Recording King Bluegrass Series RK-R20 Songster Banjo  

For an affordable banjo for beginners and most other casual players, this is an excellent choice.  No shortcuts have been taken in making this instrument.  I have seen many banjos of much a higher price range that are not made as well, look as good, or sound as well.

I believe it is important for a beginner to have a banjo that sounds good to train his/her ear to how the Banjo should sound.  This banjo is exceptional for the beginner.  I own another banjo, but the sound doesn't compare to this one.  I doubt I will ever want to upgrade to a more expensive banjo in the future.

Naturally, the banjo needs to be setup.  Like the bridge is not set in place and the head needs to be tightened to the right tone.  Also, the tuner screws need to be tightened.  The manufacturer does not send any instructions.  I would suggest the manufacturer send setup instructions, with instructions on setting the bridge position, installing strings, and tightening and tuning the head.  After all beginners are buying this banjo, and may not have a local music store familiar with setting up banjos, like is my situation.  I had to get on the internet a find the information I needed.

Either that, or the manufacturer needs to make sure their distributers setup all banjos, before shipping to customers.  Some music stores do this, which is good when shipping to a beginner with no local music shop available.

The workmanship is exceptional.  There are absolutely no flaws, on my banjo.  For an economical banjo, it looks like an expensive banjo.  When a beginner can buy an affordable instrument he/she is proud of, it should be a motivator to encourage them to practice.

This banjo is one of the best looking banjos I've ever seen.

After seeing the workmanship and hearing the quality of sound, the price is unbelievable.  This is the perfect choice for the beginner.  A beginner doesn't want to invest too much into a banjo, until they know whether they like to play or can play the banjo.  This is a great beginner banjo.  Later, when a person is an experienced player he/she can make an educated choice in upgrading, if he/she ever wants to upgrade from this banjo.  I doubt I ever will.

I like the whole design of this banjo.  I am an engineer by trade and a woodworker, and am impressed with the design and finish of this banjo.  The design of the mounts and rings not only look good, but are designed very well.  Much better than my other banjo.  The stain and finish of the wood is perfect.  I can't find a flaw anywhere.  There are no flaws in the chrome, and no rough edges.

I read a complaint about the tuners, but these tuners are good, as far as I can see.  They did need the screws tightened, but may be left lose on purpose, for storage purposes.  I tightened them, and my banjo stays tuned, as it should.

I'm not an expert, but I think you would have to spend several thousands of dollars more to get into a banjo to beat the quality of this banjo.  I encourage all beginners to begin with this banjo, and ungrade from here, if necessary.

I do think the manufacturer needs to provide an instruction manual.  I think this is a banjo targeted to beginners, and the manufacturer needs to keep in mind the beginner knows nothing about the banjo setup.  Many may be trying to self teach, because there are no banjo teachers available, like my situation.  If the manufacturer wants to encourage more banjo players and sell more banjos, providing an instruction manual with their beginner banjos is a must.  Without a setup manual this banjo can be a frustrating piece of junk to many beginners.

This has everything that a banjo should need, no more, no less.

The instant i started checking out this banjo i could feel that it was heavy.  Its good to have a banjo that is heavy, especially if the banjo has a resonator.  It means the materials used in the making of it aren't cheap or fragile.

There are definately cheaper banjos on the market, of which many i have played on, but this banjo for the price that they are asking is absolutly excellent.

Unless you are going into banjo professionally, this is the banjo to buy.  I will first say that the color that is shown in the picture is the accual color of the banjo. This product has all of the "bells and whistles" that you could ask for. Even if you are an advanced player this is still a good backup or standard banjo.

A Fantastic Starter banjo You would have a hard time finding a better one

About the same as the lesser starter banjos but the rk-r20 Has a rolled brass tone ring for a much better sound. And I love the decorative inlays over the old dots.

A Very good product for the money

The only setup problem I had was the planetary tuners. Thy would not hold the tension on the strings. But when I took it to a music store to have a pro look at it he showed me that all I had to do was tighten the screws on the tuners and it worked great. Now I have a banjo and mud on my face.

You could buy a starter banjo for less but all you would get an pot and tone ring. A brass tone ring sounds a lot better then aluminum.     Pot not quite as good as forged brass you find in the high end banjos.

All the features on this banjo seem to be above the others in the price range. It has a tone ring, wood pot, a flange, gorgeous inlay work, great tuners!

I've played guitar for 12 years so I can tell the difference between a good quality instrument and a cheap crappy one. This banjo is amazing. I've only had it for a month but it stays in tune great, it sounds amazing and it definitely seems like an instrument that will last a long time and will be of good enough quality that I won't have to upgrade as I get better at playing the banjo!

As I mentioned it outshines all the other banjos in this price range, therefore it has amazing value!