Far as I am concerned..bling is over rated..n adds way too much cost..

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Originally posted by ScruggsMcGee

Definitely a multi-ply problem. I've noticed this across all musical instrument sales. Less everything sales too. When there's less and less musicians playing music fulltime, the urgency to get good now fades away for the next generation coming up. So that translates to less music sales, less fans, less talent, less concerts, less nightlife, and many more symptoms.

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Why play music ..

When all you need to do is push a button... :0/..

I can not do sit for a good amount of time ..just noodeling on me banjos..

I find it helpful fer the quality of life..

Banjos have been made for a very long time and they remain playable for hundreds of years.
Replaceable parts (especially necks),online advice for at home rebuilds and more attention these days (all respect to Bela) to Tommy,Billy and Molly's guitar playing.

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Originally posted by steve davis

Banjos have been made for a very long time and they remain playable for hundreds of years.
Replaceable parts (especially necks),online advice for at home rebuilds and more attention these days (all respect to Bela) to Tommy,Billy and Molly's guitar playing.

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Steve, would you post some sound files of your Stew mac?

Thanks,

ken

There are so many variables involved in the original question or comment... are banjo sales declining? My guess is yes. Add to that even the fact that the population is going up... SO if (pull a number out of the air) 1000 banjos were sold last year, EVEN if 1000 banjos are sold this year, the percentage of banjos sold per capita is actually down, since the population is going up. BUT I suspect the ACTUAL number of banjos sold is going down. That will probably turn around at some point and soon I would think. The baby boomers, they have tons of instruments of all kinds, yes... even banjos. Many of those are very good high end expensive instruments. As the baby boomers begin to get rid of their 20 banjos, the market WILL become flooded and saturated. The next couple generation of banjo pickers is smaller in number, AND they do NOT have the disposable income necessary to purchase high end expensive banjos; ON top of that - many of them just absolutely DO NOT GET IT! Meaning, they are just as happy playing a new (or used) banjo of nearly any name... it doesn't have to say Gibson, Stelling, or Huber on the peghead..... they are just as happy playing a 2500 dollar instrument as they are playing a 5000 dollar instrument. Regardless of where all this eventually leads, I am pretty certain the price of expensive, high end, vintage banjo is probably going down... time will tell. Bluegrass and the related musics ARE changing - Yes, there will always be those who will play Earl and JD and Sonny and Bill Emerson, and that's a good thing. BUT as time goes by other names will begin to move to the top of the heap among the general public AND banjo players specifically. Tis' a shame but that is life. Well, one could go off on a thousand different avenues when discussing this topic but since time and space are not unlimited.... that will be enough for now!

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Originally posted by From Greylock to Bean Blossom

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Originally posted by steve davis

Banjos have been made for a very long time and they remain playable for hundreds of years.
Replaceable parts (especially necks),online advice for at home rebuilds and more attention these days (all respect to Bela) to Tommy,Billy and Molly's guitar playing.

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Steve, would you post some sound files of your Stew mac?

Thanks,

ken

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I'd be happy to,Ken,but right now it's like the Straw Man in the Wizard of Oz after the flying monkeys tore him up.

The rim is in my Fox (Bob French) banjo and the neck is on an RK rim for no good reason.

You've just given me the incentive to get that banjo back together.

I kinda miss that straight through 5th string tuner.I noticed one on Bela's banjo.

I had a ball putting that kit together.I didn't have much extra time,but between dragging and playing gigs I finished it in a week and played it everywhere for 13 years.

I believe a great sounding,fun to play,solid or semi-solid banjo that weighs 5-8 pounds will do very well.It would have to have excellent banjo tone and pack some electronic options,too but the superb banjo tone would have to be available,too.
I believe the science is there for the banjo tone(s) already if it were explored.
Hard for a 5 year old to get comfortable with a banjo that's so big and heavy.

Size matters.