A plectrum banjo is a five-string banjo with the short drone string left off: same 26-inch scale, same 22 frets, same 11-inch head, four strings tuned CGBD and played with a flat pick. It was the dance-band and trad-jazz instrument of the 1920s, and the market for it today is small enough to count on one hand. Two makers build them in any quantity, the ladder runs from about $270 to about $1,600, and every rung is a different instrument rather than a better one.
Gold Tone CC-Plectrum
The resonator unbolts, which is the whole argument. Bolted on you get a brass tone hoop behind the head and enough volume to sit in a band; taken off you get a six-pound openback for playing at home. Nothing else at this price does both, and it arrives with a padded gig bag, which the American-built banjos do not.
The five at a glance
| Banjo | Back | Tone ring | Weight | Built | Price band | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Tone CC-Plectrum | Removable resonator | Rolled brass | 6.3 lb | Asia, set up in Florida | ~$700 | Covering both jobs with one banjo |
| Deering Goodtime Two Plectrum | Resonator, fixed | None | 5.5 lb | California | ~$850 | Buying once and keeping it |
| Deering Goodtime Plectrum | Open back | None | 4 lb | California | ~$600 | Playing at home, and carrying it |
| Rover RB-20P | Open back | None | Light | Asia | ~$270 | Finding out whether you like it |
| Gold Tone PS-250 | 14″ resonator, flange | Bell brass | 12 lb | Asia, set up in Florida | ~$1,600 | Cutting through a live band |
Count the frets before you buy anything
Most four-string banjos for sale are tenor banjos, and a tenor is not a plectrum. The fret count settles it from a photograph in about five seconds: 22 frets and a scale around 26 inches is a plectrum; 17 to 19 frets and a scale around 22 inches is a tenor. The tenor is tuned in fifths like a viola or a mandolin, so none of your chord shapes carry over, and the Irish tenor is tuned differently again.
Listings are not always careful about which one they are selling, and the word “plectrum” in a title sometimes just means the thing comes with a pick. The tuning line in the specification is the reliable tell — CGBD is a plectrum, CGDA or GDAE is a tenor. There is more on the split in our plectrum versus tenor comparison, and if the tenor turns out to be what you wanted, our tenor banjo picks cover that side.
If you already own a five-string, you already own a plectrum banjo
Tune a five-string to drop C — gCGBD — and the bottom four strings are C, G, B and D, which is exactly plectrum tuning. Ignore the fifth string, pick up a flat pick, and every chord shape and every piece of plectrum music works on the instrument you have. The scale length is the same, the head is the same, and the neck is the same.
What you do not get is the clear run at the fifth string’s territory — the drone sits under your thumb where a strumming hand wants to be, and it rattles sympathetically whether you play it or not. Some players tape it down or capo it out of the way. It is a workaround rather than a solution, but it costs nothing, and it is a much better way to find out whether you want a plectrum banjo than buying one. Our banjo tuning guide covers getting into drop C.
The five
Gold Tone CC-Plectrum
- Removable 13″ maple resonator
- Rolled brass flat-bar tone hoop
- 11″ multi-ply maple rim, 22 frets
- 26 3/16″ scale
- 6.3 lb
- Padded gig bag included
- ~$700
The Cripple Creek plectrum is the only banjo here that answers both questions a plectrum player has. Trad jazz wants volume and a hard, bright attack, which is what the brass hoop and the resonator are for. Playing alone in a room wants neither, and four bolts later you have an openback. Buying one instrument instead of two is worth more than any refinement you could pay the difference for.
The brass matters more than the resonator does. A tone hoop is what makes a banjo ring rather than thud, and both Deerings on this page have none at all — a deliberate choice that gives them a dry, woody, quick-decaying note. That is the right sound for old-time and the wrong one for a 1920s jazz band, and it is the clearest reason to take this over the Goodtime Two at $150 more.
Against it: this is built in Asia to Gold Tone’s specification and set up in Florida, not built start to finish in California, and it will not hold its value the way a Deering does. The warranty is seven years to the first owner against Deering’s eight, and Gold Tone void it entirely on anything bought from outside their authorised dealer network, so buy it from an authorised dealer.
- Resonator comes off, so one banjo does both jobs
- Brass tone hoop where the Deerings have none
- Gig bag in the box
- Six pounds — comfortable standing up
- Will not hold value like the American-built pair
- Warranty void from an unauthorised dealer
Deering Goodtime Two Plectrum
- 13 7/8″ three-ply resonator
- No tone ring
- 11″ violin-grade maple rim, 22 frets
- 26 1/4″ scale
- 5.5 lb
- Eight-year warranty
- ~$850
Made in Spring Valley, California, from a rock maple neck and a three-ply violin-grade maple rim, with nothing bolted to it that exists to look expensive. It arrives playing in tune with itself, which is not a given at any price, and it is the banjo on this page most likely to be worth something in twenty years.
There is no tone ring, and there never will be — the head bears straight onto the wooden rim. In a duo or a living room that reads as clear and woody. Against a piano and a horn section it gets buried, and playing harder will not fix it. If the reason you want a plectrum banjo is the sound of a 1920s dance band, the brass on the two Gold Tones is doing something this cannot do, and you should read that as the deciding difference rather than a detail.
