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Best Deal on 5-String Openback Banjos, Specializing in American-made Banjos

5-String Openback Banjos are typically played in the clawhammer style. Clawhammer (also called traditional or folk) style banjo playing is much more mellow than bluegrass. Players pick with only two fingers, usually the thumb and index finger. Clawhammer is most often played on an openback banjo. The sound is absorbed by clothing,  which produces a softer sound (compared to a bluegrass banjo with a resonator). Banjo.com carries a wide selection of open-back banjo models in stock, every day.

Our best-selling openback banjo is easily the Deering Goodtime Openback followed by the 12” rim Deering Goodtime Americana. These are well built, American-made banjos, that won’t break the bank. If you are looking to upgrade from the Goodtime series, be sure to check out our selection of Vega banjos. The Vega Little Wonder and Vega Old Tyme Wonder are extremely popular banjos with a classic look and exceptional sound. Within the Deering professional line up, the Deering Sierra Openback and Deering Eagle 2 Openback are really popular. Owner Barry Waldrep is particularly fond of the Deering Clawgrass – wow, what a banjo! Other banjo models that stand out, the Nechville Atlas and the Bishline Oakie. This might be a hard choice!

Sale!
Made in USA
$499.00

The Deering Goodtime banjo produces a vibrant ringing tone from its natural finished violin grade maple rim. Easy to play! Durable and easy to maintain! At only 4 pounds, the weight makes it ideal for both children and adults to play and to travel with conveniently.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$499.00

Presenting a fresh take on Deering Banjo Company's top-selling banjo, the Goodtime Deco banjo embraces the essence of the American Art Deco era from the 1920s, highlighting an innovative inlay pattern and peghead etchings.

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Made in USA
$559.00

We probably wouldn't recommend this banjo for the player who has just taken up the banjo - but for those players who want an authentic old time banjo sound and understand the idea of a fretless instrument, this one is for you.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$559.00

Made in America. Easy to play! Durable and easy to maintain! The Goodtime banjo produces a vibrant ringing tone from its natural finished violin grade maple rim. At only 4 pounds, the weight makes it ideal for both children and adults to play and to travel with conveniently.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$679.00

The Deering Goodtime Americana is the first 5-string banjo from Deering to be fitted with their new Grand 12" rim, giving this banjo a stronger bass response and warmer tone. The fullness and warmth of the larger rim is further enhanced by the addition of a 12" Renaissance banjo head which beautifully complements the instrument both visually and sonically.

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Sale!
$679.00

The Deering Goodtime Americana is the first 5-string banjo from Deering to be fitted with their new Grand 12″ rim, giving this banjo a stronger bass response and warmer tone. The fullness and warmth of the larger rim is further enhanced by the addition of a 12″ Renaissance banjo head which beautifully complements the instrument both visually and sonically.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$679.00

The Goodtime Banjo Limited Edition Cherry banjo is a limited release of our best-selling Goodtime model. Only 100 will be made!

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Sale!
Made in USA
$679.00

The Goodtime Americana Deco banjo, with its 12” rim, unveils a fresh design inspired by the American Art Deco era from the 1920s, marked by an elegant hardwood inlay pattern and detailed peghead carvings.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$699.00

The Goodtime Banjo Beginner Package includes a Goodtime banjo, a TKL gig bag, banjo strap, picks, tuner, and online lessons. This package includes everything needed to successfully get started playing the banjo! Including the perfect lightweight (4 lb) Goodtime banjo that you can take with you when you travel.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$799.00

Learn to play old time Appalachian banjo.  Featuring the brand new Goodtime Americana banjo, you’ll learn to play old time tunes in the clawhammer style. Comes with a durable TKL gig bag.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$859.00

The stunning new Artisan Goodtime banjo embodies Greg Deering's lifelong vision for the Deering Banjo Company - to make the best sounding, best playing, best looking, and best value U.S.A. made banjo that he possibly could. It is a never ending quest that Deering pursues every single day.

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Sale!
$859.00

Lightweight enough to travel with, convenient enough to keep by your easy chair at home, the Goodtime Artisan is great for hours of practice with a neck that is both comfortable to play and accurate to fret.

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Made in USA
$859.00

The stunning new Artisan Goodtime Jr. is four inches shorter than the Artisan Goodtime making it ideal to travel with. Durable and easy to maintain, this banjo is also perfect for children.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$899.00

Finally! A banjo that can be played at any volume. The new Goodtime Acoustic Electric banjo features the factory installed Kavanjo banjo head pickup system.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$919.00

The Goodtime Artisan Americana™ features a 12” rim, which gives the banjo a stronger bass response and a much warmer tone. The fullness and warmth of the larger rim is further enhanced by the addition of a 12” Renaissance head which beautifully complements the banjo both visually and sonically.

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Sale!
$1,499.99

The mighty CEB-5's fourteen-inch pot (the largest banjo pot in production today by any maker) with a custom Remo Renaissance head and custom-designed high-tension wound nylon strings on a custom bridge pushes out gut-rumbling lowdown banjo mojo.

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Made in USA
$1,645.00

The Pisgah Dobson is perfect for those looking for a lighter-weight banjo with good sustain and projection.

