I got this same banjo 2 years ago. I was 14 at the time. I did not pick it up because I did not have money to by a tuner or pay for lessons. Now I have a chromebook I was lended from my school. I can now use a online tuner on tunefox. I also have a part time job shoveling manure at a horse barn across from my house. I do not have a liecence yet so it works. I now have enough money to buy some books. In the past three and a half months I have learned foggy mountain breakdown, cripple creek, and a few others. I am planning on getting a new banjo, but like you said this one is works. I would still not have a banjo if it was not so cheap.

@MasonCroneMusic

3 ай бұрын

That’s awesome, keep going with it

@BradBrother

2 ай бұрын

Love that!!!!

Your videos are fresh and honest. Your folks raised you to be a mighty fine young man

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks 😄

I am just starting out and was able to pickup a used banjo on facebook for 60 dollars. I think everyone should start off with something cheep.......just in case you find out that banjo playing is not what you want to do...Keep up the great work. Happy New Years.

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Exactly. It's good to find one that's at least decent though so you won't get discouraged by an unplayable banjo. Thanks, you too!

@VadeRetroSatana96

Жыл бұрын

I would disagree, get the best you can buy. A cheap banjo is discouraging to someone starting out

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@VadeRetroSatana96 Wasn't for me, I started with a cheap one and was thrilled... It's gotta be playable though and some cheap ones aren't.

@VadeRetroSatana96

Жыл бұрын

@@MasonCroneMusic exactly. I was lucky enough to find an old used banjo in a music store that was great when I was 12, still the banjo I play 15 years later. I’ve just noticed that an unplayable banjo is discouraging

@plucknpick6414

Жыл бұрын

Starting out with a really cheap banjo prevents you from advancing too far. I made the mistake of getting a REALLY cheap banjo....and couldn't make it sound like what I was hearing. Then I got another cheap one, same problem. (all under $125). I finally started moving up....and a medium priced banjo allowed me to advance rapidly.

Thank you so much! I've been wanting to posess a banjo for over a year now and i found a cheap one online, it's the same vangoa one and i now know is it worth the money or not! cool content by the way.

you got it sounding pretty good

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

sounds pretty good

I went to a music store a few weeks ago I got myself a banjo. it was on sale. It’s a great banjo and they gave me metal finger picks.

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

That's cool, is it the same one in this video?

@brisonspoultrycorner9846

Жыл бұрын

@@MasonCroneMusic no.I can’t remember the name of it. I will when I get home it’s very similar to that one though except mines a bit nicer and I have thumb screws. it was $529.99 but it was on sale for $349.99

I have that Vangoa banjo bought it a year ago almost to the day to learn on. Interested to see what upgrades you are putting on it to make it better-ish. I have dnt a couple of things to mine like strings, and bridge.

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Cool! Hoping to figure out ways to make it better in part 2.

it doesnt sound bad on camera but that woody tone is noticeable. id love to hear it in comparison to your nice one

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

It definitely sounds better in a video than it does in person. Which is weird since it's the opposite with my nice banjo 😂

Just got my Vangoa .

@MasonCroneMusic

9 ай бұрын

Awesome!

I found my cheap Brydon banjo looks similar to that ,real narrow at the top, hard for thick laborers fingers ,but makes me work hard for clean tones

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing 😀

@user-ou3fo4ec8n

8 ай бұрын

How's the action on the Brydon, I was thinking about getting one

I'm 50 and started playing banjo about three months ago. I have one of these cheapos bought online for about 150. It's ok, I guess. I haven't really tried serious banjos. But that narrow neck is starting to become a real problem for my long fingers. Can't get the 4th string/4th fret while doing the D chord without muting the 3rd string. I'm trying all possible finger positions, but it's really frustrating.

I have a pyle banjo, and there was videos about it, and it sounded good, what are your opinions on it? I also have a video of me playing it with the C chord

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

I've never played one of those

@tristangonzales2535

Жыл бұрын

@@MasonCroneMusic kzread.info/dash/bejne/mGaAxMGPkrOYhto.html

That banjo doesn't sound half bad. Plastic finger picks?!? Didn't know they made such.😂

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

I have no idea why they do haha.

That banjo sounded not to bad. What is the Brand? I could not tell what you said about the brand.

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Vangoa

Where are you located, and how much do you charge to teach someone? Thanks. I appreciate your videos!!

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

I'm in North Georgia and I charge $20 per half hour right now. I also offer Zoom lessons.

@jasonrunyon2663

Жыл бұрын

@@MasonCroneMusic thanks so much.

i just bought one of these and discovered the bridge wasn't installed. It was mentioned in the description but i missed it. A rude discovery.

@MasonCroneMusic

Ай бұрын

Bridges hardly ever come installed. It’s easy to do, they aren’t attached. The pressure of the strings holds it down

Is it OK to remove the resonator?

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

It is, there's not really any reason to though 🤷‍♂️

It was so cold up here

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Down here too, it was truly a mini ice age 😂

@logansb24

Жыл бұрын

@@MasonCroneMusic I agree 😂

@logansb24

Жыл бұрын

Do you have any tips to make it on KZread

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@logansb24 Quality and consistency. It's also super important to make sure you're making videos about relevant topics that people are gonna be searching for. And by quality I don't mean you have to have a pro camera or mic, lots of people have been very successful with just a smartphone. You just have to keep the videos stable, as clear as possible, and have a nice backdrop. It's also a good idea to make videos that will help people, when I just made videos of my playing I had no success. When I started making tutorials and reviews it took a few months but that's when it started to pick up. Hope this helped, good luck!

Most of these cheap banjos probably come out of the same factory. They just put different names on the headstock to be sold by whatever business. They’ll never sound like a flat head professional banjo but I have one for playing around the house and practicing. The trick is getting the head, and neck setup right to get they to play well. There’s another type of cheap banjo made that has a aluminum pot.

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

They do seem to be all the same, I wouldn't be surprised if they are but with different names. I actually have one of those with the aluminum pot, it's better than the build I showed in this video in my opinion.

They are definitely lighter in weight

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Way lighter. It's because they don't have a tone ring, 3 ply rim etc.

Did you snap 😆

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

Well yeah, is that not how you get your instruments out of their cases? 😂

@strangsnsuch4765

Жыл бұрын

@@MasonCroneMusic i guess so lol

What exactly is a banjo? That looks more like a drum guitar.

@MasonCroneMusic

Жыл бұрын

It basically is a drum guitar, but with 5 strings. They literally have a drum head on them.

@Firehawk2022

Жыл бұрын

Ahhh that makes no sense but oh tay