No case is included at $850, which is worth budgeting for. Deering is also the reason the price is what it is: the same money buys a great deal more hardware from an importer, and rather less instrument. Our Deering versus Gold Tone comparison works through that trade in full.
- Built in California and set up before it ships
- Best resale value here by a distance
- Five and a half pounds
- Eight-year warranty
- No tone ring, so limited cut in a band
- No case at this price
- Resonator is fixed — it will not convert
Deering Goodtime Plectrum
- Open back
- No tone ring
- 11″ violin-grade maple rim, 22 frets
- 26 1/4″ scale
- 4 lb
- Eight-year warranty
- ~$600
The Goodtime Two with the resonator left off, for $250 less and a pound and a half lighter. Four pounds is genuinely unusual for a banjo and it changes how long you play in one sitting; it is also the only instrument here you would happily carry any distance.
Quiet is the trade, and on a plectrum banjo quiet cuts against the point of the instrument — this was designed to be heard over a brass section without amplification. As a first plectrum banjo for someone who plays at home, or as a second one for the sofa, it is the sensible buy. As the banjo you take to a session, it is not.
The listing’s specification table says five strings. It is the four-string plectrum; the title, the description and the photographs all agree, and Deering only make this model as a plectrum.
- Four pounds, American built
- Cheapest way into a Deering
- Eight-year warranty
- Quietest banjo here, by design
- No tone ring, and Deering’s resonator kit costs more than the price gap to the Goodtime Two Plectrum
- No case
Rover RB-20P
- Open back
- Composite rim
- Mahogany neck, rosewood board, 22 frets
- 26 3/8″ scale
- Vega-style armrest, geared tuners
- ~$270
The only plectrum banjo under $500 that exists, which is most of its case. Saga build it around a composite rim rather than a wooden one — moulded rather than laminated timber — and that is where the money has come out. It is also why the banjo is light and why it does not much care about damp.
A composite rim will not develop the way a wooden one does, and the difference is audible next to either Deering. But the neck is real mahogany with a rosewood board and an adjustable truss rod, the armrest is the Vega pattern that makes long sessions bearable, and the tuners hold. For working out whether the plectrum banjo is your instrument before spending three times as much, it does the job honestly.
Buy it from a banjo shop rather than from Amazon. The Amazon listing for this banjo is now titled as a five-string RB-110, its photographs are captioned as that instrument, and its specification table has been emptied — the only thing left on the page saying “plectrum” is one line of small print giving the tuning as CGBD. Rover’s four-strings and five-strings have been collapsed onto shared listings where the model name, the picture and the tuning no longer agree, so there is no way to know which instrument would arrive. Saga’s dealers sell the RB-20P by its own name. We also have a longer look at the five-string in our Rover RB-20 review.
- By far the cheapest plectrum banjo made
- Real mahogany neck and adjustable truss rod
- Vega-style armrest, unusual at the price
- Composite rim, and you can hear it
- Open back, so quiet
- Amazon’s listing no longer identifies which model it sells
Gold Tone PS-250 Plectrum Special
- 14″ mahogany resonator, one-piece flange
- Bell brass tone ring
- 11″ three-ply maple rim, 22 frets
- 26 3/16″ scale
- 12 lb
- Hard case included
- ~$1,600
This is the one built to do the job the plectrum banjo was invented for. A cast bell brass ring and a one-piece flange are what a 1920s banjo had and what makes that hard, brilliant, carrying tone; the rolled hoop on the Cripple Creek is a lighter, cheaper approximation of it. Hearts-and-flowers inlay, planetary tuners and a hard case come with it.
Twelve pounds is the price of the brass, and it is three times the Goodtime Plectrum. Standing up with it for a whole evening is real work, and it is the first thing to try before committing — this is not a weight you get used to so much as one you decide to accept.
At this money the second-hand market is a genuine competitor rather than a footnote. The 1920s produced these by the tens of thousands and then the guitar took the job, so original Vega, Paramount and Ludwig plectrum banjos come up regularly through the vintage dealers from around $1,200. They need more from you — a fifty-year-old head, old frets, possibly a neck reset — but a good one is a better instrument than anything new at the price. Buying new gets you a warranty and no surprises, which is a fair reason to choose it.
- Cast bell brass ring and one-piece flange — the real thing
- Hard case included
- Planetary tuners
- Twelve pounds
- Vintage originals compete directly at this price
- Warranty void from an unauthorised dealer
What decides it
Brass, not the resonator, makes the jazz sound
The resonator is a wooden bowl on the back that stops sound escaping backwards and throws it at the audience. The tone ring is a metal hoop under the head that decides whether the note rings or thuds. They are different parts doing different jobs, and only one of them is responsible for the sound people mean when they say they want a 1920s banjo.
Both Deerings have a resonator or not, and neither has a ring. Both Gold Tones have brass. That is why a $600 Deering and a $700 Gold Tone are not two points on one ladder — they are two different instruments, and the cheaper one is not the worse one unless brightness is what you came for. Our openback versus resonator guide goes further into what the back of the banjo does.
