I am concerned about how the new tariffs will impact on banjos.
I own 7 banjos.
One of them, a bottom of the line Record King dirty 30s RB was wholly made in China. I love that banjo even though I have banjos that cost 10 times as much, especially because it resembles what banjos Southern Black and white folk without cash could purchase in the late 1940s, 50s, and 60s.
My 1923 Vega Tubaphone's pot was made in Boston, but its neck was made by a company called Eastman in China.
My pride and joy of banjos is the first decent banjo I purchased 24 years ago, a Gold Tone WL-250. At the time Gold Tone was having the parts manufactured in Korea, and assembled and fine tuned them up in in Titusville Florida. Nowadays I am told they are made in China and finished in Titusville.
What will happen if anyone knows about all of this if tariffs and other stuff drive up the prices or choke off the supply of banjos and parts for them from China and Korea.
I am not interested in a political discussion of the politics of all of this here. I think that is out of order even though going elsewhere and discussing that is probably more important than anything banjo, I am just concerned about the practical issues of banjo supply and prices. I am an old guy with enough banjos, and a realization that somebody younger should be playing them, and some day when we finally go to a retirement home, I am not going to have 7 banjos,.
However, I constantly get asked by people local and otherwise about buying banjos. Will the value of banjos produced in China or Korean go up in price as rarities or quality products like some of the Japanese Invasion Guitars have done?
Inquiring minds want to know?
Thanks for being banjo people and thanks to the people who created banjo hangout for giving us this place.
