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Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos
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Subject: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: GUEST,Fedele (as usual, I'm not a guest, you know) Date: 17 Oct 00 - 10:05 AM A simple question and you can give a lot of answers. I'm getting nearer and nearer to buy a banjo. But, what's the difference between 4-strings and 5-strings? Everything you know - tuning etc. - would be useful for me. As you see, I don't know much about this instruments. Any nice suggestion about things I can find on the net would be very appreciated too. [link, link, link...] |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon W. Date: 17 Oct 00 - 10:22 AM Five-string banjos are the older type. The fifth string is a short string (usually goes from the bridge to the fifth fret) typically used as a drone string, which means it is not usually used to play a melody note and it is not usually fretted. There are many tunings for 5-string banjo, almost all are "open" tunings meaning the strings are tuned to a specific chord. This limits the banjo to play in one or two keys based around that chord, unless you retune to a different chord. Most 5-string playing styles are some type of finger/thumb picking - the most common being 3-finger picking such as in bluegrass, and clawhammer or frailing (sometimes the terms are interchangable) in old-time music. There are two types of 4-string banjo, tenor and plectrum. These have no drone string. I haven't learned to play either, but as I understand it they usually tuned like a violin (tenor) or viola (plectrum), and played with a flat pick like a mandolin. Jon Freeman will no doubt tell us more. The 5-string is principally an African-American idea, and the 4-string banjos were adapted from that to use for more European-American ideas and musical methods. Ciao amico, Jon W. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Frankham Date: 17 Oct 00 - 10:44 AM Best thing you could do is get Karen Lin's "That Half-Barbaric Twang". I think it's still in print. It'll tell you most of what you need to know. Frank |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: GUEST,Fedele Date: 17 Oct 00 - 10:47 AM Yeah. Sure. It's so easy. I'll go in any library here in Italy and find it. OOOh, they don't have it! So I'll have to order it in America. Yes, it's so easy to send money there and get something from there... Not a suitable solution. But thank you anyway. ;-))))) |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon Freeman Date: 17 Oct 00 - 10:53 AM The thread where I jokingly claimed that the 4 string is the older is here. You might find this thread interesting too... Jon F (who is going to try and keep quiet this time especially as the 5 string player gang up on him and that Jon W - he chops tenors necks off... -;) ) |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: bill\sables Date: 17 Oct 00 - 12:31 PM The basic difference between the two banjos are: 1 The tenor has 4 strings and the five string has 5 2 The tenor is cheeper in the US and expensive in the UK 3 The five string is cheeper in the UK and expensive in the US 3 Some banjos have a skin on the back these are called back skin banjos 4 Most banjos have a skin on the front these are called foreskin banjos 5 Some people like Jon Freeman think that when you buy a banjo the strings are there for the life of the banjo. and it is quite normal if they are rusty |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon Freeman Date: 17 Oct 00 - 12:40 PM Not normal Bill, just through many periods of being unemployed/ flat broke, I have learned to cope with that one. I did get a new set(s) for Llanstock but never changed them mainly because the local music shop gave me (I called out the gauges) a plain 2nd (18) which I hate a nickel 3rd and a bronze 4th. Loved the Little Wonder BTW - lives up to its name. Jon |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: mousethief Date: 17 Oct 00 - 12:46 PM I saw a copy of "That Half-Barbaric Twang" last time I was at Border's, so I assume that means it's still in print.
