learn clawhammer. So if you like to play or learn clawhammer I would start with a maple open back and then get the Jameson for the tunes requiring more volume and resonance. Amazon is great for finding both banjos.And don't listen to the naysayers concerning Chinese banjos! You don't have to spend $600+ for a Deering!!!I also had to work with the company on an issue and they were great! Prompt, polite, and worked hard to settle the issue.This purchase=10/10A very happy customer!

This is a great banjo!Amazing Quality in all areas of construction, playability & sound!I’m a teacher and professional player. I purchased this instrument as a ‘knock around camping ‘ banjo.I am extremely happy with the unexpected high end construction and the low cost! It compares well with banjos double its price.The maker takes great pride in providing an instrument that will serve the test of time.It is packed for shipping with the greatest care and needs no set up other than a tuning tweak to be playable out of the box. The vulnerable, chrome areas are sealed and the fretboard covered to protect the beauty in shipping.I am highly recommending this banjo to both my beginning students & those advanced that want a backup instrument!Thank you!

I had no experience playing a banjo and was looking for something inexpensive to give it a go, in the hopes that I could eventually play some old-time mountain music with my wife. I had gone to my local music stores and played around with some of the inexpensive banjos ($200 or less) and just wasn't impressed with the sound or the quality of any of them. I found this banjo on Amazon, read the reviews, and decided to take a chance. I've had the banjo for a few months now, and I couldn't be happier. (This review will be in the context of a $150 instrument. Obviously if you compare this banjo to a $750 Deering, this banjo might not be quite as impressive. Or maybe it would. It's awesome.)The banjo arrived undamaged and packed safely. I had to tighten up the arm guard, and also file down a sharp bur on the arm guard before playing, but other than that the instrument was strung up with the bridge placed correctly and completely ready to play after some tuning.As far as looks go, the banjo is beautiful. It may lack some of the frilly details of pricier banjos, but honestly, who cares? My wife is a professional musician and we own a large array of stringed instruments (guitars, mandolins, violins) ranging from cheapies to professional grade. We were completely impressed with the construction quality of this thing. If you've ever purchased a cheap guitar you know they usually have several annoying qualities; common ones being insanely high action and terrible finish where the frets meet the neck of the instrument. I had noticed those same flaws on the cheap banjos I tried in the stores and expected that this banjo would be no different. I'm happy to report that's not the case.The action is nice and low, but not so low that the strings buzz when you aren't fretting a string. There is also an adjustable truss-rod that allows you to adjust the action to your liking. The frets themselves are absolutely flush with the neck of the banjo as well, so you don't feel the frets protruding from the edge of the fretboard as you slide your hand up and down the neck. The tuner pegs are geared and have plastic pearlescent knobs. The knobs look somewhat cheap, but you can apparently replace those if you are so inclined (I think they look fine). The geared tuners are attached to the head of the banjo by hardware that has some pretty scrolling on the metal, which looks really nice. The fretboard itself has pearl-inlay dots, which aren't as fancy as more expensive banjos, but again, no big deal.The head is Remo Weatherking, and not some bush-league brand, so that's cool. The pot of the banjo is made completely of wood, not plastic, and is generally free of superficial defects and looks very pretty. The resonator also looks great, and seems to be a wood veneer over a wood composite, and as a result feels pretty light (perhaps a minus for some). The resonator is also removable and can be taken off and replaced quickly using some thumb screws, or more permanently removed by removing the hardware that the thumb-screws attach to. The rest of the hardware, like the hooks, the strap rings, and the arm guard, are shiny chrome and look great.Okay, so the banjo looks awesome but how does it sound? It sounds great! It's nice and loud, with a really bright banjo tone. I chose to remove the resonator because I am learning clawhammer/frailing style playing; traditionally played on an open-back banjo. That said, my buddy plays Scruggs/bluegrass style banjo, and he made this thing sing with his finger picks andh the resonator on. So either way, clawhammer or bluegrass style, this banjo sounds great.So there it is. This banjo is simply great for the price. I'll post some pictures to illustrate some of the points I made in the review.