Decent Entry Level Banjo

  • Thread starter Thread starter ez_willis
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cephus said:
I assumed that this was because you were going to do the whole bluegrass 5-string thing. If you just want to get a banjo sound for recording, then they have 6 string ones and any shitty one is good enough to take the 5th string tuner off and tune like a tenor (or the bottom 4 strings of a guitar).

I think it's hard as shit to play banjo. You always have to know where you're going. On a guitar, I can kind of live in the moment and not worry too much about the next chord change. On a banjo, you have to think at least a chord change or two ahead so you don't step on your dick. I quit playing for a while because I just couldn't play as fast as I wanted to, but then heard some slower folkie things and I know I can play that well. I always wanted to play east bound and down with the band and play banjo. Can't do it three piece, though.
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Both 4 string (tuned in 5ths) and 5 string (open G) I find a whole lot easier to work out songs from a theory standpoint when compared to guitar.....but I've been kind of going to school on guitar lately and learning how and why I'm playing what I do. Anyway in open G you've only got 3 three chord shapes and one of those is just barring everything, so it's easy to form chords once you know your roots. Scruggs style rolls and melodic scales and riffs take some time and go against what you'd learn in guitar fingerstyle mainly due to the fifth string placement but practice will get you there. Clawhammer and frailing I've never done correctly but over time I've carved out a style that works for me so fuck it.

For me, the alternative stringed instruments like banjo, dobro, mandolin, mandocello, etc. are not only fun to play and get me more work but are very useful in coming up with new ideas and approaches in writing and recording, and I think help in my guitar playing.
 
saw Bela Fleck and Chick Corea about 6 weeks ago. Good lord he made a banjo sound like a very desirable instrument! And his has a very mellow .... almost piano like sound. In fact, sometimes it was hard to tell if what you were hearing was his banjo or Chicks' piano.

Used to work for a guy that custom built banjos ...... you definitely want one with a resonator ...... get as nice of bell brass tone ring as you can.

Maybe the best bang for buck might be a Stew Mac kit.
On a banjo ......other than finish work, a lot of building comprises bolting stuff together. So the Stew MAc kits'll be easy to build and they'll be standard sizes.

One good thing about banjos is that if you get a standard sized resonator 5-string ...... it's easy to upgrade. Randy (the guy I worked for ) was always trying a new tone ring with different alloys or a different profile ...... sometimes he'd try different resonators since different wood affect the sound.
 
ez_willis said:
Dang, you guys would be extremely helpful if I was curious about your opinions of the instrument or if I should get one, or even if I wanted know about an alternative instrument that is similar to a banjo.
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I play in a bluegrass band (mandolin & guitar) and the banjo player is a kick ass player thats played for 40 years-and his style is clawhammer. He does it very well and very interesting-he often does things like jazz standards-Duke Ellington tunes sound amazing when he does them.
I have a entry level Oscar Schmidt (made by Washburn) 5 string that I use for jamming and recording and when our banjo guy tried it out he said it was a great starter banjo. You might want to check this one out EZ-pretty solid for the price.
 
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