Alex |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 17 Oct 00 - 01:18 PM Bluegrass is a style of music which is generally considered to REQUIRE a five-string banjo or it's not bluegrass. The mix of other instruments varies. The banjos used in bluegrass are almost always what's called resonator banjos. That is, they have a back that's close, and so shaped as to reflect the sound forward, thus making the banjo effectively louder. Bluegrass playing is generally done in what is called three-finger picking. The fingers pluck the strings by flexing toward the palm of the hand. (See also below, about frailing/clawhammer) Bluegrassers almost always use fingerpicks for the louder sound that results. This style, three-finger picking, is based on a steady pattern of eighth notes, played in what are called "rolls", with the tune being created out of the pattern by volume emphasis and sometimes subtle rhythmic changes. There is another finger-flexing style, called two-finger picking, sometimes referred to as Seeger picking. In a common form of this style, the index finger picks a melody note, the middle or ring finger brushes down across some of the other strings, and then the thumb plucks the fifth string. This results in a bump-ditty-bump rhythm. FRailing (or clawhammer), on the other hand, strikes the strings with the fingernail side of the finger rather than the palmar surface of the finger. The finger is NOT flexed, but rather the finger is stiff and the movement comes from the whole hand or arm. The index or middle finger strikes a string as the hand descends, and simultaneously as part of the same motion the thumb comes to rest on the fifth string, whether or not it is the player's intention to pluck the string at that point. This is important: The thumb's home position is at the fifth string, every time, in basic frailing. (see below for exception). Typically there will be a downstroke, sounding a string with the index or middle fingernail (the BUM), then another downstroke creating a brush across multiple strings (the DIT-), and as the hand rises after the brush stroke the thumb picks the fifth string, which it was already in contact with. THE THUMB DOES NOT FLEX TO PICK THE STRING! That's a very bad habit, to be avoided. There are other techniques used in frailing/clawhammer. There are what are called drop-thuming and double thumbing, in which the thumb, instead of coming to rest on the fifth string as it normally does, comes to rest on some other string which is to be played on the upstroke of the hand. Some people make a distinction between the words "frailing" and "clawhammer" based on whether double thumbing and drop thumbing are used; they people use "frailing" for the more simple version, without the thumb elaborations, and "clawhammer" for the more elaborate thumb style. In all these styles, there are also what are called hammer-ons and pull-offs (words invented by Pete Seeger). In a hammer-on, the left hand sounds some notes by--what else?--hammering down on the string. Pull-offs are what a violinist might call left-hand pizzicato, where the finger plucks the string. Most frailers and/or clawhammerers (if there's considered to be a difference) play open-back banjos, without resonators. I've probably given you a lot of stuff you already knew or weren't interested in. If so, apologies. Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: The Shambles Date: 17 Oct 00 - 02:02 PM The only good banjo is a dead one........ |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Margo Date: 17 Oct 00 - 03:43 PM I think you need to be guided by the kind of banjo music you want to play. If there is a particular artist you listen to and like, find out what style banjo they're playing and what kind of banjo is used for that style. I play clawhammer style because I heard some old time American music and wanted to be able to play like that. I play a Deering Vega, known as the Little Wonder. That one has quality and suited my pocket book better than others... Margo |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Sean Belt Date: 17 Oct 00 - 04:10 PM A 4-string banjo sounds like a guy in a straw hat and arm garters playing in a pizza joint. Or at best like an Irish band who couldn't get the guitar player to show up that night. A 5-string banjo sounds like an Appalachian ballad, an old-time dance band, a bluegrass breakdown, or in the most expert and beautiful of hands, like Doc Boggs on a full moonlit night. ;-) - Sean |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Rex Date: 17 Oct 00 - 05:35 PM I mostly play the old time five stringer. But as I may have been one of those perceived as jumping on the idea... In defense of the four string: It was developed in the twenties as a louder instrument to keep up the brass in jazz bands. As said above, it's tuned like a violin (cello really) in fifths. Being in fifths makes it great fun for playing melodies of any style. I have a Vega style N that is a twin to Bill Sables' Vega. It's stubby four-string neck will never be severed from its swarthy shoulders. A tenor shall it forever remain! But I must confess, I cheated and tune it down so It's an octave