Old thread, I know, but not obsolete.
I was underwhelmed with the quality of the entry level banjo ukes (heavy for their size and tinny sounding). When considering more expensive banjo ukes I was confronted with not only a heftier price (sometimes prohibitive), but also with instruments that either still sounded like ukes, not banjos -so why bother? - or sounded plinky.
My goal was to find an nstrument that sounded like a banjo, but with warmth, and could be played like a ukulele. I always liked the sound of the Irish 4 string banjo, so I figured I'd get an old Gibson tenor banjo and have it ukefied. My thinking was that if I could find a cheaper instrument, get it fixed up, it would restore its former glory (and resale value for when my arthritis tells me it's time to sell my stuff). So after lots of searching online I finally found a beat up 1923 Gibson trapdoor tenor banjo for quite low price (about a quarter of what they go for on Reverb and Ebay. I sent it to Jake Wildwood who resuscitated it for me.
Here's my banjo uke in much more capable hands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuK0nqtxQIQ
