By the way, the long-neck banjo was invented by Pete Seeger in the late 40s or early 50s. He actually lengthened a standard neck by adding a piece of wood to it and refinishing it. The early editions of his "How to Play the 5-string Banjo" showed diagrams of how to do it because long neck banjos weren't being manufactured until sometime in the late 50s or early 60s. I've never used one but every time someone wants me to play in E, I wish I had one. The alternative is to put the sucker in C tuning, and capo to the fourth fret, losing any semblance of a bass note, or go to a D tuning with the capo at the 2nd fret. In either case, you still have to frig around with the 5th string. I usually just refuse to play in E. For many years, I looked down on long-necks because the "real, southern folk" didn't play them even if Pete did. I was pretty snobbish and narrow-minded.