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Somewhere in the future I would like to get a banjo (and learn how to play it, naturally) so I wonder if there are any banjo players around here to give me some tips - in terms of makers, prices, maybe where to find some learning materials?

Thank you.

I play tenor banjo and I love it. Mine is a Harmony Roy Smeck model. The pan is made out of bakelite and has a fiber drum head. I also have a mid 60's Framus Plectrum Banjo (which is still just four strings but a longer scale) that I don't play as much. Just keep your eye out and you can find some good ones for pretty cheap. I got my Plectrum at Music Go Round for pretty cheap. It had been there for a while.

You can hear the Tenor on "Dr. Langstrom's Dental Assistant" which is here: http://www.myspace.com/smalltimeruffians
and I either played the Plectrum or my brothers Fender 5 string on "Army of Undead Soldiers", Put the Letter Back has the Tenor on it here: http://www.myspace.com/winterpanic

I realise this can be considered cheating, but how about something like this?

http://www.thomann.de/nl/tenayo_guitar_banjo.htm

I've got a tenor banjo.  It's a "good-time", made by Deering in the U.s.

A tenor banjo seems to be a good route for guitarists, tuned to DGBE, quite easy to pick it up and play.

Orang Goreng wrote: I realise this can be considered cheating, but how about something like this?

http://www.thomann.de/nl/tenayo_guitar_banjo.htm

That's cheating indeed, but awesome cheating. I always wanted to play Skinned by Blind Melon, but I don't find it very interesting on guitar...

I own a tenor banjo (together with my bro), but I cheat and have it tuned CFA#D (like the four middle strings of a guitar capo'ed at third fret). I had a guy who actually can play banjo properly at home and he said "What he fuck - you can't play this thing!" 

I have one, but don't play it and never bothered to.  Its an old banjo, no clue on brand, that I'm thinking of getting rid just because I hate to see musical instruments sitting around.

My brother just started picking up our grandmother's old banjo, and we've dated it to abut 1931. We just replaced the bridge and head, as they were getting pretty old. My brother's crazy, he has no problem thinking in new tunings, new clefs, new musical realms! He started playing bass, then went to upright, then to cello, the to clarinet, then to oboe, then to bassoon, then to cello, then to violin, back to basses, back to violin, and now guitar. Violin came back, so did mando, and now, why the hell not, banjo!
Anyhow after going through my grandma's old books, he started trying out some guitar riffs on it, and it was pretty funny! Surf Wax America by Weezer... of course Stairway... and then onto Van Halen! In fact, he's so into guitar shredding on the banj that he wants to have a sideproject called Banj Halen. How great is that?!

hobb_masta_flex wrote: Banj Halen.

Pure quality!

Used to go to lots of BG jams...as a mandolin player Banjo is almost a curse word. Play so loud and tacky no one can hear our finesse :p

Who is everyone's most influential banjoist?

Anybody have a Gatcomb banjo?

Well, for most influential, obviously Béla Fleck! I'm such a big fan of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, seriously! My friend got to sit in at this bass master class with Victor Wooten, their bassist, at some music festival in Colorado after he saw them perform... needless to say, I was super envious....