Gold tone banjo ukulele

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 07 Aug 13 - 12:04 AM

Mooh, I took my Banjo-Ette in to the Hank To Hendrix guitar shop last week and asked Dave and Wayne to make me a new neck, salvaging the Gumby headstock from the old one. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 08 Jul 13 - 04:40 PM

Banjo-ette

Le Domino banjolele belonging to my friend Roy. I'm giving this a last go before returning it. He asked me to set it up for him.

Slingerland MayBelle - a gift from Jimmy Bowskill My friend Jim gave me this banjolele a few years ago.

Old S.S.Stewart with nylon strings tuned gCEA This is a tango banjo, which I treat and tune like a banjolele, but it seems to have a deeper tone.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 08 Jul 13 - 04:17 PM

Here's my Johnson Uke. It has a few differences from the Gold Tone. The tailpiece on the Gold Tone is absent on the Johnson. The Johnson has a mother of toilet seat overlay on the headstock and the Johnson has friction, rather than geared tuners.
My Johnson Ukulele next to a National guitar

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 08 Jul 13 - 04:09 PM

I have just obtained a Johnson reso-uke and I really like it.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Wesley S
Date: 07 Jul 13 - 07:49 PM

Yes - but I'm guessing that the banjo uke is louder. It's certainly louder than my Pono tenor.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Mooh
Date: 07 Jul 13 - 02:55 PM

Sweet little resonator, Wesley. I could be convinced...

Is it loud?

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Wesley S
Date: 07 Jul 13 - 02:01 PM

I have a Gold Tone resonator uke. I used to have one made by Republic but traded it for the Gold Tone. It'd not quite as abrasive as a banjo uke but it's still pretty strident. We hope to use it in some shows we'll be doing for kids soon.

Here's a link

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Mooh
Date: 07 Jul 13 - 10:16 AM

Hey folks, what do you suggest for an 8" banjo-uke head? On my other banjos I have a variety of Remo heads but I don't have much experience with this one. My instinct says Fibreskyn, as that's what I like on my tenor banjo. The stock Gold Tone head is a simple Weatherking, not my favourite tone. Suggestions?

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: banjoman
Date: 07 Jul 13 - 06:22 AM

Gold Tone are great value for money . Before I started making my own instruments I had several Gold Tones, including a Banjo Uke which as others have said was really loud. I don't think you can go wrong with this one.
Good luck

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: GUEST,Brad Sondahl
Date: 06 Jul 13 - 11:52 AM

Bertie Wooster would be proud of you. He had a serious falling out with Jeeves over a Banjo-lele...

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Mooh
Date: 06 Jul 13 - 11:39 AM

I figure you'll never know if you don't take a chance. Money shouldn't ever be the deciding factor when pursuing an instrument.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 06 Jul 13 - 10:34 AM

Mooh, I was surprised to hear that you had a Banjo-ette.
I arrived for a gig ahead of the rest of the group in the town of Picton and decided to check out the music store. I found an affordable banjolele and bought it.
The Gumby shaped headstock says BANJO-ETTE Elkhart, U.S.A. It has a simple tailpiece with U-KING etched inside a hexagon. The skin head is covered with autographs of folks I've never heard of: DAD 4/19/31, Flo Jones Woodriver 1935, Margaret MacMillan 157 96 St. Edmonton, EM Paxton April 24-31... Like yours it has a metal pot with 12 tension hooks. There is a twist in the neck which a luthier friend has offered to correct or repair for $100. I paid $20 for it. Do you think it's worth my while getting it fixed? Just drumming on the head makes me think it might sound OK, but I'm not sure how much that will tell me.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Mooh
Date: 06 Jul 13 - 08:30 AM

Incidentally, I purchased a Gold Tone banjo ukulele last Easter. It will need better strings when I get around to it (usually D'Addario on my other ukes) and maybe a different head eventually, but it plays nicely stock. It's fun as an accompaniment instrument for some things but does better to my ears when there's someone playing lower notes (bass, piano, guitar). Pick the right song/tune, that's all. Nice factory fret job. Came with a nice fitted hardshell case. Head needed tightening when I bought it. Loud little bugger too, so it does melody as well as chords nicely.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Northerner
Date: 07 Sep 12 - 12:34 PM

Have you tried out various instruments? Ukes are fun (I have a soprano and a concert). Just bought a tenor guitar - they have a lovely sound.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Mooh
Date: 07 Sep 12 - 12:22 PM

GoldTone are generally a pretty good value. I have a tenor and a 5 string from them. My banjo-uke however is an old and beat up steel rim
Banjo-ette, currently without strings as it needs a new bridge.

