In my humble experience, especially for a bluegrass banjo that you hope will get you to jams or stage, this is a really tough price point. New $1000 banjos are still entry level, but you CAN buy a professional level banjo for $1000, if you shop used. As mentioned at the end of the above article. But… that takes searching, shopping, experienced eye (or help), and often set up and banjo mechanical knowledge and ability.

As far as used instruments go, 1000 is maybe a little low for resonator banjos, but I see vintage goldstars and deering sierras in the 1100-1300 range every now and again. I paid 1100 for my 80's gold star a few years ago and still don't see myself ever upgrading from it. For an open back 1000 will definitely get you there with a little patience. I've seen multiple bart reiters (always difficult to pass on when I see those), some very nice looking custom builds, and all sorts of interesting vintage stuff too.

Used RK's (35 and 36) are still around for under $1K. I've had a couple pass through here that were really good banjos. IMO, the ones I have seen are usually better than most GoldStars I've owned and played. Interestingly, the low market price for the RKs doesn't seem to pull down the price of the GoldStars.

Here's a Goldtone CC-100 with upgrades listed in the Classifieds for $500

https://www.banjohangout.org/classified/115107

Other good deals can routinely be found in the The BHO Classifieds.

Sales from the Classifieds often benefit BHO Members (Byers and Sellers) with selling prices well below retail.

$1000 may be a meaningful sounding budget number to many buyers, but it's been more than 10 years since it stopped being an actual price point in new banjos. RK-35 was a $700 banjo when it was introduced in 2010 or so. I forget how close to $1000 the RK-80 or Gold Tone OB-150 used to be.

But the RK-35 and 36, Gold Tone OB-150 have cost more than $1000 for years. The Gold Star GF-85 was well over $1000 when it went out of production.

Everyone's already made the point that the only professional grade bluegrass banjos available for $1,000 are used. And most of those are going to be imports.

My apologies to Chris, on a banjo warehouse thread, but I’ve gotten the best used deals from Guitar Center. They don’t know much about banjos, they reduce prices until something sells, they take offers, they have constant promotional discounts, and if you put something in your shopping cart, but don’t buy it, they start salivating, and e-mail you and even better offer. I had this Sierra in my watchlist for months, as the price came down several times. I knew the ren head and insert bridge might get folks to pass. And even the guitar strap helped. After placing it in my shopping cart, and several e-mails, I purchased it for $998 shipped. The best surprise came after I got it, and the S/N indicated it was a 2006 model, but the tone ring wasn’t drilled. After consulting Deering, I learned that the first run of the 06 tone rings weren’t drilled, and were only used for a short time in new banjos in 2006, making it even sweeter. I replaced the head and bridge, set it up, and have been playing out with it ever since.

Wild to see anyone recommend a CC-100R over a Goodtime for only $50 more.

The CC banjos can't hold a candle to the tone and neck feel of a Goodtime. It's night and day, not even close. 

I repeat ….
… a Goldtone CC-100 with upgrades listed in the Classifieds for $500

Best deal out there for +\_ $1000…a used late 70’s or early 80’s Japanese Mastertone.

Some of the higher Model levels of these Kasuga made Gibson copies can be found in excellent condition for that price point. Dollar for dollar, probably the best banjo for your banjo buck out there. At that point in time, they were probably a better product than anything Gibson produced for quality of build.

Just takes a little hunting of the usual places to hunt one down. 

It is kind of confusing to find the used banjos on Guitar Centers website. They are listed under folk and traditional. Right now there are 8 pages of them. Some insanely over priced. Some ok, and some look like decent deals. I stick with American made stuff, so know very little about Imports like Iida, Fender, etc, but there is always plenty of them well under $1000, that look like full blown tone ring banjos. And as mentioned in my last post, don't just buy one. If you're interested in one, click the heart and put it in your wish list. If it doesn't sell, the price will come down every few weeks or so. And I can just about guarantee you'll get an email with a discount offer. Especially if you put it in your shopping cart, but don't buy it. Also, every listing is from a brick and mortar location, and provide an email address. They have always been great for answering questions, and they do entertain offers, and love to deal. Keep in mind they probably gave some kid nothing for it, in trade on an electric guitar, and banjos aren't a big seller, so when they get a bite, they like making a deal. They also offer a 10% discount to military members and veterans, but you have to ask... and that's a lot of money on a $1000 banjo. I've entertained myself for years stalking this website, and every now and then, I score something I can't resist. 

quote:

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Originally posted by Alvin Conder

Best deal out there for +\_ $1000…a used late 70’s or early 80’s Japanese Mastertone.

Some of the higher Model levels of these Kasuga made Gibson copies can be found in excellent condition for that price point. Dollar for dollar, probably the best banjo for your banjo buck out there. At that point in time, they were probably a better product than anything Gibson produced for quality of build.

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I'm not certain the Kasuga Masterclones (Aria Pro II perhaps?) are demonstrably better banjos than the RK-35/36 or Gold Tone OB-150 -- which might go for under $1000 used. They're still very good banjos and I imagine their used price might have increased to keep up with inflation and the cost of new import banjos someone might buy instead.

The Tokai, which I think was essentially the same as the Gold Star (but I could be wrong) probably meets your description of a Japanese banjo that was better than a Gibson at the time. I think the Tokai and Gold Star had a 3-ply rim before Gibson went back to that.

quote:The Tokai, which I think was essentially the same as the Gold Star (but I could be wrong) probably meets your description of a Japanese banjo that was better than a Gibson at the time. I think the Tokai and Gold Star had a 3-ply rim before Gibson went back to that.

From a Scott Zimmerman desert rose earlier comment in another thread: "The Tokai T 850, 1000, and 1200 were basically Goldstar models for the Japanese market only. Below the 850 they were not the same quality at all."