I know I have messaged with a number of you about the quest for excellent lighter banjos. I have been tried old RB-100s and a variety of woodies and hoop banjos. The challenge always seems to be note definition (not a hollow sound), focus, and the ability to tease out different tones. My current lightweight is an Afton Star.
Today, I was blown away unexpectedly by the new BG-175 from Gold Tone. This thing is 8.5 pounds. And it has none of the issues that many lightweight banjos have in terms of definition. In fact, if anything, it is almost a little too bright off the shelf, but that is much easier to tone down than it is to take a banjo with a more cavernous response and improve its focus.
The neck is fantastic.
Some non-tone ring banjos also can get lost in the crowd. This one will not have that problem. It is LOUD!
People often remark that certain lower-priced banjos are good “for what they are,” or “for what you pay.” This one does not need that qualification. It is just really good.
The street price everywhere seems to be $999. It comes with a decent gig bag that has a neck block.
I had planned to look at the OB-100, which is their copy of the RB-100. But I grabbed the BG-175. As a bonus, it has full inlays (FE). It also has shoe brackets so it is convertible to open back, which would be interesting.
The BG-175 is designated as “Mastertone,” but I have to admit, I get lost in Gold Tone’s naming convention. This is from the BG line, which I thought was the cheaper (non-Mastertone) line. There also apparently is an OB-175, which is a different banjo.
Anyhoo -- if you also are getting older, and you're looking to have a lightweight banjo ready to grab, find and try one of these. I really see no reason to pay 3x as much for less banjo, which is honestly what some of the older RB-100s are.
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