Posted by Gump Redhouse on November 06, 19102 at 21:57:11:
In Reply to: What kind of Banjo posted by David Harrison on November 05, 19102 at 12:40:18:
David,
While agree with Bob about the quality of Gibson Mastertones, I would suggest that you keep an eye on eBay for a seventies Japanese "Masterclone". Several companies made very good copies of Mastertones and you can pick tehm up quite reasonably on eBay. Ibanez, Epiphone, Aria come to mind. Be sure that it is a model with a tone ring as many of these companies also made much cheaper ones with aluminium pots. A good banjo wil weigh about 11 or 12 pounds. You should be able to get a nice banjo and case for about $500. Hatfield Music (sorry, I don't have their website, but it will show up in a Google search) often stocks these instruments too. If you do decide that you don't like playing the banjo you should be able to recover your investment.
I'm not a guitar player, but I know a lot of guitar players who have tried to play the banjo and the fifth string drives them nuts (it ain't supposed to be there). Many of these players give up and put their instruments on eBay.
Bob is also right about the Murphy Method being a good way to learn Scruggs style.
Good luck