Ortega OBJE356-SBK

Disclaimer: I'm just a guitarist, looking for a different sounding instrument, I know next to nothing about banjo playing, I don't even do much finger picking. That being said, I'm completely satisfied and I'm never going to sell it. Although...

1. I wish the neck were wider, this is exactly as narrow as a 5 string banjo neck. Anyway, all the manufacturers make 6 string banjos like this, for whatever reason, so the only way to get a wide neck would be a custom instrument - out of question for me.

2. I wish there was a 22nd fret - why not? There is room for it... no big deal anyway.

3. The pickup is a little bit pushing against the head. It's weird, but maybe it doesn't matter at all.

Contrary to what another review says, the pickup seems fine to me. I played this thing a couple of times live (some gigs in a small pub) and it didn't let me down. But when I record in the studio, I just use two microphones - the pickup sound is ok, while the mic sound is first class.

One last detail: I was lucky to get this head, which does not make any scratchy noises from my right hand fingers resting on it, like a friend's banjo used to. A true banjo player probably never does this anyway.

So, I don't know about banjo professionals, but for guitarists like me, I highly recommend this instrument.