jdeluke137 - Posted - 03/02/2026:  10:01:44

I have a friend who is looking for an American made open back tenor banjo, 19 fret. Probably something made in the last 20 years or so. His wife is looking to play Irish tunes on it. I play 3 finger bluegrass, so I don’t know much about tenor banjos.

Price range is probably $1500 to $2500. He’ll be looking for either new or excellent condition used.

Can y'all help with what he should be looking at?

Thanks!

John

KCJones - Posted - 03/02/2026:  10:48:57

Deering is your best bet.

Aside from customer orders, is anyone other than Deering making tenor banjos?

DSmoke - Posted - 03/02/2026:  10:59:51

I specialize in the repair/restoration/setup of tenor banjos for Irish trad playing. Below is a link to article I wrote about buying a tenor banjo for Irish music. There are not many options for recently made American open back banjos. Deering is one option, however the couple that I have worked on and played just fall short of sounding good. Ome is now owned by Gold Tone and made nice banjos. Gold Tone is an American company that offers open back banjos, but their parts are sourced from China. The Gold Tone's also fall short like the Deerings. Richelieu or Wildwood would be a little older than 20 years but they made very high quality banjos with good tone rings. That's all I can think of at the moment, I'm sure there are others. The majority of the tenors used in Irish trad are from the 1920's. There were so many quality built instruments made then in America. I am always happy to help someone find a banjo for Irish trad. Please feel free to contact me.

tradbanjo.com/pages/buying-adv...nor-banjo

The Old Timer - Posted - 03/02/2026:  11:08:27

A classic American made open back tenor would be a pre-war tenor like Model M TuBaPhone. They are plentiful and not very expensive compared to your budget. There are other Vega models from back then from very basic to ultra fancy.



Keep an eye on the stock at Bernunzio Uptown in Rochester NY, they often have fine open back tenors.

bernunzio.com/category/instrum...os/tenor/     They have a couple of Vegas from basic to top of the line.  All appear to be in your budget.

Edited by - The Old Timer on 03/02/2026 11:10:35

KCJones - Posted - 03/02/2026:  11:29:40

My questions would be why limit it to being made within the last 20 years. That basically eliminates all the best options. For $2500 the world is your oyster.

pinenut - Posted - 03/02/2026:  11:40:28

quote:

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Originally posted by KCJones

My questions would be why limit it to being made within the last 20 years. That basically eliminates all the best options. For $2500 the world is your oyster...  especially considering the lower rates of four string production.  Made in the last ~50+ years would make more sense.

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+1

Edited by - pinenut on 03/02/2026 11:45:37

Boblamoy - Posted - 03/02/2026:  11:56:04

Suggest you contact Zach Hoyt. He has made 3 for me and they are great.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 03/02/2026:  12:22:29

Vega resonators are easily removable. A used Vega tenor from the ‘20s would be the way to go, imo.

One of these should fill the bill:

bernunzio.com/category/instrum...os/tenor/

Edited by - Bill Rogers on 03/02/2026 12:27:01

martyjoe - Posted - 03/02/2026:  13:31:29

If she wants new go to Zach Hoyt. If she wants second hand go to Dan Shingler

Culloden - Posted - 03/02/2026:  13:59:53

An open back with 19 frets won't be easy to find. Most have 17 frets.
I agree that limiting oneself to the last 20 years is going to eliminate many top tier banjos. For the price range, the player could find a number of old Vega banjos. Bacon, Weymann, Epiphone, and Orpheum banjos can be found for the lower end of the price range.
Also, for Irish tenor, some of the lower priced options like Slingerland would fit the bill. Some of the cheaper options were actually quite good.

SophiaD - Posted - 03/02/2026:  16:00:40

Zach Hoyt’s custom banjoes fall within the stated budget, and I notice at least one 19 fret tenor banjo among his past builds. He’s great to work with.

Pauls Pretty Good Stuff - Posted - 03/18/2026:  17:40:12

I think that Vinnie Mondello at Banjo Haven knows as much about the tenor banjo world than just about anyone else. He was just inducted into The American Banjo Museum's Hall of Fame. He has worked some of the best 4-stringers in the world and always has a bunch of tenors ready to go. He has been repairing, setting up, and selling different banjos for me for forty years. Check with him, he's fun to talk to. Paul

hobogal - Posted - 03/22/2026:  02:05:47

Tenor banjo player here. So, I would look into ODE and Pisgah. They both offer reasonably priced open-back banjos with 11 inch and 12 inch options. The latter also offer different wood options and tone-rings and I noticed that their 19fret has a 22inch (rather than a 23 inch scale) which I think is a great option (in terms of string tension and reach if you have small hands). Also don't discount vintage banjos which are plentiful and far cheaper - so many options like Vega, Weymann, Paramount...