Vangoa 5 String Banjo Open Back Full Size Clawhammer Beginner Kit with Frosted Remo Head, Maple Banjo with Geared 5th Tuner, Natural

Was looking for a starter banjo for my 23 year old son who is a musician and kind of a snob when it comes to his collection of stringed instruments. The Vangoa banjo was the perfect thing. The description on their page is spot-on so be confident in how the instrument is described there. First of all, it is a beautiful looking instrument (I wish I had thought to take pictures of it when my son was home—sorry—the photos on Amazon are accurate and the instrument is even more beautiful in person!). It has a rounded, polished, wooden back which is removable if you like a more open sound for certain styles of music (this feature was not at all common in some of the more expensive banjos I looked at). It has pearl-like pegs, an ebony neck and the body itself is very solid with added aesthetic details that contribute to its expensive look. Another added bonus for the price is the ability to plug this banjo into an amp. It also comes with a bag full of goodies—tuner, picks, strings, a strap and more. I was very impressed by customer service. I got a note right away from the company asking if I was happy with the instrument and the email contained some extra manuals and instructions they thought might be helpful. I get the feeling that if there was any problem they would help correct it as soon as possible. We are not banjo experts but we are a musical family and recognize rich tone and a quality instrument. There was no buzzing, nothing tinny or awkward about the sound and after 2 weeks of playing it, my son reports back that he is obsessed and absolutely loves it. He says it is easy to tune and play, It remains in-tune and it is a fine, solid, great—looking banjo. Bonus: you absolutely cannot beat the price. Very satisfied customers here!

This is a well constructed banjo an absolute steal at this price- plus the extras the tuner works great, the strap is very good and the case is very good, the value is amazing. Now I will talk about somethings for more experienced players and things the manufacturers could do to bring this banjo to the next level if they are reading, I am going to list a few things that should be done for very low cost at the manufacturering level (I am guessing around 10 to 15 dollars per unit) would put this on the next level 1. The fret gauge should be increased 2. The position of the 5th string tuner -this I really can't do anything about but could be fixed at the manufacturer with no cost the problem with the position is I use my thumb for a C chord and when playing with the capo on the 2nd fret ( in key of A, very popular) I cannot fret the 4th fret on the D string with my thumb see picture the blonde fret board is the Vangoa the darker one is my Deering Sierra it should line up with the 4th fret. 3. The L bracket for the tailpiece that attaches to the coordinator rod this hole needs to be redrilled to lower the L bracket so the tailpiece sits firmly on the retention hoop see picture. 4. The tuners - they stay in tune but if you are sharp you have to down tune close to a half a step then tune up from there. The cheapest planetary tuners on the market for the 4 tuners on the headstock would be better than what is on there and if you want to upgrade the hole will be drilled for the right size and you won't have 8 tiny screw holes in your headstock ( I am doing this anyway). I bought this as a project doing these simple things wound make this banjo alot more attractive to more experienced players. Even with these issues still a extremely great deal.

This thing is a steal. I don't usually write reviews, but I had to for this. I have played guitar for more than 30 years and I have a lot of instruments, including another banjo. I record a lot and wanted to look into an electric banjo that is cheap, since it isn't my primary instrument. I found this thing and it had good reviews so I figured I'd try it. Once it arrived, I saw I needed to put the bridge on and figured "oh boy this is going to be a mess." I put it on (same distance from 12th fret as distance from nut to 12th fret) , tuned it up, and wow. Action is good. Sound is good. Intonation is good. I plugged it in and ran it through the John Petrucci archetype from Neural and got some really interesting sounds. No plugging it in, it's closed back and plenty loud if you use the picks. I still need to get used to using those picks, especially the thumb pick.Anyway, this thing is perfect for me and was dirt cheap. It comes with a bag, strap, keys, tuner, etc. Great deal and I'll be recommending it to anyone that is interested. I do wish it came with a chord chart.

This is a very nice banjo. It required very little set up out of the box. Template for placement of bridge is a nice addition. I am a long time guitar player, almost 50 years, and a competent amateur luthier. I am impressed with the quality of this open back banjo for the sub $200 price range. It is a solid package, very nice strap, decent gig bag, don't bother with the picks or transducer pickup, those are junk. All in all, nice banjo and a few good accessories.

This is a very nice beginner banjo, for the price, but the tailpiece is very cheaply made. There was no tailpiece bolt included, and the tailpiece just fell off deeming the banjo not playable soon after setting it up.I contacted the company, and they graciously offered to send us the missing piece and 2 sets of banjo strings for our trouble! Nice company to work with!

Came well packaged, I did not have any issues. A very nice looking instrument.Comes with everything you need to setup your instrument and get playing.The head on mine was already pretty evenly tightened, I only made a couple of 1/4 turns near the tail piece after removing the resonator.The 5th tuner is closed and geared, but the 4 main are open back geared, so be careful to keep them cleaned over the years.I haven't tried the pickup or 1/4 inch output yet, letting the strings stretch before checking the truss rod, which needs minor adjusting to resolve some 1st fret buzzing.Overall I would say great value for sure. Its not a Deering Goodtime, but I think the action is good and the sound is crisp and loud with the resonator.

Great value for all you get and a really nice unit

I've play finger picking guitar for years and bluegrass fiddle . I wanted to try my hand at Banjo . This BanjoI bought is better than what I expected . I can see people who never set up a instrument before would have some problems ,it is not the banjo it is a learning curve thing. I am very happy with this banjo on all levels.No problems

Great value, well made and sounds great.

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