I've recently starting playing clawhammer on an open back, after having played bluegrass for awhile (on a resonator). I naturally started with the banjo on my lap, but then tried it on my thigh.
My dilemma is this...I do like the way my hands are positioned when it's on my thigh, but since the pot is now more fully against my body, I realized that it cuts the volume and sustain, producing a more muted sound. I prefer the sound when it's on my lap, as it seems to allow more room around the back of the pot for the sound to escape, and the banjo sounds more lively to me.
The lap position isn't uncomfortable, but I prefer having my left hand in closer, and I feel a little more "connected" with the banjo on the thigh. But the more muted sound is less appealing to me, I like the open-ness of it on the lap. Tough choice.
I found some threads on this, but most addressed the comfort. A couple of folks that mentioned tone actually found it to be the opposite, they thought it sounded louder and more open on the thigh. Go figure.
Would you tend to choose position, or sound?