[Steve DeRosa]

In no particular order:

• Since you already own a Gold Tone Cripple Creek, I'd suggest shipping it home and upgrading to something better as you said; apparently you've put the work into it to make it sound/play the way you prefer, so you know you'll have a reliable instrument waiting for you...
• You're going to have a harder time locating a good original vintage plectrum banjo than you might think - the late Stan Jay (of Mandolin Brothers fame) once said that Gibson made as many as 250 tenor banjos for each plectrum back in the Mastertone era - which IMO leaves two options:

  • buy a player-grade tenor and have it re-necked
  • buy a new built-to-order plectrum from the maker of your choice

  If it were me, I'd go with the latter - I'd be paying as much as I would for a non-collector-grade vintage piece (possibly less), I could have it customized to my specs (finish, plating, engraving, etc.), I have the security of a factory/builder's warranty, and it's replaceable when/if crap happens. In terms of recommendations, although I'm not a banjoist by trade I've been very successful with Deerings (owned three, still have two); they seem to have the greatest variety/best bang-for-the-buck among the major manufacturers, and last I checked there was no upcharge (unlike some other makers) for plectrum versions of their standard lineup...

Hope this helps...