Harley Benton HBJ-25LH

I bought this cheap banjo as I just wanted to learn a few country tunes as I usually play guitar, I was very surprised by the quality of this instrument, it is well worth what I paid for it and more, I was skeptical but I was pleasantly surprised as it is the only banjo of its kind for under 500 Euro and as I only wanted a banjo for a bit of fun it was right up my alley, I am no expert in banjos as I mainly play guitar but this instrument suited me down to the ground and the sound is sweet and crisp, and it feels and looks wonderful and brought me hours of enjoyment for such a little price, don't be put off by the price

My only complaint though is I noticed there was a slight crack on the underside of the neck when I pulled it out of the box but nothing serious and it still plays fine, all in all a fantastic product for such little price, well done Harley Benton.

I bought it right after I "discovered" The Dead South while browsing on-line for some new interesting music (I played grunge in high-school, funky, blues, and jazz in college and metal now :)))). The build quality is great for the price (wood and chrome parts, frets, fretboard, Remo skin). The sound is not the best, but if you keep practicing with metal fingerpicks it gets better as you get better. The only minor drawbacks were the tuning pegs and a broken 1st string so I could not enjoy it right out of the box. However, I replaced all the strings with D'Addario banjo strings anyway so it was not that big of a deal. In all, it's a great choice for bluegrass three-finger style first-timers.