Okay, so I was intrigued by the Gold-Tone CC-Mini, the Chinese-built 5-string with the ~19" scale and 8" head. I thought maybe it would be a good companion for Martin Backpacker. It certainly gets better reviews than the "Plucky," which seems to be a Banjo-Uke with a fifth string. The CC-Mini also seems to have better quality control than the Plucky (always an issue with Chinese-built instruments).
Wouldn't it be great if I could find or make a case that would hold both the CC-mini and the Backpacker? That way I wouldn't have to decide between banjo an guitar when I go on trips. (And maybe my Soprano Sax? I'd have the three major "food groups" of my music with me at all times. Okay, that's just silly.)
Still I didn't have $400+ laying around, and if I did, I wouldn't spend it on a Chinese travel banjo that was going to spend its life on beaches or in airplane overheads. So I checked around to find a steep discount or a used one. I found one online that the guy wanted too much for IMHO. From the photo it had a resonator, but I thought maybe it was just an older model. So I bid about 30% less than he was selling it for and got it. It arrived Friday, and I was confused that the little thing should come in such a large box.
Turns out it wasn't a CC-Mini at all, it is a CC-Traveler, which is an A-scale banjo with a bolt-on resonator. No resonator flange, I'm afraid and guitar-style tuners, but a brass tone ring and TWO coordinating rods. So you COULD Bluegrass seriously on this little beast if you wanted to.
Maybe that was why the guy was asking "too much" for it. Ooops.
It is relatively fancy-looking in the Gold-Tone midrange vibe. But it is much heavier than my GoodTime. Technically, it's up-scale from the GoodTime Parlor Banjo, Deering's entry-level A-scale. It's certainly more expensive. But weighing that much more, plus having a resonator make the banjo 2" wider sort of reduces the "travelability" I was looking for.
A conundrum - I got a better, but a different banjo than I was looking for. Fine, I'll check it out, take it through its paces, figure out what it's good for, and report on the site. And then if I am still convinced that the extra weight and bulk of the thing defeat the purpose of a travel banjo (THEIR name for it, not mine), I'll probably find it a good home.
More later.