down from my fiddle (Irish tenor). On the same note, I have another product from the 20's a Vega banjo mandolin that shall always remain an eight-stringer. Ack! should we start a thread on those? Rex |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon W. Date: 17 Oct 00 - 06:13 PM I just want to make it clear I don't chop tenors off at the neck. A good tenor is a rare find - in our church choir we don't have any so the altos have to take the tenor parts sometimes - oh, we're talking about banjos not people - well, off course, them... |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon Freeman Date: 17 Oct 00 - 06:31 PM LOL Jon W Jon F |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Frankham Date: 17 Oct 00 - 08:57 PM The five-string banjo has it's antecedents in Africa. Sam Charters in his Roots of The Blues mentions a five-string "Halam". The Senegambian Bania is another earlier form. The slaves brought the banjo to America. The styles of playing were learned by white entertainers who used it in minstrel shows. One such entertainer, Joe Sweeney has been credited for the invention of the fifth peg. (Not the fifth string as sometimes been stated). Stewart, the banjo maker and others adapted the five-string banjo to emulate the classical guitar in the later eighteen hundreds. These were fretless instsruments stsrung with gut strings. It caught on in rarified wealthy circles and music was composed for it. Some of it was classical in nature such as transcriptions of Mozart etc. and other compositions were deemed "characteristic" evoking a romantic theme of an idealized South. There were banjo orchestras but these were soon to be overshadowed by the popularity of the mandolin. The five-string banjo took a back seat to the four string in the Twenties. These were fretted instruments with metal strings. In 1914, there was a Tango craze in the US and an adaptation of the banjo using eight strings like a mandolin (called banjoline) was modified by dropping four strings and was called a "Tango Banjo". Later, jazz became popular due to groups such as the Original Dixieland Jass Band (which did not use a banjo) and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (which did). The banjo caught on because it was suitable for primitive recording purposes due to it's carrying power. The four string "Tango Banjo" became the "Tenor Banjo". Many of the original players were string players of the violin or viola and the tuning was adapted to suit the tuning they knew. It was tuned in fifths and called the "Tenor Banjo". The earlier five-string banjo dropped the fifth string and was used also as a rhythm instrument in jazz bands called the "Plectrum Banjo". These banjos, unlike the earlier five-string classical or minstrel banjos, had resonators for more volume to compete in horn playing jazz bands. When recording techniques improved, the tenor and plectrum banjo was replaced by the more versatile guitar. Eddie Lang was largely responsible for this. The dormant five-string banjo with it's minstrel roots made an adaptation into the Southern Mountains. The frailing style of the mountain folk style banjo was an offshoot of the minstrel technique. Many of the performers in early country music such as Uncle Dave Macon retained the minstrel show tradition it their performances. The gourd banjos and fretless banjos were used to accompany local big circle dances and fiddlers as well as folk songs. Most of the players were men. Women were not permitted to use them in that culture earlier. Later, Cousin Emmy, Aunt Semantha Baumgartner, Lily Mae Ledford and other famous women country entertainers would turn this around. Bluegrass banjo Scruggs style was adapted from ealier players who used a three-finger style to accompany folk music such as Obray Ramsay from North Carolina. Bluegrass music has been covered to it's present day. The resonator which had been dropped in the primitive folk cultures returned when bluegrass employed them. You are welcome. :.)))))))))))))) Frank |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: GUEST,CraigS Date: 17 Oct 00 - 09:46 PM There are two main types - tenor and plectrum. Scale length is around 27" for a tenor, and 24" for a plectrum. Tenor is tuned different to plectrum and has five strings. Plectrum is used for trad.jazz accompaniment usually - can have four or five strings, but if used for chordal work the fifth string is usually missing. Sometimes you see tenor guitars - these are four-string and tuned like plectrum banjo, usually for jazz chordal accompaniment. Occasionally you see really good banjo players in Ireland, playing tunes plectrum style in sessions. Generally speaking, a gentleman knows how to play the banjo but doesn't do it. