Great Thread!

I was an aspiring guitar player, starting in the '50s with a old Harmony nylon-string model. I later decided I wanted the steel-string sound, so I swapped for an import (can't remember the name). During the mid '70s I was given a Yamaha FG-170, which was a great step up! I still have it and would never (apologies to Jack) part with it. I had also been noodling around for several years on one of the old Harmony banjos, the one with a plastic pot. Suddenly, the banjo just jumped up and bit me in the butt! It bit me hard and I have submitted to it's madness. I presently have a collection of banjos, but my favorite is a Gibson Mastertone. I have found that the only antidote to banjo madness is to play as much as possible every day! I still enjoy playing guitar too, and the Yamaha keeps sounding better with age.

Regarding Helen (and rastrelnikov) thoughts about instruments sounding better if used frequently: I have heard that there are musicians who play the old Strats and other museum-bound instruments on a regular basis, to keep them vibrating properly.... Anyone have more info on this?

OT