Maybe a Ren head?  It'll be less bright/bluegrassy, and a bit plunkier.  They're used a lot when playing clawhammer and other old time styles.

You'll have to take the banjo mostly apart, but it's a good learning experience, resetting the neck (action), bridge (intonation), evenly tightening the head (I use a drum dial), etc.  There are videos to help with this if you haven't previously done so.

Take the resonator off. Get a gen-u-wine hide head. I have the sense that it would end up sounding sort of like a whyte lady. But that is based on no empirical data. Maybe lighter strings.

Derroll Adams did most of his playing on an open back Framus. The arch top tone ring of the Framus at least must have contributed in great part to the characteristic sound of his banjo.

If I am not mistaken, the Washburn B10 has no tonering at all.Consider to get a 10.5 inch rolled brass tone hoop to put on top of the rim. This will decrease the diameter of the head more archtop-like. Increase the head tension to G# then. Optional exchange the head with a hide head and a better bridge.

Do you have an Ibanez Artist? If so, you can dial that in for whatever sound you want, including a softer open-back tone. It will be much easier to dial back the Ibanez than upgrade the Washburn.

Ibanez Artist banjos are a two-piece flange. You can take the "plate" part of the flange off, reinstall with just the "tube", and it is now an openback banjo. Keep the resonator, flange plate, and thumbscrews in a box for the future.

Replace the head with a renaissance head when you're removing the flange. Tighten it to a taptone of G-G# or around 89 on a drum dial.

Reduce bridge downpressure. Ibanez Artists usually have a kershner or clamshell tailpiece. There's probably a screw in the tailpiece that allows you to raise the tailpiece to reduce bridge downpressure. Or you may be able to just lift it, if it's not adjustable. Or you can replace it with a "no-knot" tailpiece, but you will want to put some cloth on the string section between the bridge and tailpiece to eliminate overtones (I've used a small piece of leather strip weaved through the strings with good results, adjust leather strip width for tone).

Replace the bridge with something slightly heavier. Not super heavy to deaden tone, but if you've got something that's 1.9-2.1 grams, try something that's more like 2.1-2.4. Bridges have significant affect on tone.

The reason Mastertone (and Masterclone) banjo design is the best isn't because it's the loudest or brightest. It's because it's the most adjustable. You can make a masterclone sound however you want it to sound.

You can also experiment with different strings, but tbh I've not found a significant tonal shift between the various string options. IMO string selection is more about how they feel rather than how they sound.

quote:

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Originally posted by KCJones

Replace the head with a renaissance head when you're removing the flange. Tighten it to a taptone of G-G# or around 89 on a drum dial.

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This is part of what I did with my Goodtime Artisan openback, and I'm quite pleased with the results.  Coincidentally, I tighten the head to 89 on a drum dial.

I changed the strings to 10-12-14-22w-11, which is most identical to GHS PF150.

I'd suggest going further than a renaissance head although experimentation is the thing. My flathead tone ring (brass) made in Asia banjo, converted to an open back, has a fiberskin head but it is scrubbed to thin it out a bit. This does tone down the brashness of the tone ring when used as a open back without picks. I use medium strings and a heavier bridge. The tone ring was extremely tight and took some prising and heating to get it off and I sanded around the rim to loosen it up somewhat. Although I like it it is still somewhat brash. It was a good experiment though especially as it came from the distributor as a seconds item due to a cracked resonator and only cost £100. I'm sure there's more I could do.

Everything KCJones said is right, but I'd at least start out being lazier than that....

I play mostly open-back, but still think a resonator makes a banjo more comfortable to hold. Instead of removing the resonator, how about lining its inside with felt (like Deering's John Hartford models) or any other sound-absorbing material. My old Kalamazoo's reso has a sheet of bubble wrap, roughly cut to fit its inside back, held in place by a big chunk of foam between it and the co-rod.

I've got a spare fiberskyn I can mail you for free if you PM me your address. I always take them off, so I've got a few. But I'll send it to you and you can try if you want.

Edit: oops just saw you're in France. Mailing probably would be kinda pricey, sorry. 

The Washburn B-10 has a cast bottlecap rim and resonator, but their B7 is a super cheap-looking openback... If that's what you have, I agree you'll get much better results out of your Ibanez.

But... The only new "Paramount" banjo I see on offer in the US is a Fender openback (PB-180E). If yours is one of those, it should have more potential for improvement than either of those Washburns. (more brackets, a simple tone ring, better tuners and tailpiece, etc.)

The same models are frequently sold under very different names in different countries.

In other ideas- for the cost of all of those changes- get yourself a new banjo that sounds like what you want. I have about 6 "SOW"S EARS" instruments- --- never, never going to be a Silk Purse.

What cost?

Removing a flange plate and resonator is free. Changing tailpiece downpressure and head tension is free. Changing a bridge costs $15-25. Changing a head costs $25. Strings cost $5, but need to be changed either way so that cost doesn't count.

All the changes combined amount to about $50. Maybe $75 if you change the tailpiece too. You can't get a new banjo for that price.