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Max Tone Date: 18 Oct 00 - 04:16 PM Shit, I thought this was a joke site -- What's the difference between a banjo and ......................? Banjo + Fiddle? Fiddles burn faster..........Why is a Banjo player like a drunk coming home at 3am? Doesn't know when to come in, and can't find the right key.............Definition of perfect pitch? The sound of a piano Accordion dropping on a banjo...............If you drop a banjo and a piano off a cliff, which one hits the beach first? Who cares!...........Just Joking, Rob |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 18 Oct 00 - 05:53 PM That's okay, Rob. We banjo pickers are a paranoid lot anyway. Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Max Tone Date: 18 Oct 00 - 06:05 PM Dave, Not as bad as the pipers. Was feeding muso jokes to a Scotsman journalist recently, and asked a local pipe-maker to contribute. He said he'd heard them all, but none were jokes! Rob |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: catspaw49 Date: 18 Oct 00 - 06:07 PM Dave, shouldn't that read "Pair-a-roids." I mean like most of you are a pain in the ass and all................... Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Little Neophyte Date: 18 Oct 00 - 06:07 PM Fedele, Banjo-L is a helpful banjo information sight. You can join their discussion list and ask questions. Click here Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Little Neophyte Date: 18 Oct 00 - 06:18 PM ooops, not sure why that didn't work. Well you could always look up Banjo-L on a search engine unless someone else can provide the link here. Bonnie |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 18 Oct 00 - 07:57 PM Spaw, that's presumably a knowledgable judgment, coming as it does from the King of the Anal Sphincter. (Although from what I read it's a limited monarchy.) Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Frankham Date: 19 Oct 00 - 12:43 PM I forgot to mention the important contribution of Pete Seeger by adding three frets to the so-called "long neck" banjo, he influenced a generation of folk revivalists. His playing style, called up-picking, derived from the techniques of Pete Steele (from Hamilton Ohio) and Aunt Semantha Baumgartner of the Ashville Folk Festival (Pete's reason for getting interested in the five-string banjo after being a former tenor banjo player). Frank |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: murray@mpce.mq.edu.au Date: 20 Oct 00 - 06:13 AM It seems to me that the UK/Irish people use a four string banjo while the Americans (except Mexicans who won't touch the thing) use a five string. That might explain the price difference. There is also a six-string banjo. It is tuned like a guitar and was used in jazz bands as a rythm instrument. The banjo has less sustain than the guitar; but its attack is (or seems) louder. I am not sure they are still being made. There is also the gut strung banjo--usually five strings. You can really play tunes and complex pieces on it quickly because it offers little strain on the fingers and you can barre easily. I haven't seen one for years. Murray |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Bernard Date: 20 Oct 00 - 06:48 AM A wide variety of fretted, stringed instruments have been produced in banjo version: George Formby made the Ukelele banjo popular - usually 'gut' strings, tuned 'my dog has fleas' as per the standard uke. Irish musicians wanting to make more noise adopted the Mandolin Banjo. The Guitar Banjo has already been mentioned - the only person I've ever seen use one 'seriously' was Mac McCullough of the Yetties. The Tenor Banjo, as I understand it, is the short scale 4-string banjo, tuned in 5ths, usually C G D A. However, Irish musicians often tune the C up to D for a drone; in a similar way the mandolin (and M banjo) has the G tuned up to A. The G banjo has four variants, the standard 5 string with the string that tunes at the fifth fret, usually tuned g D G B D, the long-scale 5-string (tuning varies), the 4-string - usually tuned C G B D, mostly for chord bashing, but there are some who play quite complex tunes - I've heard the William Tell Overture played on one (Malcolm, are you out there?)