I am not a good banjo player,but I know a good banjo when I play one, just like I know a good guitar (I am a good guitarist, but not a great guitarist). I have played a lot of good/great banjos, but the best open-back banjos were/are made in Europe, although it has to be said that those Ibanez banjos mentioned above are incredibly good value if you can lay hands on one. I play a John Grey, made in London, and it owes its incredible versatility to its extremely long scale. For that bluegrass sound, it is astounding, but the best-sounding banjos I ever heard were hand-made by a Dutch maker, whose name I have forgotten. I met two Danish guys playing them at Cambridge folk festival in the 80s, and they SANG! Incidentally, my guitar is a Bacon, and I've owned too many Gibsons, and the occasional Vega. My opinion is that Gibsons are good but over-rated, Bacons are good but need a compensated bridge, Vegas are too quiet in comparison to the others mentioned. The point to be made is that the American makers went with the closed back, while the European makers tried to progress further with the open back. Every banjo player's dream, though, should be an open-back Abbott(a work of genius) !