I live near Quebec, I've come across a used Carl Arcand banjo who re-furbishes vintage banjos. secondlifebanjo.com/
They are selling it for 1800. This is basically the price I would by new from Carl -- seems like used should be a little less expensive? But maybe this is a fine price as long as it is in good shape? What should I look for when going to take a look? Do banjos like this depreciate? Thoughts on this one?
Here is the description:
This walnut banjo was made by Carl Arcand at his Second Life banjo shop in Ulverton QC. It is one of his Old Time series banjos that feature a deep (3"), thin (1/4") walnut pot with a 1/4" round brass tone ring which gives it a nice old time tone. The pot is 11" wide with a goat skin head, nice marquis purfling around the rim cap, and 10 hooks. All of the pot hardware (tension band, hooks, nuts, tail piece) are antiqued brass and handmade by Carl.
The walnut neck has a 25 1/2" scale length, is 1 3/8" wide at the nut, with a scooped ebony finger board and MOP inlays. The peghead has an ebony backstrap, ebony overly with Carl's signature fleur-de-lis inlay, one RR spike at the 7th fret, and Gotoh tuners. The neck has a nice dobson style heel and is a very comfortable neck to hold and play.
The banjo is in very good condition. See Carl's website for more information on his banjos (secondlifebanjo.com/about-me.php)
That’s called a asking price, offers are often expected, it also cuts out the wait time for a build to occur
Many banjos , a lot of open backs, are selling for more now than they sold for brand new