! This was the variant favoured by the banjo bands for the melodic line. Then there is the 'Zither Banjo', which was produced by the British 'Windsor' Banjo company. This variant had little or no connection with the Zither! It had a six-peg guitar-style open headstock, the '5th' string went through a tube in the neck, and the '1st' string was doubled, a la mandolin. The resonator was attached to the neck, and the vellum was mounted on a frame inside the resonator. Fitting a new vellum is quite tricky on this instrument, as the height of the vellum changes when you alter the tension - the idea was that the head went down to compensate for the tension pushing the bridge up, but it never quite worked out! I'm sorry, but I don't have detailed measurements, etc., but someone out there will, I'm sure! This list is by no means comprehensive, but I have been repairing banjos for around 30 years, and have a John Grey 5-string, and a 'K' (el cheapo!) tenor. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Date: 20 Oct 00 - 06:54 AM I've just been listening to somevirtuoso (tenor I assume)banjo playing by Harry Reser, rags, blues and novelty tunes (Kitten on the keys etc) with piano background. These were recorded '20s and '30s but apparently he didn't die til mid'60s when he was in Broadway pit orchestras on guitar and banjo. He also wrote instruction books. On the strength of this one cassette,(Crackerjack banjo) it sounds as if he was in the Osman/Van Epps league, but I've not come across him in discussions on jazz era banjoists. Has anyone else anything to add on him? RtS |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: KingBrilliant Date: 20 Oct 00 - 07:13 AM Hobgoblin sell a guitar-banjo. Kris |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Fedele Date: 20 Oct 00 - 01:17 PM Those f***ing "computers" in the library didn't send the message I posted 2 days ago, it was a nice one and I can't write it again. But the question is: So, what's the banjo I hear when I listen to Irish folk music, and the Dubliners in particular? |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon Freeman Date: 20 Oct 00 - 01:34 PM The Dubliners is a little awkward as they did use both. Luke Kelly was a 5 string player. When you hear the jigs and the reels though, you are hearing on of the masters (IMO) of the tenor banjo in action - Barney McKenna. Jon |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Fedele Date: 21 Oct 00 - 09:32 AM Thanks. If anyone knows anything more about how they played those banjos, lemme know. A little sad thing: www.irishbanjo.com is just an address you can buy. To me it's sad: people just buy an address to re-sell it. "Well, it's mine, and I don't do anything with it, but if you want to use it, you must pay me". I think it's one of the ugliest thing in modern economy: you own something that doesn't really exist, and you make people pay to make it become something. So it's owning a thing just to make that no other one owns it. Really depressing. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: GUEST,Maurice Date: 22 Oct 00 - 07:31 AM It seems that the guy who started this thread wanted to decide which type of banjo he should buy. Well, the thing to decide is what type of music would you like to play? If you want to play bluegrass and accompany American-style folksongs you need a five-string. Any style of 5-string will do to get started on, you can pin it down a bit more as you learn. If you want to play dixieland jazz you need a four-string. These divide into two types, tenor and plectrum (rather misleading, since both are normally played with a plectrum). Plectrum has a longer neck and is really more or less the same as a 5-string without the short string. If you want to play Irish instrumental music you need a tenor. Tenor tuning is c-g-d-a (from the bottom) but here in Ireland this tuning is almost never used. "Irish" tuning is g-d-a-e (again, from the bottom) which is a fifth below the "correct" tuning. This is a little low for standard tenor strings, the gauges you need are approx. 042,032,017,012. The reason for all this is that it puts the banjo exactly an octave below the fiddle and fits in more easily with the most commonly used keys. There are of course other types of banjo, and a creative player could for instance play bluegrass on a tenor to some extent, but I think that this summary should point a beginner in the right direction. Whichever type you go for, have fun! |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon Freeman Date: 22 Oct 00 - 08:17 AM On the tuning, to quote from Mick Maloney's intro to 50 Solo's for Irish Banjo (pub: Waltons/ by Gerry O'Connor& David McNevin - btw there is a cassette that accompanies this book 25 tunes played by each):