Weight decides whether you play it
Four pounds to twelve is the spread on this page, and it is the same instrument with different amounts of metal in the pot. Sitting down, nobody notices. Standing with a strap for a two-hour gig, twelve pounds is the single thing most likely to make you leave the banjo at home. Heavier is not better — it is a consequence of the sound you chose.
Chicago tuning does not need a different banjo
Guitarists often tune a plectrum banjo to DGBE — the top four strings of a guitar, known as Chicago tuning — and play everything they already know with no relearning at all. It is the same instrument and the same set of strings: raise the fourth string from C to D and the first from D to E, and you are there. Pit players did this for decades so they could switch between banjo and guitar in one show.
If that is the whole reason you are here, a six-string banjo is worth a look first, since it needs no retuning and gives you all six strings. The plectrum is the better-sounding banjo of the two and the six-string is the easier instrument, and that is the entire choice.
The strings have to be long enough
A plectrum banjo has a long neck, and a set cut for a tenor will not always reach the tuning post with enough winding left to hold. Plectrum sets are made longer for this reason. Gauges are light — .011 to .026 is typical — because the strings are under more tension across the longer scale than a tenor set is across a short one.
A five-string banjo case fits
None of the American-built banjos here ship with a case, and the useful thing to know is that you do not need a plectrum-specific one. Deering state that five-string, plectrum and six-string banjos all share the resonator case, and likewise the openback case — same scale, same rim, so the same box. Buy for the back of the banjo rather than the number of strings.
Two things worth ordering with it
| Item | What it is | Price band |
|---|---|---|
| GHS 190 plectrum set (3 packs) | Stainless steel, .011–.026, loop end, cut long for a plectrum neck. Works for CGBD and Chicago tuning alike | ~$19 |
| The Plectrum Banjo Chord Bible | 1,728 chord shapes in CGBD, written for plectrum rather than adapted from five-string or tenor | ~$14 |
Chord books are the awkward purchase for a plectrum player, because most banjo material is written for five-string in open G or for tenor in fifths, and neither transfers. A CGBD book is the one to have. Our banjo chord guide and string picks cover the five-string side.
Above $1,600
Deering build plectrum versions of most of their professional line — the Boston at around $2,700, the Eagle II at $3,300, the Sierra at $3,500, and upwards from there to the Calico and the Vega signature models. They are made to order and sold through banjo specialists rather than through Amazon, so if that is the tier you are shopping in, go to a dealer directly. At that money you should also be playing the instrument before you buy it, which settles the question of where to shop on its own. Our guide to American-made banjos covers the range.
FAQ
Is a plectrum banjo good for a beginner?
It is one of the easier banjos to start on, because strumming chords with a pick is a much shorter road than three-finger rolls or clawhammer. The catch is teaching material: almost everything written for banjo assumes five strings in open G, so you will be translating, or working from the smaller body of plectrum and Chicago-tuning material. A guitarist has a real head start here; someone starting from nothing may find the five-string route better supported.
Do you play a plectrum banjo like a five-string?
The left hand, yes — same scale, same frets, same shapes minus the drone string. The right hand, no. A five-string is usually picked with fingerpicks or struck clawhammer style; a plectrum is strummed and picked with a single flat pick, which produces a driving rhythm and makes single-note melody lines straightforward.
What is the difference between a plectrum and a tenor banjo?
Neck length and tuning. A plectrum has 22 frets and a 26-inch scale, tuned CGBD like the bottom four strings of a five-string in drop C. A tenor has 17 to 19 frets and a scale around 22 inches, tuned in fifths — CGDA in jazz, GDAE for Irish playing. The tenor is the more common instrument in Dixieland; the plectrum is the one that suits a guitarist and the one built for chord-melody playing.
What music is the plectrum banjo for?
Early jazz and 1920s dance music above all — the fifth string was dropped in the first place so the instrument could be strummed loudly and rhythmically in an orchestra. It also does folk and singer-accompaniment work well, which is where the Kingston Trio’s Bob Shane used one. It is not a bluegrass instrument; bluegrass is five-string territory and the rolls that define it need the drone.
Can I put five strings on a plectrum banjo?
No. There is no tuning peg in the side of the neck and no nut slot for the fifth string, so it would mean drilling the neck and fitting a peg — real lutherie, and more than the difference in price between the two instruments. Buy the one you want. Our guide to banjo types lays out what else is out there.
So which one?
For most people the Gold Tone CC-Plectrum — brass behind the head for the bright 1920s attack, a resonator that comes off when you want it quiet, and a bag included. If you would rather have an American-built banjo that holds its value and you can live without a tone ring, the Goodtime Two Plectrum, or the Goodtime Plectrum at four pounds if you are playing at home anyway.
Not sure the instrument is for you? Tune a five-string to drop C first, and if you have not got one, the Rover RB-20P costs a third of everything else here, from a dealer who will tell you which model is in the box. And if you are playing this in a band with horns, the PS-250 is the one with the real bell brass ring — lift one before you commit to carrying it.