Banjo-ukes (and ukes generally) sound great as accompaniment instruments when played smoothly.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Bug Girl
Date: 07 Sep 12 - 12:56 AM

I think that song never existed. I did try searching for it and I only found this thread. P G Wodehouse would sometimes make up things for comic effect. I once search for a long time to find Clarkson's warbler. Which was mentioned in another story. Bertie wonders who is Clarkson, several times so I looked it up and no such warbler exists. A song about an automobile with a honk that goes toot toot, would be a very annoying song so the point, I believe is to show that Bertie is annoying his neighbors and get kicked out of his flat and Jeeves leaves him as well. I almost thought banjolele might not be real, but they are a cross between a ukulele and a banjo.

I also read in some books about P G that he would use the wrong names for flowers in the garden in the wrong seasons. And how there never is a foggy day in London, each day is sunny. He just did not care about details being accurate. But, if that song did exist I would love to get the music and lyrics for it.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 10:06 PM

I hope everybody knows that the only time Jeeves ever left the employ of Berty Wooster was over the fact Berty was learning to playing a banjolele or as Jeeves liked to described it " THAT INSTRUMENT " . They were kicked out of their London flat and the young master had to take a cottage called Wee Nook at the end of a harbor with only the village's police sergeant for a neighbor . I think the banjolele finally burned in a house fire started by Berty's new man servant before Jeeves would return to status quo . Berty was learning a song called "I Want an Automobile With A Horn That Goes Toot Toot ". Anyone know that one ?? So many banjoleles so little time !! Even a high end Gibson isnt so exspensive as a banjolele .

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 03 Jan 12 - 01:51 AM

George Harrison was a huge fan of George formby. He actually owned one of Formby's banjoleles. When Formby's family asked him if he'd sell it to them he offered to give it to them, but they insisted on paying for it.
Leadfinger isn't kidding about the volume. The first day I got mine, I stuffed socks between the dowel stick and the head and I still had no trouble being heard over a fiddle and a National guitar.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Stringsinger
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 12:20 PM

The advantage of the uke is that it can find harmonic sophistication in the hands of a good musician. This is why it was originally used for the accompaniment to popular songs of the twenties, thirties and perhaps early forties.

It can do jazz harmonies if the neck is of sufficient length to accommodate the musical range.

Ukulele Ike (Cliff Edwards) was a breakthrough singer and player of many Gershwin tunes and other songwriters that had a sophisticated harmonic palette.

Formby popularized the banjo uke but it can be used for other than vaudeville tunes.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Tootler
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 11:33 AM

George Formby sang with with a banjo uke. If you look at clips of his songs, when he was actually singing he just did simple strums with his thumb or thumb and forefinger. The fancy strums were for the instrumental solos.

Most ukulele players don't use picks, don't need them.

Try the ukulele underground forum. Lots of useful advice there and plenty of info on different makes.

http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 04:50 AM

Play them further up the neck then. Try using a plectrum cut from an old leather belt, or similar. They're better than, and last longer than, those silly felt picks.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Leadfingers
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 04:39 AM

The only drawback to a Banjo Uke for song ccompanyment can be the volume ! They are NOT a quiet instrument

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: PHJim
Date: 02 Jan 12 - 01:50 AM

I play an old Slingerland May Bell banjolele in our jug band and it sounds great. I tried the Gold Tone in the musical petting zoo at the Shelter Valley Folk Festival and it sounded great. I prefer these instruments for songs with more than three chords and many of the jug band tunes we play fall into this category.

Subject: RE: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: Crowhugger
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 08:45 PM

If you love its sound and feel and you can still afford to eat if you go for it, go for it!

Subject: Gold tone banjo ukulele
From: dilly daly of Adelaide
Date: 01 Jan 12 - 08:29 PM

Hi,has anybody tried to accompany folk songs using this instrument? Am just looking for a banjo, guitar,ukulele type instrument that is a littler different ? Can play the guitar and tenor ukulele.Tried a 6 string banjo guitar but the sound didn't grab me.Gold Tone instruments seem good value.
          interested in your opinion,Dilly