BJO-35Pro 5 String Banjo OB : For what it is you'd be hard pressed to find anything better.

This is my first banjo. i started out playing violin in my youth and more recently played mountain dulcimer. My goal here was to buy the least expensive instrument that still had a core of quality materials, properly assembled. My first upgrades will probably be adding an arm rest and some better tuners. Neither is urgently needed. After resolving a couple of minor set up issues it plays well right out of the box. There are other vendors advertising "beginner bundles" for about the same price that include a yard long list of features and accessories. In order to do this they shave the quality of everything in the box down to the absolute, inescapable, minimum. This manufacturer has taken a more rational approach. Good materials and build quality then keep the price low with a limited feature list. That's all i need or wish to pay for at this time.