If you teach banjo to kids, or have a child that REALLY wants to get serious about the five-string banjo, you are faced with a problem. Your eight- or ten-year-old is crazy talented, but playing a banjo that’s bigger than he or she is can be a hurdle that’s very hard to manage. You’ve perhaps gone the route of the “bargain” banjo; it’s still full-sized and maybe it didn’t play or sound that terrific, either. If you want to encourage a little picker, the Gold Tone BG-Mini is the only way to go. The Mini is a for-real, actual Bluegrass banjo that’s been scaled down in size to provide pint-sized pickers with a professional-grade banjo. Its design echoes that of Gold Tone’s BG-250F and features an eight-inch diameter head sitting on a rolled-brass rod tone ring, a two-way adjustable truss rod, bone nut, planetary tuners, geared fifth-string peg, and a complete pro setup in Gold Tone’s Florida shop. The BG-Mini is tuned to open C (like the fifth fret of a standard banjo). This is NOT a novelty banjo; it’s the real deal and adult players can use it as the ultimate travel banjo! Available as left-handed model.