"...There was great life and exuberance in those early recordings, in part because the music was designed for lively dancing, but also because the banjo was at that time traditionally tuned higher than nowadays—still in fifths, but with the top string pitched at B or sometimes even at C. There are a few players in America who still favour the old tuning, most notably Jimmy Kelly in Boston. Most of the younger players, however, favour the GDAE tuning, which is by now "standard" for Irish music on the tenor banjo. A good resource for learning Irish Tenor banjo is Sully's Banjo Book obtainable from him at Halshaw Music. I believe Gerry O'Conner (who believe it or not played in CGDA tuning on the tape to for his solos in the book mentioned above)also has produced an excellent tutor book. Bill Sables, you will be pleased to here that my banjo now has new strings on. While I was at it, I decided to take the plunge and adjust the truss rod and the co-oirdinator rods - scared the life out of me but it brought the action down and it (not me) is playing superbly. It also seems to be a lot louder than it was before (allowing for new strings) - any idea why? Jon |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Bernard Date: 22 Oct 00 - 09:08 AM To make a banjo louder, you need to have the head tension reasonably high (the bridge doesn't 'sink in' too much) and the tailpiece (the thing that attaches the strings to the body) should be set so that the part that projects over the head towards the bridge is as close to the head as it will go without touching. Good tailpieces actually have an adjustor screw for this purpose. But beware! Cheaper banjos often have heads with plastic hoops (you can recognise them because they are dull grey and double the thickness of the alloy ones - not to be confused with the banjo's own tension ring). These heads cannot be tensioned adequately, as the hoop will break. You cannot use metal hoop heads on these banjos, as the profile is wrong - so change the banjo! Anyway, Jon, it's quite likely that in changing the strings you inadvertently made these adjustments... then again, it may just be one of life's little mysteries! |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Little Hawk Date: 22 Oct 00 - 10:07 AM There ARE no differences between banjos. They all look damned ugly and sound bloody awful. :-D |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Bernard Date: 22 Oct 00 - 10:59 AM Funny! At Llanstock that criticism was levelled at Micca and I... |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Fedele Date: 27 Oct 00 - 02:37 PM So, should I buy a tenor? |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon Freeman Date: 27 Oct 00 - 05:24 PM Fedele, I am still not clear what you want to be playing but assuming it is the "Irish Style", the answer is yes. I have heard it done on a 5 string but it must be incredibly difficult and I have only heard 2 people achieve this in say 20 years of listening. Assuming you are going down the tenor banjo route, the banjo basically comes in 19 and 17 fret versions. The 17 fret version is quite popular amongst Irish players as nearly all the music is played in the open position and the shorter neck involves less of a stretch for the left hand (assuming you play right handed). Another possibility that I would imagine would be quite feasible for you is to start off with a mandolin which is likely to be a lot cheaper and later move on to the tenor banjo and assuming you are planning on using the GDAE tuning, you only really have a longer scale length to contend with if you take up the tenor. (You will have also learned the left hand fingering for the fiddle...). Jon |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: BanjoRay Date: 27 Oct 00 - 09:22 PM If you want to play Irish jigs and reals using a five string banjo and three finger picking, there's a superb instruction book by a guy called Tom Hanway, who's from New Mexico. He came to the Yorkshire Dales Bluegrass Festival in 1999 and astonished everyone with his technique. He told me that he is half Native American and went to New York to get work as a bluegrass player but could only get jobs in Irish bars, so he learned a lot of the tunes and developed his technique - he's very knowledgeable about them, and has spent time in the auld sod getting to grips with them. He even played me some Welsh tunes (I'm Welsh) which he did beautifully, though I had to teach him how to pronounce the titles! He's well worth looking into. Cheers Ray |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: GUEST,t_biggeruk Date: 16 Jan 06 - 08:49 AM you mention about the 4 string banjoline (coming from a mandolin) but can anybody tell me is it tuned like a mandolin thanks trevor |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon W. Date: 16 Jan 06 - 11:53 AM I guess you could tune it any way you want. If you break a string or if the strings are too loose to sound correctly, that just means you're using the wrong gauge strings for that tuning. