Tanglewood TB18-5 5-String Banjo

Advantages: great sound, unusual
Disadvantages: more expensive than a similar standard guitar

...hand. The Tanglewood banjo is a great budget instrument; it cost me £120 and came with a book, a spare set of strings, set of metal finger picks, an electronic tuner, shoulder strap and a soft case. I was impressed with the tuning keys, they don't jump like some cheap guitars, and the banjo stays in tune for a long time. Now that I have acquired a hard case for my banjo it stays in tune almost indefinitely. The way to tell the quality of a banjo ...
...ones have twelve. The Tanglewood has 18, which seems plenty to me. The vellum should last the life of the instrument, provided you take care and don't poke holes in it or bash people over the head with it. Keeping it in a hard case is a good investment. It's a bit different to playing a guitar, after all, almost everyone has a guitar but you don't see many banjos in this country. If you want to cheat, there is a six string guitar banjo, which is ... Read review