Open-back banjos generally have a mellower tone and weigh less than resonator banjos. They usually have a different setup than a resonator banjo, often with a higher string action (string action refers to how high the strings are positioned above the fingerboard.)

Some banjos have a separate resonator plate on the back of the pot, designed to project the sound forward and give the instrument more volume. This type of banjo is usually used in bluegrass music, though resonator banjos are played by players of all styles, and are also used in old-time as a substitute for electric amplification when playing in large venues.

The earliest banjos were made without frets or position markers. Today, modern players looking to reproduce and authentic old sound reach for a fretless banjo. Without fret markers players can slide up across several frets and get all of the notes in between the frets.

When a guitar and a banjo love each other very much they get together and make guitar banjos, guitjos, or bantars. These are Guitar necks with banjo rim bodies.

The plectrum banjo is a standard banjo without the short drone string. It is usually played with a guitar-style pick (that is, a single one held between thumb and forefinger), unlike the five-string banjo, which is either played with a thumbpick and two fingerpicks, or with bare fingers

The shorter-necked, tenor banjo is also typically played with a plectrum. It became a popular instrument after about 1910. By the mid-1920s, when the instrument was used primarily for strummed chordal accompaniment, 19-fret necks with a scale length of 21¾ to 23 inches became standard.