okbluegrassbanjopicker - Posted - 01/08/2026:  21:48:21

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Originally posted by 5Twang

A few days before Christmas I visited Banjo.com, who is a dealer for the newly debuted Shelby banjos. What caught my eye was the Shelby Speedster model which is visually unlike most banjos currently on the market. This model is so new to the Shelby line that it is not yet pictured on the Shelby website.

The owner of Banjo.com explained to me that Shelby American Banjo Co. was founded with the desire to produce a totally American made banjo, using the finest components, with an emphasis on a superior level of fit and finish and a tone, volume and ease of playing that is exceptional. I've been in the banjo world for over 50 years and have been a player, teacher, repairman and a music store manager and owner. The Shelby Banjo Co. has reached all of their goals.

When I put on the picks and played the Shelby, the decision was easy to make. BUY THIS BANJO! The uniformity of the response, tone and volume as I played higher and higher on the fingerboard was incredible. The mid-portion of the fingerboard, and on to the end of the fingerboard, revealed no drop off in tone and power that happens with many banjos.

After almost two weeks of playing the Shelby, the honeymoon is still not over. It's got plenty of competition in my banjo room, but none of the others measure up to the sound of the Shelby. It came with a deluxe Crossrock case and a case pocket with adjustment tools.



I've placed several pictures on my Hangout homepage: Mike Mason 5twang, click "About" , then click on the Media tab.

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So what you're saying is that Shelby makes a banjo that sounds and plays better than maybe even the 80's Gold Stars? 

Is it the elusive "perfect banjo"?

I confess that I am not nearly as banjo crazy as I was a few years ago. 

I'm glad you are happy with the Shelby, but I'd probably have to play one myself before attributing accolades that I hadn't towards any previous banjo. 

I have to wonder, when the finest Masterclones first came out, was the response nearly identical? 

How many other US-based builders have strived to reach the same general goal as Shelby? Quite a few. 

 Is there something that makes a Shelby intrinsically better than the best examples from other makers?

No banjo sounds exactly the same ten years down the road. Musical taste does change.

Edited by - okbluegrassbanjopicker on 01/08/2026 21:53:02