Am not sure how any banjos under $200 are going to be that much different from another one at that price point. That is a pretty low price to work with. If that is all you can spend, then just purchase the one that sounds like it meets your requirements and do the best you can to get it set up to its maximum potential. Be forewarned that it is not going to sound like the GoldTone Twanger though.

Bobby

Ik it won't sound exactly like it ????
I can try to go up some but I showed my mom the Vangoa banjo and it's $209.99, she said Holy F* y are banjos that expensive. I told her almost any instrument u buy will be expensive, there won't be any for $50-90 unless it's a banjolele and I don't really want one, I like a full scale, closed back resonator banjo

Emojis don't work here, it just puts ?'s

My first banjo is a “bottle pop” standard imported type found everywhere, I gave 150$. I’ve seen them go for less. I bought it from a music store that caters to band instruments. It has real low action which really helped me without to much fingertip pain on my fretting hand. Good luck on your journey. You can do it!!:)

Beware of a B.S.O. – a Banjo Shaped Object at that price. If you buy a BSO there is a high likelihood it'll kill any desires to ever play banjo, between the lousy sound and nearly impossible to comfortably play the THING. For a beginner, set-up is more important than sound. Good Luck! banjered

For $200 you don't get extra twanginess. You don't get a lot of twang. You get thin and perhaps harsh. But a lot of people have learnt on such banjos.

For $200 don't buy a resonator banjo unless you buy a used thin and harsh banjo. There's no advantage. If you want a bluegrass banjo with reasonable twang you'll need to spend more. You can find things in the used market like an Epiphone MB250 or unbadged 1970s Kasuga made banjos. You probably need to spend more than $400 unless you get lucky.

If you're buying new then you need $300 for a Goldtone AC1. Here's the well known Gabe Hershfeld, a player of much renown.

youtube.com/watch?v=I5rJDgGKidE

What GrahamHawker said.
For new banjos the sound and tone, you describe simply is not available for less that $200. For used ones, if you're really lucky, perhaps.
FYI: the term "closed back" is used as an advertising term by people who have no clue what a banjo even is. "Resonator banjo" perfectly describes what they are trying to explain.

I just didn't know the difference, I been waiting to play one for a few years, I've always LOVED and admire the sound of the 5 string banjo. Closed back gives it a fuller tone, and lil louder, open back not for me because it gives a warm, mellow tone ???? I can probably wait until Christmas n see but my mom's not able to work, I'm not able to work or drive, and so my mom said

Imogies will work.    You have to use the Rich Text window which has an icon for imogies.

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Originally posted by Instruments_4-life2004

Closed back gives it a fuller tone, and lil louder, open back not for me because it gives a warm, mellow tone ????

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Closed back doesn't give a fuller tone. Tone rings and decent rims do that. Louder - yes. I'd say on cheap banjos resonator emphasise the worst of the tone which is totally subjective. Open backs are not neccessarily mellow. The AC1 in it's standard form is not mellow. For mellow you would buy a Goldtone AC12. Playing with picks give open backs a much brighter tone. Set up is important. Type of head and bridge are important.

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Originally posted by Instruments_4-life2004

She asked Why these Banjos are Soo expensive and I told her, I have no clue ??

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I have no clue either, but that's how it is.

Do not buy a banjo from Amazon. It's a waste of money. 

For 200$, you can't really be choosy about tone (brightness, twanginess, etc.). As a beginner, your focus should be on finding a suitable instrument to learn the basics on. For another $50-100, you could get a new or lightly used Gold Tone AC-1 or Recording King Dirty 30s (see for example). These are both decent options. 

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Originally posted by Instruments_4-life2004

 Closed back gives it a fuller tone, and lil louder, open back not for me because it gives a warm, mellow tone ????

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What this tells me is that you've been looking and listening very intently, which is great! 

However, much more of the difference in tone you perceive is due to how the instruments are being played (and adjusted) than the instruments themselves.   An open-back AC-1 is as good a starter banjo for bluegrass picking as it is for clawhammer, or "folk" or "classic", or anything else you can play on a 5-stringer. Of course, it's not going to have the volume or depth of tone that you hear in a "pro"-grade banjo (openback or resonator), which will run you 3x-5x the price!   

