Best beginner banjos

The banjo has a problem no other instrument on this site has: two versions of it exist, they look broadly similar in a photograph, and they are used for different music. Buying the wrong one is the most common and most expensive beginner mistake in the category.

Both picks state their Starter Path band, and we have not physically tested either — the method is on how we pick. Specifications here come from a named retailer spec listing and a published comparison, both cited below, and where our sourcing is thin we say so rather than filling the gap.

The decision that comes before the budget

A resonator banjo has a wooden bowl attached to the back that reflects sound forward instead of letting it escape behind the player. The result is loud, focused and aggressive, and it is what bluegrass three-finger playing is built on. It is also heavier and more expensive.

An open-back banjo has no bowl. The sound is quieter, warmer and more diffuse, the instrument is lighter to hold, and it costs less to make. This is what clawhammer and old-time playing want, and it is much more pleasant to practice on in a house with other people.

You cannot really substitute one for the other. An open-back in a bluegrass jam is inaudible; a resonator playing gentle old-time is fighting the music. Pick the style first.

Both of our picks are open-backs. That is deliberate: for a beginner playing at home, alone, without a band, the open-back is the friendlier instrument and the cheaper mistake.

What to check on any beginner banjo

The rim. The wooden ring the head is stretched over, and the single biggest determinant of tone. A multi-ply or three-ply rim is real construction; the cheapest banjos use a thin single-ply and sound it.

The head. A branded head — Remo is the standard — rather than an unnamed one. This is where budget banjos most often economize.

The neck width and string spacing. Genuinely varies, and it is the spec most likely to make an instrument uncomfortable for larger hands. Published reviews of the Recording King consistently flag this.

Five strings, not four. The fifth string is the short drone that starts at the fifth fret, and it is what makes a banjo sound like a banjo. Four-string tenor and plectrum banjos are different instruments for Irish and jazz playing.

The picks

The Recording King RKOH-05 Dirty 30s#ad is the honest floor. An open-back five-string with a multi-ply rim, a genuine Remo head, a maple neck, a Presto-style tailpiece and a maple and ebony bridge on a 26-1/4 inch scale. Those are proper components rather than tokens, at the bottom of the market.

Its cons are real and worth taking seriously. Published reviews consistently report a narrow neck and tight string spacing at the nut, which is a genuine problem for larger hands. It is an open-back, so it will not do bluegrass. And like most budget banjos it benefits substantially from a setup before it plays properly.

The Deering Goodtime Open Back#ad is the step up, and the specific reason experienced players in published comparisons prefer it over cheaper open-backs is its three-ply rim.

We are being deliberately careful here: we could confirm the rim construction from published comparison sources but not a full manufacturer spec sheet, so its spec list on the card below is short rather than padded out with things we have not verified. It also has no confirmed Amazon listing matching the exact model, so its buy link is a tagged search rather than a direct product page.

What a banjo costs beyond the banjo

A setup. The highest-value spend. Bridge placement on a banjo is not fixed — the bridge stands under string tension and has to be positioned correctly or the instrument plays out of tune everywhere above the open strings.

A tuner. Five strings, one of them a drone starting at the fifth fret. A clip-on chromatic tuner handles all of it.

Fingerpicks, for bluegrass. Three-finger style uses metal fingerpicks and a plastic thumbpick. Clawhammer uses bare fingers and a fingernail, so if you go open-back you may need nothing at all.

A strap. Banjos are front-heavy and awkward to balance seated.

Where the banjo sits against the other fretted instruments

It is harder to start than a ukulele and easier than a violin. There are frets, so pitch is given to you rather than found by ear — the fundamental advantage explained in bowed versus fretted strings.

What makes it harder than a ukulele is the right hand. Clawhammer is a specific striking motion that feels alien at first, and three-finger bluegrass rolls are a genuine coordination challenge. The left hand, by contrast, is comparatively simple early on.

If you are choosing between fretted string instruments generally, start at mandolin or ukulele, and if you already know you want the bluegrass sound, see best bluegrass starter instruments.