Best clawhammer banjos

Steve Romanoski Avatar
Steve Romanoski
Last Updated: Oct 4, 2022

In this article, we've listed the best clawhammer banjos one can find out there. We've analyzed about 90 of clawhammer banjos and selected the 20 top options by Brenton Studio, Aguilar, RockJam, RSGRHAI, MXR. We took the time to do a thorough research and point out some pros and cons of each of the options we suggest below so that you don't have to dive deep into the topic and spend endless hours searching for the ideal model on your own.

At a Glance: Our Top Picks

Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo
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Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch
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Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch
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O'Neill's Tunes For Clawhammer Banjo
#TOP 3
O'Neill's Tunes For Clawhammer Banjo
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Top 20 Best clawhammer banjos Reviews 2022

#TOP 1

Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 2

Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch

Mel Bay

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#TOP 3

O'Neill's Tunes For Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 4

Progressive Pieces for Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 5

Appalachian Fiddle Tunes


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Appalachian Fiddle Tunes


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#TOP 7

Old Time Songs For Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 8

Clawhammer Banjo ~ Tunes


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#TOP 9

Clawhammer Style Banjo


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#TOP 10

Clawhammer Cookbook: Tools


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#TOP 11

Bob Dylan for Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 12

Folk Songs for Banjo: 40 Traditional American Folk Songs Arranged


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#TOP 13

Melodic Clawhammer Banjo: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 14

Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus (book w/ online audio)


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#TOP 15

Clawhammer Banjo Primer Book


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#TOP 16

Clawhammer Banjo Volume One


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#TOP 17

Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 18

Round Peak Clawhammer Banjo: Traditional Appalachian Fiddle Tunes


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#TOP 19

Round Peak Style Clawhammer Banjo


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#TOP 20

Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch: A Guide


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Everything You Need to Know About Buying clawhammer banjos

Is banjo harder to play than guitar?

Summing up, the banjo is just as versatile an instrument as the guitar, but for beginning players, it is by far much easier to get started playing.

Is clawhammer banjo easier?

Traditionally, clawhammer style has been thought to be easier to learn than bluegrass Scruggs style banjo. That's because once you learn the basic clawhammer stroke, everything else easily falls into place. It's like the old analogy of riding a bicycle. Once you learn to ride the thing, everything else is easy.

What is the easiest type of banjo to learn?

5-string Banjo The 5-string Banjo One of the strings, the fifth string, is shorter than the others and is attached to a tuning peg sticking out of the side of the neck. This is probably the easiest type of banjo for beginners to play.

Does clawhammer use picks?

A clawhammer banjo pick fits over your striking finger in much the same way as traditional fingerpicks. The key difference is that they sit in the opposite direction, covering your nail as opposed to your fingertips. Wraparound bands mold the pick to your finger to ensure it remains comfortably in place.

Editor's Notes

A considerable amount of time and effort was put into this review. We spent a lot of time (over 46 hours to be exact) to deep dive into the topic, analyzing at least 1796 buyer reviews. Eventually, we came up with a list of the most trustworthy models with an average rating of 184. The products you'll find in this selection are available at $406 on average (as of 03-10-2023).

Steve Romanoski Avatar
Written by

Steve Romanoski

Steve loves music. Steve Romanoski and his wife live in Alaska. They are always on the go, exploring new places and trying out new products (especially those which can help them enjoy the great musics even more). When he's not writing about products, Steve Romanoski enjoys reading books about history and science. He likes to think of himself as a renaissance man, but his wife would probably say that he's just a big kid at heart.