If you are aiming for a bluegrass sound, keep the head as tight as possible, use lighter gauge strings, lighten your bridge (lay a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface and rub the bridge on that to reduce its thickness), and maybe switch out the tailpiece for one which is heavier and gives more downforce on the strings.   Don't get too hung up on setup, though.  As someone wiser than myself once said, "The most critical part of setting up a banjo is how you adjust the big nut that's sitting behind the instrument."  IOW, it's not the banjo, it's how you play it!

Welcome to the mad world of banjo!

There are banjii for sale right here on the HangOut.

What you MIGHT do, is check out the sales here.

Another alternative: Get a Squared Eel banjo, from me, $125 plus shipping, learn on it, and save up for something better.

As to why the new ones are so expensive:
Ask your mom what a Ford sedan cost, new, back when she was your age.
And then, see what a Ford sedan costs now.

Another suggestion: Get a cheap, used, solid body guitar, replace the 6th with a light gauge first, take off the 5th, tune the 6th to the octave G, lower the first to a D, and there's your Bluegrass tuning.
Experiment with stuffing various things up at the bridge, to kill the sustain.
Practice on that.

And if you're REALLY enthusiastic, do what I did with Little Red:

I’ve bought respectable low end banjos from shopgoodwill.com for less than $30, and fixed them up for students. Many of the beginner banjos go for less than $100, and I’ve seen Goodtimes go for less than $200. But, and it’s a BIG BUTT… most of them are not in very good shape, and you have to know enough to fix, and set them up.

Like DEAN said: If you can find a beater banjo, cheap, grab it.
Then, post a topic titled "SETUP HELP needed in FLORIDA" and post pictures of the banjo.
Since there are over FOUR HUNDRED OutHangers IN Florida, who have "HELPING" on their profiles, maybe somebody is close enough to swing by and take a close-up look at your banjo, and help you get it set up so it plays the best it can, even at that price level.

And if nothing on the HangOut marketplace tickles your fancy, see what's available on Craigslist.

It looks like you play other instruments, so you know the basics about action, setup, etc. -- essentially what is playable. In your price range, you have essentially three options (all used): The first are Asian imports, typically at the lower end ("bottlecap banjos" -- you can Google it). These are all over the place in terms of playability, but some well-cared for and very playable examples show up. Second is the the AC-1 (open back) or AC-5 from Goldtone. Very good starter banjo. The third is Recording King Dirty Thirties. I picked up a resonator version awhile back for a youth group. It punched way above its price range.

At this point, you need to focus on playability and what will help you determine whether banjo is for you. That also happens to be the banjos near your price range.

You won't find a lot of $200 banjos here. Facebook Marketplace is where I see them. To a lesser extent, Craigslist. I would inspect and play before you buy. As with cheaper guitars, there can be a lot of undisclosed problems, which makes e-Bay very risky and expensive for returns.

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Originally posted by mike gregory

Another suggestion: Get a cheap, used, solid body guitar, replace the 6th with a light gauge first, take off the 5th, tune the 6th to the octave G, lower the first to a D, and there's your Bluegrass tuning.
 

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Yep, yep, yep.  This works well and can sound and play very similar to a five string banjo; if your eyes are closed.

Replace the 5th and 6th strings on your electric guitar with one string that matches the first and tune it to gDGBD.  

A reverb pedal or jangly lipstick pickup are nice for this application.

This aluminum-rimmed "bottle cap" for $180 is in Pompano Beach.

This Deering Goodtime open back for $250 is far away in Tampa, but possibly worth the drive. You could save up and add the resonator later.

It's great that you've done some online research and comparison and you know what sound you like in a banjo. But you're just not going to get the sound of a $2000 banjo in one that costs 1/10 as much.

Better banjos get their better sound from better parts (which cost more) and more careful and precise fitting and assembly (which costs more). The Twanger banjo, for example, has a part inside called a "tone" ring. It's a 3-pound ring of brass or bronze that sits on top of the round wood body (rim) of the banjo. This tone ring alone costs as much as the lowest priced banjos you might be looking at. The neck on the Twanger costs more than the low-priced banjos you've mentioned. This is the real world.

