Open back banjos are typically more gentle and quieter than their resonator-equipped counterparts, making them better suited to traditional music forms where they don’t compete with louder instruments for attention. Open backs may be particularly suitable when used for clawhammer (frailing) styles of playing banjo or clawhammer style of clawhammer (frailing) playing banjo.
Open back banjos are relatively cost-effective and simple to maintain; an ideal starting instrument would be the Deering Goodtime Two.
The Sound
Selecting your first banjo can be daunting task for beginners. They may feel intimidated by all of the terminology involved and confused over its two distinct types: open back and resonator banjos.
The tone ring, which either sits atop or attached to the top rim directly below its head, is an integral component in creating the sound of a banjo. Tightness and material composition (such as skin, Renaissance or Fiberskyn) of its tightening band can alter its overall tone.
Open back banjos tend to produce a smoother sound than their resonator counterparts and tend to be lighter. They are ideal for clawhammer and frailing styles of playing and capture the rustic sounds from Appalachia that many prefer harken back to when listening to American music.
The Body
Your banjo’s body – commonly referred to as its pot – serves as its heart. Here, tension hoop and flange attach; its overall construction – such as whether or not it includes a tone ring – determines its sound.
Resonator banjos are often preferred by bluegrass pickers and those playing clawhammer style (frailing), although not necessary if your goal is to do either of those types of playing. Open back banjos tend to offer more nuanced and gentle string band music sounds while being lighter weight than their resonator counterparts.
The Neck
A banjo neck serves as the primary conduit for sound waves to travel along and thus plays a decisive role in its tone. Therefore, its material and tightness have significant bearing on its sound qualities.
Vega’s long neck open back banjos feature solid maple bodies with intricate, pearl-inlayed fretwork. Ideal for string band music as well as solo banjo playing.
Folk musicians tend to favor long scale banjos due to their longer scale length which allows them to play without needing to hunch over too much when playing them. Their sound is typically warm and full without as many sharp overtones like with resonator banjos.
The Head
Banjo novices often don’t understand why certain 5-string banjos come equipped with a resonator while others don’t, or what it actually does. Furthermore, many don’t realize that open back banjos come in various rim materials and come equipped with various tone rings (and without).
Open-back banjos provide clawhammer players with a distinctively smooth and mellow tone, and tend to weigh less and be considerably cheaper than banjos with resonators. Although most accomplished clawhammer players use these, if you ever wish to switch over easily by loosening thumbscrews on your resonator banjo and detaching it from its banjo.
The Tone Ring
Tone rings play an integral role in creating the sound of a banjo, as they add mass and weight that contributes to sharpening its sound quality.
The Recording King Madison OT26 features a traditional scalloped Whyte Laydie tone ring to give your banjo that classic old-time tone and percussive lilt heard throughout decades of traditional music. Plus, with no-knot tailpiece and 18 brackets for fine-tuning the head’s tension to suit different playing styles and genres – making this open back banjo an ideal open back choice for traditional musicians!