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Fungal Harmony - Posted - 01/04/2025: 18:42:07
Hi guys, I decided to buy a new banjo and am going with one of these two. I oddly like the sound of the OB150 more than the RKR35 (despite being pretty much the same banjo), but find the OB150 and RKR36 to be comparable in how much I like the sound (based on videos). Sadly can’t get either in my hands, as my local music store carry’s like 3 banjos at any given time, and typically one of these is a banjitar. So which is generally a better banjo when it comes down to finish and components? I know ultimately some things are preference (neck feel, aesthetics, etc), but which is overall a more bang per buck banjo?
Eric A - Posted - 01/04/2025: 18:46:21
Having been a hangout watcher for a while, I'm guessing the RK is going to get more votes.
KCJones - Posted - 01/05/2025: 05:50:16
At this point they're very similar on paper. I think you will get a lot of opinions and get no closer to an answer. You will mostly get personal preferences of people that are not you.
My advice: If you can, try them both and get the one you prefer. If you can't try them both, get whichever one you can find used for cheaper. Buy it on BHO marketplace.
I've played them both side by side. It is my opinion that the RK is a better instrument in almost every aspect, but particularly the neck profile, hardware, and finish. RK hardware and plating is higher quality. They're also cheaper used.
writerrad - Posted - 01/05/2025: 05:57:30
While things are better than they were in the past, in most places it is fairly rare to be able to find a place where there is a selection of banjos sufficient to power making a decision like the one here. When I started out I was totally reliant on the advice of banjoists I knew in other places to suggest banjos. Then I started going to the banjo collectors meet where luckily some of the makers like Kevin Enoch presented on their banjos and several of the premium music store owners did present some years about the market for starter banjos, but this kind of decision seems the hardest one,
jdeluke137 - Posted - 01/05/2025: 06:17:42
quote:
Originally posted by KCJones
I've played them both side by side. It is my opinion that the RK is a better instrument in almost every aspect, but particularly the neck profile, hardware, and finish. RK hardware and plating is higher quality. They're also cheaper used.
I completely agree. I've played both and there is a difference, particularly in the hardware. The RKs are higher quality.
Old Hickory - Posted - 01/05/2025: 11:18:49
I've played both and liked both. Would be happy with either. I most recently played the OB-150, and that was October 2023. It was years earlier that I played the RK-36. So it was too many years apart to directly compare.
The RK-36 was everything I expected. The OB-150 was a pleasant surprise. I had been underwhelmed by Gold Tone's earlier bluegrass banjos. And keep in mind, the OB-150 came out before the Twanger. Built and priced competitively with the RK-35, it was their first serious attempt at pre-war style, but lacked some of the features of the higher-up Twanger that came later.
Both the sound and feel of the OB-150 were very good. In fact, the neck felt extremely close to the reprofiled 1970s RB-250 neck of my Gibson parts banjo. I'd say it's slim in width (probably 1-3/16 at the nut) and not too deep front-to-back. A D shape without much cheek. My 70s neck felt a bit deep and chunky up high and that's what I had John Boulding take out. As a side note: my neighborhood music shop had a dead-stock '70s RB-250 this past year on which the neck felt the same as mine post-reprofiling. So I guess there was variance in those necks.
But I digress.
Point is, based on sound and feel I could be happy with an OB-150. I happen not to like matte finishes so much. And I think the hardware is metric, though I don't know for sure. Others say the hardware is not as good as what's on the RK. Recording King does advertise that the rim, tone ring, flange and pot hardware of the 35 and 36 Madison line is the same as their more expensive Elite series. I don't know if Gold Tone makes a similar claim for the OB-150 and the Twanger and their other $2000 and up banjos.
This is lots of words to say I prefer the RK-36 but don't have strong enough reasons to tell someone else to choose it over the OB-150.
This is a great era to be a banjo player ready for something beyond a beginner's instrument. I've done the reverse inflation calculation, and $1200 in today's dollars has the buying power of $158 back in May 1972 when I was shopping for a banjo to upgrade from my aluminum rim starter. For that money ($150), I got an Aria bowtie, with its pot-metal tone ring slop-fit on a lightweight multi-ply rim. Case $20 extra. The RK-35/36 and OB-150 are so much more banjo it's almost unbelievable.
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