Question for banjo players

Juan_Banjovy · #1 05-19-2022, 01:52 PM

Planning on getting a banjo but I did research & learned they are 4 string or 5 string & tuned differently. I'm thinking 5 string is more common from what I've seen. I've been picking banjo style on guitars for decades & got a banjitar which is fun but the guitar tuning means I can't actually play banjo parts to songs. Anyway should I get a 4 string or 5 string?

jacot23 · #2 05-19-2022, 01:59 PM

4 string is a tenor or plectrum and normally
played with a pick.

I'm gonna guess you want a 5 string.

I play clawhammer style and a little 2 finger style on open back 5 string banjos; think Old Time or Folk music. Also play a lot of hymns.

I don't play 3 finger/Scruggs style with fingerpicks. Most of those guys play a 5 string resonator banjo; mostly bluegrass.

Open backs are typically cheaper.

DCCougar · #3 05-19-2022, 02:23 PM

I'd say definitely a 5-string.

guitarman68 · #4 05-19-2022, 04:22 PM

Yes, 5-string would be my recommendation. Folk, Bluegrass, Old Time, Pete Seeger ... early Eagles, Mumford & Sons , all played on 5-string. If you want to play Dixie or Irish, go 4-string (tenor).
Open back sound mellower compared to resonator (bluegrass).

Mandobart · #5 05-19-2022, 07:13 PM

I inherited a budget banjitar. I replaced the low E string with a .010 plain steel tuned to a high D added spikes at the 5th and 7th frets and retuned the remaining 5 strings G, D, G, B, D. Now it's a real 6 string banjo using the 5th fret spike to have a drone G.

Juan_Banjovy · #6 05-19-2022, 07:38 PM

Thanks, looks like I'll be getting the 5-string. I'm mostly Travis picking with thumb & 2 fingers but the picking pattern switches around a lot depending on the hammer-ons & pull-offs I'm doing.

Rudy4 · #7 05-19-2022, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juan_Banjovy

Planning on getting a banjo but I did research & learned they are 4 string or 5 string & tuned differently. I'm thinking 5 string is more common from what I've seen. I've been picking banjo style on guitars for decades & got a banjitar which is fun but the guitar tuning means I can't actually play banjo parts to songs. Anyway should I get a 4 string or 5 string?

I've been building 5 string open backs and playing banjo for several years. If you want to play in modal styles as you'll normally hear from clawhammer players you'll want a 5 string. You really need the re-entrant 5th string to do those styles effectively. You'll also want to investigate the predomanant tunings that are used.

If you want to simulate clawhammer when you play guitar you can investigate artists such as Steve Baughman or Molly Tuttle.

Steve DeRosa · #8 05-19-2022, 07:53 PM

I own all three - 4, 5, and 6-string - and while each has its place, I regularly interchange styles/techniques not normally associated with a given instrument (playing crosspick-style 5-string with a flatpick in "highgrass" gDGBE tuning; capoing the 6-string at the fifth fret for the biggest, fattest tenor tone you'll ever hear; setting up the tenor in drop-G tenor uke tuning [GCEA] and alternating between fingerstyle and flatpicked lead runs, among others). That said, if I had to have a single instrument it's be a good plectrum, essentially a 5-string banjo minus the high-G drone; I've seen them flatpicked, fingerpicked, strummed, crosspicked, and in a variety of styles; there's a broad variety of stringing/tuning options (original CGBD, open-G DGBD, open-D DF#AD, "Chicago" DGBE and, if you have the reach, Irish GDAE), and judicious use of a capo for tonality (rather than as a "cheater" to play in flat keys, as many semi-skilled and "tab-only" players do IME) opens up a broad variety of new sonic textures. In fact, I've had a plectrum on my radar for a few years - and I'd happily trade away all the others when/if I find the right instrument...

Maryc-k · #9 05-21-2022, 05:38 AM

There are 6 string banjos strung like guitars and then what are considered 5+1 banjos with a low G string between the low C (or D) and the fifth string (generally tuned to high G). The low G string is generally used as a drone.

6 string banjos that are tuned like guitars have a history, according to what Molly Mason (Jay Unger's wife and musical partner) explained to me. They were kept around pubs and places where there would normally be a piano player who entertained or accompanied other individuals. But at times the piano would be out of tune or out of commission for one reason or another, so the venue would offer the use of the banjo for accompaniment.