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Made in USA
$1,695.00

Classic Look with classic tone: The Woodchuck is the most affordable handmade open back banjo on the market today.

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Made in USA
$1,795.00

The Possum, which features a persimmon tone ring, gives a warm rich tone without being overpowering.

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Made in USA
$1,795.00

The Pisgah Appalachian is all you need if you are looking for a quality, step-up banjo!

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Made in USA
$1,895.00

The Rambler Dobson is the first affordable, sustainable, hand-made spun-over rim banjo on the market! 

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Made in USA
$1,945.00

This is an open back claw hammer model. It is very tastefully built with simple but elegant appointments. Raw brass hardware, two ply maple rim and Dobson style tone ring, curved finger board scoop, black tuning machine buttons and wooden arm rest.

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Made in USA
$1,995.00

Similar to the Rambler Dobson but with a few upgrades.  Available in walnut or cherry, this banjo comes with an aged copper or brass rim in 11" or 12".

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Made in USA
$2,059.00$2,149.00

The Vega White Oak banjos are ideal for clawhammer and folk music and players will marvel at the bright tone and distinct note clarity from a banjo that weighs less than 6 pounds!

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Made in USA
$2,119.00

This is a light-weight banjo that is made especially for musicians who want the warmer tones that go well in a string band with a fiddle and bass. The result is a very mellow banjo sound, a lovely full tone.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$2,159.00

A Mahogany, warm and woody, light weight longneck banjo, the Woodsongs Campfire Longneck is a collaboration between Michael Jonathan of Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour and the Deerings to create a banjo like the one Michael plays that is affordable for his broad audiences.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$2,299.00

Deering's newest professional grade openback 5-string banjo. The Eagle II™ banjo is a whole new breed of banjo. It features the ground breaking, patent pending Twenty-Ten™ Tone Ring which is a completely original Deering design that gives the banjo an extremely clear tone.

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Made in USA
$2,339.00

A spun-brass tone ring, ideal for Old Time, Classical, Folk, Civil War music, over 100 years of Vega tradition and Deering's innovative approach to banjo crafting went into the creation of the Vega Senator model.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$2,399.00

Open back, 12" maple rim, maple neck with ebony fingerboard, Dobson style tone ring, antique brass hardware, wooden armrest, frailing scoop, includes hard case.

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Made in USA
$2,449.00

Our most popular and affordable professional grade banjo now available as an openback. Greg Deering knows what it feels like to want a professional banjo and not be able to afford it, so this has become the flagship of our line.

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Made in USA
$2,495.00

A tribute to the original Vega Little Wonder banjos, the Pisgah Wonder harkens to the golden age of banjo building. 

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Made in USA
$2,495.00

The Dobson Professional features our new slotted headstock design and is available in stained curly maple. 

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Made in USA
$2,495.00

This is our version of the legendary Vega Tubaphone banjo from the turn of the century. A very close representation with some modern improvements, this banjo will stand out in any crowd.

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Made in USA
$2,495.00

This is our version of the Vega Whyte Laydie banjo from the turn of the century. The Pisgah Laydie is definitely a show stopper in any banjo setting!

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Sale!
Made in USA
$2,563.00$3,050.00

Take the weight of the world off your shoulders. The Atlas is ultra light (around six pounds), sounds great and is a joy to play. Its design was a Nechville-Sagmoen collaboration and echos the Ashborn Banjos of the 1860s. Modern Nechville innovations make the Atlas the most advanced traditional openback to date.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$4,499.00

The tubaphone tone ring creates that unique Vega tone in this professional quality maple banjo. The Vega No.2 is a banjo made of top grade curly maple stained light amber and buffed to a high gloss.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$4,499.00

This is the exact same banjo as the Deering Clawgrass banjo but is made with less expensive aesthetic materials (no gold plating and engraving, etc.). The tone and playability is exactly the same. Mark Johnson currently uses this banjo as his banjo when he travels.

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Made in USA
$4,859.00

Whether you want to re-create the folk music of the 1960's or musically travel into unexplored banjo territory or simply have a superb instrument to accompany vocals, the Vega Long Neck banjo will provide the versatile, sweet, beautiful banjo

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Made in USA
$5,629.00

If, like Greg Deering, you first found a love of the banjo from listening to the Kingston Trio, having one of these wonderful banjos makes you a part of something very special.

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Sale!
Made in USA
$7,999.00

A dramatic dragon is exquisitely inlayed in mother of pearl and abalone shell in the peghead of the Vega Dragon Star. The many scaled, fire breathing dragon's tail and claws are entwined around a bold Vega star amid vividly engraved in the classical tradition.

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Made in USA
$14,399.00

An openback with punch! For modern clawhammer style players who enjoy jamming in any style of music this powerful openback banjo can hold it's own with a loud, clear bell like tone normally only found in resonator banjos.

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Banjo.com carries one of the largest selections of open-back banjos anywhere. We are banjo players and can answer any banjo buying questions. Once you find the perfect open-back banjo, head over to our parts & accessories section of our store and stock up on banjo picks and banjos strings. Protect your new open-back banjo with a banjo case or bag. We also carry banjo tools and other banjo care and maintenance items. Have questions about open-back banjos? Call us at 678-488-BANJO or use our contact form.