OK - I get it. I was responding to a duplicate thread while it was being resolved! Hence my confusion.

Mudcatter Bob Clayton has a great book, Leo for learning old time banjo techniques. It's called The Old Timey Banjo Book.

I think you can find a good banjo on the used market. The common banjos, it seems to me are resonator types, and you will probably find it easier to find a good one among those - but there are some wonderful open backed banjos around as well. You'll just have to look harder. I have to say, if you're going to buy a new one you can't go wrong with a Deering. They simply do not make a bad banjo, and even their $300 banjo has a great sound and a fine neck.

If I were looking for a banjo right now, I'd look at all the used ones I could find first. I've seen a few at vintage guitar shows and elsewhere, that are hybrids built form antique parts. That is they seller took an old tenor banjo pot, cleanned it up, put a new head on it, fitted a 5 string neck and bridge on it - and the resultijg instrumnet was pretty darn good! The ones I saw were all in the $300-$450 range, and every one was worth it, just for the sound and the feel. There are lots of great banjo makers out there, making beautiful instruments, and they're easy to find on the web ... but none are cheap. If you've got several thousand to drop, then you can do very well. But if your looking in the range under $2000, you can find some very good instruments, but you'll have to look for 'em.

Anyway - good luck with your search.