I went on a music store jaunt today and tried out a bunch of banjos and guitars. One brand that I was very impressed with is "Morgan Monroe". I wasn't able to Google up much about them, but I assume they are Korean made (which probably means they are identical to one or two other brands out there but with a different label). They may just be yet another Saga or Samick-made brand. Or they may be made by the Canadian folks that make Simon & Patrick, Art & Luthery etc. Anyway, he banjos seem to be of about the same quality as Goldtones and the guitars that I tried reminded me of Deans. There were also a bunch of Morgan Monroe mandolins, but I don't play mando well enough to even pick one up if somebody's listening.

By the way, I tried a Gibson Earl Scruggs model banjo in one store and would give it a definite thumbs down. It may have just needed some setup work, but right of the rack the Morgan Monroe sounded better at 20% of the price.

Bruce