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: NH Dave Date: 16 Jan 06 - 02:22 PM A couple of minor points. Locally a Harvey Reid an acknowledged musician uses a six string "Guitar Banjo" as one of his many instruments and does quite well on it. Although the fifth string on a five string banjo isn't fretted - it's a bit far down the neck to fret,with the rest of the hand up at the top of the neck - it creates a problem when capoing the banjo, so several work-arounds have been done. The one is one or more small brads driven into the fingerboard below the level of the fifth string. The fifth string is hooked under one of these brads to act as a fifth string capo. The other, more usable method in my estimation, is a small rail connected to the rear of the neck, just behind the fifth string peg, with a small movable capo that slides up and down on this rail, and adjusts only the fifth string. It is small enough that it won't interfere with the regular capo when the capo is adjusted lower then the fifth fret. Dave |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: David C. Carter Date: 16 Jan 06 - 03:09 PM Where I live theres a big music store.They've got several 6 stringers.They are all brand new.Quite a few shops here stock them.Never seen anyone buying one though.I'll have to go check out what make they are.I've been asking around for those brads but nobody here knows what they are....anybody know who does these? David |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon W. Date: 16 Jan 06 - 04:11 PM Usually the brads are HO-gauge railroad spikes and are available at some hobby stores that specialize in model railroads. Frank Ford describes how to install them on his website Frets.com. Many folks (including me) prefer them to the sliding rail 5th string capo because they are quite unobtrusive. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: David C. Carter Date: 17 Jan 06 - 09:13 AM Jon W: Thanks.I hate the sliding rail capo too.Theres a store in the north part of Paris,will go and have a word. Merci very much David |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Leadfingers Date: 17 Jan 06 - 10:53 AM I have a 'sliding rail' on my resonator , but for the rest I use home made 5th string capos made from any bendable metal - Large Packing Case staples are ideal - Bent to shape , in two parts with an elastic band to hold em together ! Just have to watch the base of the thumb if you want to move up the neck past the capo !! |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: David C. Carter Date: 17 Jan 06 - 11:04 AM I have found that the spring device on my slide rail capo,over time,has lost its "spring".Consequently,it wont clamp the 5th string hard enough.And it's a pain when sliding up the neck,of the banjo that is! Slippin''n'slidin'. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Jon W. Date: 17 Jan 06 - 12:09 PM You're welcome. I noticed that Frank had also posted a new, easy method of making a 5th string capo from a pen cap (such as Bic or Write Bros.) that slips between the string and the fret - it raises the 5th string action a little but that's usually not an issue. Poke around on his site for instructions. |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Leadfingers Date: 17 Jan 06 - 12:10 PM Guest t biggerUK - IF its only got four strings and a short neck its a Banjolele , as played by George Formby - Tunes the same as a Ukulele . The Banjoline has eight strings in pairs and is indeed tuned the same as a Mandoline . The OTHER four string banjos have longer necks and are either Tenor or G Banjos . A 13 1/2 " neck with seventeen frets is a short scale tenor , whereas a longer neck , the same length as a standard 5 string , is a G banjo , as played by such luminaries as Barney McKenna |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: Roger the Skiffler Date: 18 Jan 06 - 10:02 AM The late and much missed Rick Fielding (who HAD heard of Harry Reser, of course..see my old post above!)used to remind me that early jazz banjo players like Johnny St Cyr often played the 6-string "guitar" banjo. Our own (our very own) Steve Parkes has or had one too. I don't know if they are still made but the last time I passed Macari's music shop in London they had 2 second hand ones in the window. RtS |
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Subject: RE: Tell me: diffrncs 'tween banjos From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 18 Jan 06 - 03:15 PM diffrncs 'tween banjos - which can lead to duelling banjos... |
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