Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and....

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Earl
Date: 20 May 99 - 06:18 PM

One of mine has a wooden rim surrounded by a brass rim, the other is thick wood. Both are pretty sturdy but neither stays in tune very long under any conditions. I think the point is that the head isn't wood so if it is damaged it can be easily replaced ("easily" being a relative term)

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 20 May 99 - 03:20 AM

Thanks for the advice, guys.

arl, if thhey're not made of wood, what are they made of? Mine has a skin head and seems a bit sensitive to humidity. My granddad (see the doorknockers thread) used to play the (conventional) mandolin; he claimed it was was made out of a chinaman's head!

Steve

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Earl
Date: 19 May 99 - 05:17 PM

I have two of them. I was told by a Goucester fisherman that they used to be played by sailors because they withstood the weather and were more easily repaired than wooden instuments.

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Mudjack
Date: 19 May 99 - 03:51 PM

They are loud, to loud for close jams and song circles but like the banjo can be muted and toned down bt stuffing a towel inside the pot.They sound like a canon going off in a small room.
Mudjack

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: reggie miles
Date: 19 May 99 - 03:51 PM

Steve, if you are unable to find what you need at the music store try the hardware store. There are do it yourself grommets that should do the trick or a similiar item can be had at any full service shoe repair shop. The little brass grommets that your shoe laces go through come in different diameters and work well. I've used them myself. Reggie

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: bill\sables
Date: 19 May 99 - 02:32 PM

I have four banjolins or banjo mandolins or mandolin banjos. I have heard them called by all of those names. They were popular in war time "Banjo, mandolin, guitar bands" in the U.K. because in those days before good amplification the were as loud as a full size banjo, People used to take the strings off and fit them with gut strings tuned A D F# B and turn them into ukelelie banjos when George Formby was popular as the scale length is just about the same. In the U.K at the moment they are out of fashion and only bring about £30 to £50 but if you play mandolin and want something louder and twangier they are a sound investment and one day they might come back into fashion Cheers Bill

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 19 May 99 - 12:04 PM

Find a recording of Coley Jones and the Dallas String Band and listen to a master play the banjo-lin!

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Rex
Date: 19 May 99 - 11:24 AM

The Fairbanks Vega Co. in Boston cranked out a bunch of these in the early twenties. I see them from time to time as low as $200. I got mine for less as it needed some repair to the neck. I think they offered three types. Mine is the model "S" which has the famed tubaphone tone ring. Nope, you unscrupulous banjo converters that want to slap a five string neck on it, ye can't have it. It's great fun rattling off fiddle tunes with a banjo sound.

Rex

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 May 99 - 10:55 AM

Best UK source Andy Perkins, Perkins traditional instruments, Faversham, Kent. He's in the book. He's also a very good tenor (banjo)player. He tried to sell me once but it was just too damn loud and shrill.

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Jon W.
Date: 19 May 99 - 10:04 AM

I've monitored the Banjo section of eBay.com daily and there are always several banjo-mandolins for sale there. Usually they have photos posted.

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Alice
Date: 19 May 99 - 09:14 AM

also called a mando-banjo, here are photos of one... May Bell Queen Mando-Banjo Engraved mother-of-pearl fingerboard & peghead, beautiful decorative floral design on resonator with mother-of-pearl rim and black binding. Skin head, some finish checking on neck & resonator. click here

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Bert
Date: 19 May 99 - 08:50 AM

Steve,

I think you can buy little sleeves that fit around the post. Check with your local music store.

Bert.

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Dan Knudsen
Date: 19 May 99 - 04:27 AM

I believe that the "Banjolin" is now the featured instrument of the month for sale thru Lark In the Morning. Evr heard of them...I first heard of them at Folklife Festival up in Seattle a number of years ago...I've also heard that it's a loud instrument...the price of this one is right...i guess it costs about $95...it also has a bolted on neck...the article i read on it said that both Ry Cooder and David Lindley are proud owners of one....not bad company, huh?

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 19 May 99 - 03:42 AM

Hey, I've got one of those! I bought it second (or twenty-second) hand in a music shop in Ryde on the Isle of Wight a few years ago. It's a cheap-ish looking model made by Aria. You can hear it at the other end of the street! I've only ever seen one other, and that was about twenty-five years ago: a beautifully made job with inlaid wood on the back, mother-of-pearl on the fingerboard, and all sorts; I've been kicking myself ever since for not buying it.

I'm going to ask for a bit of technical advice now. The tuning machines work well enough, but the headstock has worn a bit. On a modern instrument, the the string post is inside a metal sleeve, but on older ones (like mine) it just sits in a hole in the wood. When the wood starts to wear, the post starts to turn off its axis, making accurate tuning difficult. Anyone know an easy/cheap way to fix this?

Steve

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Night Owl
Date: 19 May 99 - 01:15 AM

I have an old banjo-mandolin which I tune the same as a mandolin ( I have no idea if that's how it should be tuned.) It is, as Rick said, fun to play and has a neat sound. To simplify a description, mine has the body of a banjo and the neck and strings of a mandolin. I also am curious to know more about them....the name on mine is Abianc or Abianco...with three more letters/numbers under the name which I can't quite read.

Subject: RE: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 19 May 99 - 12:35 AM

Hi Nan. I own one. They're fun to play and VERY loud! You can often find old ones pretty cheaply but usually the necks are warped and the heads need to be replaced - which can be tricky because of the size. I'd suggest you check out the company "Gold Star", they make new ones which sound great and play easy. Couldn't find a web site for them. Good luck.
Rick

Subject: Banjolin, anyone ever heard of one and.......
From: Nan
Date: 19 May 99 - 12:19 AM

Being a so-so fiddle player and anxious to take on another instrument I figured a mandolin was the best choice. But I just heard of a Banjolin. It plays like a mandolin but sounds like a banjo!

Anyone ever hear one? Or better yet, play one? Would love to hear some info about one before I were to buy one. Thanks, Nan