What kind of banjo should I buy?
I'm looking to buy my first banjo. I toy with upright bass, guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele, so I don't think I need a "beginners banjo". I'm planning on playing more citizenry than bluegrass. What's the difference between open back and resonator? My banjo hero is Sufjan Stevens, so it would be great if anyone knows what kind of banjo he has.
I acquiesce in - openback banjo for folk/oldtime vs bluegrass.
Resonator banjos have the open back covered with a solid back piece, commonly have a louder brighter sound, and they are mostly used in bluegrass with fingerpicks. Occasionally vintage resonator banjos are second-hand in oldtime but typically with no fingerpicks.
I play clawhammer style on an openback. For a real beginner banjo with a decent sense that, the Deering Goodtime is a good choice except for the fact that it has recognizable odd looks-wise (light color wood majority, oddly shaped headstock, and geared guitar tuners instead of banjo tuners). Gold Tone makes reduce more expensive more traditional-looking beginner's openbacks like their Cripple Creek openback version CC100. I interesting you find a music store where you can try a couple of banjos to see what you like. Those are the least expensive oldtime banjos I would recommend.
And - hey - I just found something on a banjo forum. Sufjan carouse some openbacks and some resonator banjos, and I just found this interesting quote! "I've seen pics of him with a Gold Air CC-100 openback, and a Deering goodtime openback-my choice would be the Gold Tone."
http://www.banjohangout.org/forum/question.asp?TOPIC_ID=98929
Largely
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