Most of the classic ones by Bob Flesher. Looking at his website of a couple years ago was pure banjo heaven.
For that matter a Liberty Quadrille has stood the test of time.

I have to agree with Lorenzo magnificent. Ken LeVan‘ banjo build could be unique and original. Although opinions very give the nature of this post.

Gibson All American..... KER POW ! !

We may have a new entrant.  Isn't she lovely?  

I still prefer the mahogany, Gibson RB3 configuration with the "Leaves & Bows" inlay pattern. Huber and Gold Tone are still producing that configuration. It's understated elegance.

I think the Stelling Virginian is the most beautiful banjo (and it sounds wonderful too). The cardinals and dogwood flower inlays are gorgeous. For me the Staghorn is a close second. For a non-Stelling model, I really like the look of the Prucha Bat.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Brian Murphy

We may have a new entrant.  Isn't she lovely?  oh my...

---

Speaking of understated elegance:

A 1930-ies Gibson RB-1 (of course with a retrofit flathead ring and top coordinator rod)

Big difference between visually attractive and grotesque! (Former owner of a 1927 Bela Vocce). Boston Museum of Fine Arts has a wonderful banjo collection of mostly Exhibition quality instruments.

I would add that any banjo with Peral inlays engraved by Consalvi would definitely visually attractive.

Bob

I had just started reading the thread, and was thinking "Style 5 Deluxe", and then looked and saw Dick Bowden's reply.

Having said that, it's hard to beat the simple all-around elegance of the original Granada.

Alan Munde's original Stelling Scrimshaw is in the running, too.
(and it sounded as good as it looked when he played it...)

https://www.banjohangout.org/forum/attachment_manager/a_mngr_added.asp?addType=1&fileID=319762

Forgot about this banjo. A friend of mine owns it . Greg Rich did it for Gibson

I wonder if it was expensive to obtain the trademark rights on the Rat Fink character?

Skip is right....if you love banjos, you must go to the American Banjo Museum. My family dropped me off there one day years ago and I spent the afternoon in there (I knew they weren't interested in looking at banjos for hours!).

Like it's been said: "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"; but I will put my vote in for the Stelling Alan Munde Signature Staghorn. It has always just "knocked my socks off"!

Typically I don't notice much beyond whether it's a 4-string or a 5-string and resonator/open back  .... though generally I favour an "elegant in its simplicity" approach.

[However, I'm still dumbfounded in regards to how the same outfit that produced the UG-LEE!! late-60s Barracudas could then come up with the v-e-r-y "visually attractive" early-70s stuff.   ]

Looking at those Greg Rich custom banjos, they look to be made purely as collector's items. I wouldn't be surprised if they were played less than an hour total.

This thread shows me that banjos thread the needle for so many interests. They are musical instruments (musicians), they are machines with multiple interchangeable parts that can be modified (tinkerers/gearheads), and they are sometimes valuable collector's items that are displayed in museums and in private collections (collectors).

Hard to say. In the bluegrass world, the Gibson "sparkle 6" gets my vote for striking a good balance between tasteful and gaudy with that "Argentine gray" finish and the gold-sparkle purfling. Alas, I don't like its inlays. For inlays, I prefer Gibsons wreath pattern or the slotted bowties of the style 7.

i think the style 6 sparkle is king of the hill.... lots of glitter but not too tacky.

It's obviously the Deering Banjosaurus Long Neck and I'll hear not a word otherwise.

deeringbanjos.com/products/ban...long-neck