Thanks everybody for your advice! As it turns out, I'm ending up going in a completely different (and - gulp - a little pricier) direction. I've just bought a 1999 Mike Ramsey Fairbanks Electric that was on consignment at Zepps in North Carolina. Like the Galax, it's a mahogany neck banjo with the Whyte Laydie tone ring - but a little thinner rim.

I was able to find some sound files of these and found that, at least over the internet, it sounded like exactly what I was looking for - mellow, with good note definition. (In case anybody cares, you can - for the moment - hear this exact banjo here.

Apparently these hold their value very well - even increase in value because of the difficulty of getting hold of them.

Thanks everyone for the advice - I particularly appreciate the reminder of how important it is to at least hear the banjo before buying. I'll let you know how it goes.

Warmly,
Dan