The Deering Goodtime is a good choice in a beginner banjo because the wood rim is every bit as good as the rim in more expensive banjos. It's three plies of maple. The standard for bluegrass banjos. There's no tone ring. The rim is taller so the banjo's drum head sits right on it. Still, it gives a bright twangy sound. Another good thing about Goodtimes is their neck has the same shape as Deering's higher-end banjos. So you're getting a banjo that's as comfortable to play as those costing more. I think the one for $275 in Tampa is a good price (especially compared to the price of new), as long as it's in good condition.

If you don't want to drive all over Florida getting the lowest price on a used banjo, I agree with the previous advice to look for a Gold Tone AC-1. It's open back, but you can always add the resonator later. These have great sound for such low price.

Good luck.

IF the tariffs actually take effect, $200 new banjos will be a thing of the past. So don't linger. Get something for $200 while you can and get busy learning to play. Save your money to move up to what is known as an intermediate banjo.

Why do beginner banjos cost so much? Specifically designed/made metal and wooden parts sourced from all over, wood working and finishing skills which require trained laborers, and assembly/set-up skills, which also require trained laborers. That's why there is only one new beginner banjo still "made" (assembled?) in the USA. It used to be you could buy a banjo kit from an American company, and put together your own banjo. That was decades ago as they became simply to expensive to be worth the bother.

Back around 1800 ALL banjos were homemade.

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Originally posted by The Old Timer

IF the tariffs actually take effect, $200 new banjos will be a thing of the past. So don't linger. Get something for $200 while you can and get busy learning to play. Save your money to move up to what is known as an intermediate banjo.

Why do beginner banjos cost so much? Specifically designed/made metal and wooden parts sourced from all over, wood working and finishing skills which require trained laborers, and assembly/set-up skills, which also require trained laborers. That's why there is only one new beginner banjo still "made" (assembled?) in the USA. It used to be you could buy a banjo kit from an American company, and put together your own banjo. That was decades ago as they became simply to expensive to be worth the bother.

Back around 1800 ALL banjos were homemade.

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For comparison, current mountain- and minstrel-style kits from Carver Banjos go for $300-400. From what the maker describes, that's the absolute minimum sale price for being able to turn around a small profit. About 15 years ago, I bought a tackhead/minstrel-style banjo from Eric Prust for $200-250 (I forget exactly), and that was an absolutely bare-bones instrument priced basically to cover cost of material. So then add modern accoutrements like geared tuners, truss rods, frets, metal shoes/brackets, tone rings, inlays, etc. and you're looking at at least a few hundred more in parts/labor. Also for comparison, a typical "student" factory-made banjo at the turn of the 20th century would have sold for $500 or so in today's money. And I wish there were more banjos priced in that middle range today. But the trend has been for poor-quality instruments to get cheaper and high-quality instruments to get more expensive, leaving a gap between. 

Following up my previous post about the quality and cost of the important parts in a $2000 banjo vs those in a banjo of only 1/10 the cost . . .

Here's the $200 wood rim inside the Gold Tone Twanger. That's a good price for a 3-ply maple rim at this stage of completion.

And here's the $300 tone ring that sits on top of it. 

These are the two parts that give the Twanger its sound. The bridge plays an important part in fine-tuning the sound to a player's preferences. But the tone ring and rim are the foundation.

I don't to show you the $300 neck (a bargain price, by the way) since you've seen that in product photos.

Obviously, these three parts don't contribute $800 to the $2000 price of the Twanger. That's what they sell for as stand-alone products. But you can be sure they're worth more than any complete $200 banjo.

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Originally posted by Instruments_4-life2004

Hello all, 

  I'm trying to look for a Banjo under $200 USD.   I told my mom I've been wanting to play my banjo since before my incident that affected my life. She asked Why these Banjos are Soo expensive and I told her, I have no clue ?? it'd be cool if the banjo met my requirements but it doesn't have to exactly. 

Requirements:

EXXXXTRRA Twanginess kinda like Gold tone ob3 twanger except $-200

5 string closed back resonator bluegrass Banjos

Super bright 

Closed back

I have some in mind on eBay, couple on Amazon but I need inputs on them because they don't have any videos on YouTube 

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Simply not possible