Harley Benton HBJ-26

I saw Keith Urban playing a 6 string banjo, or Ganjo, a while back which peaked my interest. Same tuning as a guitar, but sounds like a banjo, making it an easy jump. The answer is yes and no. A Banjo doesn't resonate or sustain like a guitar, so the notes are literally there for a moment and gone, but here's where your finger picking needs to pick it up.

For my first foray into the Banjo market Harley Benton have done it again with a superbly made 'budget' instrument. Previous Harley Benton purchases have included a Resonator electro-acoustic and electro-acoustic Mandolin which have both been excellent which prompted the purchase of another instrument by this brand. The HBJ-26 is fitted with a proper remo head, and is beautifully finished with chrome wear, and supplied with an adjustment tool for tuning the head. The finish on the wood is exceptional and the fitted Banjo back makes for comfortable playing with it nestled up against you. That said, 3 thumb screws can be removed and the back can be taken off leaving you with a backless banjo should the desire take you.

Out of the box the Banjo played beautifully and has prompted some re-workings of some of my old songs and added extra textures in the recording studio. Listen to a lot of Nashville influenced records and more often than not it's a 6 string banjo in the background.

At a price as low as this it is a great instrument to add to the collection.

The banjo just arrived today, the banjo box (not the whole Thomann box) was a bit hit, so the instrument's headstock had some paint removed, revealing the plain wood.
It's the first time this happens in my 10+ year experience with Thomann.

I have a HBJ-25 (Standard HB 5-String Banjo) and I have to say this 6-string version is not as impressive, build quality is as always very good,
but the sound is quieter, the head was way too loose and (maybe it's just me, but) the back makes the sound muffled and quieter, it causes the head to compress a lot instead of just projecting the sound.

I removed the back, tuned the head, did a little work on the bridge to prevent the strings from snapping out of the grooves, changed strings to 10s (it had something like 12-58 gauge, I could easily tune it to Drop B) and now it's much better.

I'm still getting used to it and eventually I will, but I think my expectations were too high because of my experience with the HBJ-25 and other HB instruments.

I had wanted a banjo for some time but didn't fancy learning a completely different instrument so I compromised to get this six string version. Don't be fooled into thinking there is no learning curve to playing this, there are some distinct differences. You cannot just play the same open chords at the top of the neck: that sound quite awful! You will need to learn banjo rolls and/or some finger picking and to be honest a capo is pretty much a necessity to get a decent 'banjo' sound. The instrument itself is very well made and finished. The action is very high and takes a little getting used to but with a little patience you can get a good and distinct sound out of it. Makes a nice change from guitar and if you are into folk or country it will prove to be a fantastic addition to your collection! In terms of value for money, Thomann's Harley Benton brand is very hard to beat being well made and really good products for the price...

I play guitar, bass, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo so there is no issue with me trying to get used to a different tuning. I didn't buy it as a banjo for a guitar player who cannot play banjo. What I bought it for is a low price option in folk sessions where I can play along with songs I might not know very well and add texture to the overall vibe. The sessions I play have too many guitar players, like at least 3 acoustics so me being a 4th is not much sense. And it does that job very well. It arrived with a very loose head and a bad action but I expected that. And probably with transportation it needed to be setup loose. Frets are not finished well, again expected. A small information sheet would have been useful to explain how to set it up. If someone bought this and had never played a banjo before they might have difficulties getting the best out of it. All in all, I sanded down the bridge by 1mm, tightened the head to medium to high tension, adjusted the coordinator rod and installed a pickup. It gets used a lot at the sessions because every guitar player wants to have a go on it hehe. It brings a smile to their face when they strum the first notes and chords and usually the first comment is 'I gotta get one of these'. As for playing live through a PA, I will use it without hesitation. Yes it will need EQ tweaks and a foam insert to lessen feedback but for the money it is just a great unusual tool to add in songs for that banjo like texture. Also its nice and loud, especially with the head good and tight. Overall I recommend it.