Peter Vipulis - Posted - 01/25/2026:  16:21:05

One that has no frets at the top of the neck and has good projection. Is Gold Tone the way to go? Thank you.

banjered - Posted - 01/25/2026:  17:06:46

Please pass the popcorn! banjered

banjered - Posted - 01/25/2026:  17:09:31

O.K., try putting your question in the "Q" search to the left of this page. Maybe a little information where you are going, songs or tunes, both? Willing to spend....? banjered

Bill Rogers - Posted - 01/25/2026:  18:30:31

Do you simply want no frets past, say, the 17th, or do you want a scoop? What kind of sound do you seek? You seem to be on a budget. Otherwise I would look for an Ome. Here are several for sale on the Hangout. All would be excellent clawhammer banjos. I, and most players, would choose any of them over a Gold Tone.

banjohangout.org/classifieds/s...submit=Go

Edited by - Bill Rogers on 01/25/2026 18:39:38

Mickhammer - Posted - 01/25/2026:  23:37:36

quote:

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Originally posted by Bill Rogers

Do you simply want no frets past, say, the 17th, or do you want a scoop? What kind of sound do you seek? You seem to be on a budget. Otherwise I would look for an Ome. Here are several for sale on the Hangout. All would be excellent clawhammer banjos. I, and most players, would choose any of them over a Gold Tone.

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I'm guessing the OP means a scoop, and I'm also inferring s/he's a beginner. An Ome as a starter banjo seems a bit... excessive. Maybe the OP is insanely wealthy, in which case, the sky's the limit? If the OP is like the rest of us... heck, even Gold Tone's mid-range has become too expensive for starter banjos. If I'd have had to shell out more than $1,000 for my first banjo, I'd never have started playing.

To the OP: the Goodtime series from Deering seems like a solid choice for a starter banjo. They're easy to find used. They have a slightly wider neck than the Gold Tones, which will make it easier to play as you're learning. And it'll still be a valid instrument even as your playing advances. 

The scoop is nice, but not at all necessary. 

Edited by - Mickhammer on 01/25/2026 23:39:18

CrazyCatLazy - Posted - 01/26/2026:  01:04:19

Have the bots started taking over old accounts on here too?

Peter Vipulis - Posted - 01/26/2026:  06:24:53

Ive learned a few clawhammer songs a while ago, but mostly bluegrass. Made a few tabs here.

Thanks I'll look up OME. Yeah I guess its called a scoop.

banjered - Posted - 01/26/2026:  08:12:54

From your tabs it looks like you are jumping from BG to CH for a bit or more. You can't go wrong with the Ome's above but there are a lot of good brands these days. It looks like you like playing songs. If it just playing then the above suggestions are good. If you intend to sing I suggest Stone banjos. And if you need a lower pitch key for your voice, perhaps using Aquila Minstrel strings which is my current set up and working very well. You get a lot of bang for the buck with Stone banjos. Good Luck! banjered

pinenut - Posted - 01/26/2026:  11:09:18

quote:

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Originally posted by Peter Vipulis

Ive learned a few claw-hammer songs a while ago, but mostly bluegrass. Made a few tabs here.

What's a good claw-hammer banjo?  One that has good projection and has no frets at the top of the neck. Yeah, I guess its called a scoop.

Is Gold Tone the way to go?  Thanks I'll look up OME. Thank you.  

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I have a banjo with a scoop; it does give additional play/tone options and is very nice, but, not nice enough to be part of the decision matrix.  

Banjos with metal tone rings of any sort tend to have decent projection.  Concerning woodies, be selective, good projection and multiply rims are typically at odds.  

Claw-hammer banjos can have a resonator, no scoop and be Goldilocks.  Looks and cultural belief are deceiving.

Deeper rims are a good thing.  The only consideration is fitting it into a case;  the typical bump case will support up to ~3.5 inches deep.

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Concept examples:  I like all of these (and love some of them) when they are stable and the set-up is peaked.

1)  Silver spun tone ring on a rod or "Little Wonder" tone ring with resonator.  These ring on a rod banjos have beautiful and versatile 'singing voice' much like a Whyte Laydie (WL) with a more straight banjo tone and are a very good match for clawhammer or any play style and project without being overbearing.

2)  Electric/WL open back.  Strong voice with punch and are a solid match for clawhammer or 2F/3F.  Many people favor these as a "Jack of all styles" banjo, including me.  note:  tubbies are similar with more punch and less voice 

3)  Spun ring (ex: Dobson or Bacon style) directly on a  wood rim open back.  Warm voice with depth and is a good match for clawhammer or 2F/3F.  They are perfect in the living room and are easy to sing with.  note:  I believe these would be closer to example one if the ring was sitting on top of a quarter inch rod.

4)  Three pound bronze flat-head open back.  These have an exceptionally strong, versatile voice and support all play styles.  Set-up and head selection can be used to strongly direct the tone which tends to stay clear and loud, even standing in the middle of an open field.  These are very nice, a bit heavy and tend toward more of a performance based setting.

5)  Multi-ply woodie vs 3-ply hard maple.  Plain multiply woodie banjos tend to have poor projection.  The Goodtime is a good example of this comparison; the new stiff 3-ply rim is much, much better sounding than the older multi-ply (not counting the "Special").  In general the bulk of plain wood rims tend (there are exceptions) to have less projection than rims with metal tone rings.

I hope this helps, a little.  Cheers.

Edited by - pinenut on 01/26/2026 11:28:32