Hi

I'm a beginner banjo player. My girlfriend bought me one (5-string, open-back) for my last birthday, in June.

This is it: £120 from Hobgoblin music
http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/bigpic.php?ID=GR3705

Obviously, being a beginner, I dunno how it's tone compares to "a really good banjo". But I love it.

I'm using the Pete Seeger banjo book. It's a great book, although I wouldn't say it's absolutely the clearest tutor on the essentials. Describing picking styles in words is a tricky thing to do and, to be honest, I have no idea if I'm playing "correctly". The way Seeger describes frailing, for instance, seems to be different to how frailing is described in various tutorials on youtube et al.