The 6 string banjo has an interesting history. It's chief exponent in traditional jazz is Johnny St. Cyr who recorded historic Hot Five cuts with Louis Armstrong. Johnny was an important jazz player and may have pre-dated the influential Eddie Lang. He was noted for being the accompanist for Louis along with Lil Hardin. The piano and 6-string banjo worked well together. St. Cyr played an influential style of guitar later adopted by Eddie Lang, that of a bass line in a bass chord accompaniment. Check out "Heebie Jeebies" in particular for St. Cyr. and then Eddie Lang with Joe Venuti and then his recordings with the Paul Whiteman band. This would have been on an archtop round-hole guitar...Gibson.

The 6-string banjo has been used as a result by trad jazz bands. As As of late, Clancy Hayes played the 6-string banjo and one important player was early Django Reinhardt. It was his first instrument.

Not many of them have been well made. The old Gibson trap-door 6-string banjos were of the best but try to find one.

Frank Hamilton