Reddit mentions of Epiphone MB-100 Open Back Banjo

I don’t know anything about Jameson, but I bought this epiphone as my first banjo, specifically to learn clawhammer, and I thought it was excellent for the price.

MB-100

I'm not sure what the banjo market is like in the UK, but in the US high quality used banjos are plentiful and it rarely makes sense to buy new.

Compared to other instruments, banjos are more expensive than you'd think. If you're buying a guitar in the $200 price range, if you look around long enough you'll actually find some sweet sounding and playing instruments. This is rarely the case with banjos in my experience.

With that being said, an instruments "set up" is what determines how playable and enjoyable an instrument is. A well setup bluegrass banjo is going to have a playable action all along the neck, proper bridge placement and head tension. A good setup on your banjo is a hugely important part of the learning process and it'll likely cost you anywhere from $50-100. Figure that any banjo you buy new or used is going to need a setup.

Here's an example of a really bare bones banjo Epiphone MB-100 that you could order from Amazon. This isn't really a bluegrass banjo but it's somewhat in your price range. BG players are generally looking for a banjo with a tone-ring and a resonator to help ring out above the rest of the jam. These things increase the price of the instrument but aren't critical if you don't see yourself playing with other people.

Don't forget about your setup cost! Add another $50-100 dollars to get it somewhere near playable.

What I'm driving at here is that you're probably better off waiting until you have a little more money to spend so you can actually get something that's worth learning on.