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  #1  
Old 08-16-2019, 09:19 AM
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Default banjolele

The Outside Uke thread and site got my attention on a banjolele. Yet another composite instrument.

I went from here to Amazon and found that most of the banoleles are composite of one sort or another. Went to reviews and bought the cheapest one that also had great reviews.

Now, I have questions. One of the reviews says that the GCEA uke tuning can be converted to baritone tuning by changing the 4th string to a low G--is that right? I'd like to do that because I then would not have to change my chording.

Also, in another attempt to learn as little as possible while playing a new instrument, what would be the easiest open tuning?

Any help will be appreciated.
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Old 08-16-2019, 10:18 AM
Fixedgear60 Fixedgear60 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
The Outside Uke thread and site got my attention on a banjolele. Yet another composite instrument.

I went from here to Amazon and found that most of the banoleles are composite of one sort or another. Went to reviews and bought the cheapest one that also had great reviews.

Now, I have questions. One of the reviews says that the GCEA uke tuning can be converted to baritone tuning by changing the 4th string to a low G--is that right? I'd like to do that because I then would not have to change my chording.

Also, in another attempt to learn as little as possible while playing a new instrument, what would be the easiest open tuning?

Any help will be appreciated.
Hi Evan,

One issue is when you swap out the high G to a low G you loose that "banjo" sound.... the high g really enhances the banjo jangly ... for lack of a better word ... I am sure there are real banjo players who may jump in. Also after playing the outdoor banjo uke... I found the proportions off. The pan size to neck ratio felt off... the pan size was a little too large for my taste and felt unbalanced IMHO also it felt heavy for such a small instrument....I never got comfortable with it ....it broke my heart to send it back ... it is a very COOL looking instrument with the transparent skin ... your mileage may vary... :-)
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Old 08-16-2019, 11:37 AM
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Fixed;

I've noticed, in different reviews, that some banjoleles sound like ukes and other sound like banjos--I want the banjo sound so it sounds like the G string is not going to work for me.

I also don't like heavy. One of the reasons I'm looking at this is that the 84 year old professional banjo player in the village is have trouble with the weight of her instruments. One of the first things I'll do when the instrument arrives is let the player contrast the weight.

And what about the easiest and best open tuning????

It's sounding as though this may be a quick return to sender--even though it has nylon strings.
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Old 08-16-2019, 12:44 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Definition of a gentleman: someone who knows HOW to play the banjo, but doesn't. Couldn't resist.

Traditional ukulele tuning is gCEA (high G string) and the alternate is GCEA (low G string) which I prefer. If you drop the first string from A to G, you have an Open C chord, equivalent intervals to open G tuning on guitar but a fourth higher. I have used that tuning to work with a couple of elderly students with bad arthritis, who could not easily form chord grips. They could get barre chords and simple one or two finger chord shapes.

There are a few people that bring banjo-ukes to our club from time to time, and that is OK. Some are high quality instruments and others are not. Banjo uke is not my thing personally, but more power to those who do. All I ask is that if you play loud, at least be on the beat and don't rush the tempo. (That is apparently asking a lot......). Resonator banjos are unavoidably heavy - lots of metal hardware there - but your friend can try an open backed version.
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Old 08-16-2019, 01:14 PM
PHJim PHJim is offline
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Lowering the re-entrant "g" to a "G" will not change your chord shapes. The high G tuning makes it possible to play clawhammer style. I have a few yard sale/ flea market banjoleles. My favourite is a Maybelle, made by the Slingerland Co. I've tried it with a low G tuning, but, as fixedgear60 said, it loses some of the banjo charm. (Go ahead and make your jokes. I've been playing banjos for 40 years and I can take it. I never claimed to be a gentleman Earl49, and that was an accordion joke when I heard it.)

I don't find any of my banjoleles to be very heavy. Banjos with brass Mastertone style tone rings can be very heavy, but all of my banjos are open backs with light or no tone rings.

I do have an old S.S.Stewart tenor banjo with a short neck (tango banjo) that I have strung with Nylgut strings and tuned gCEA with a capo on the second fret. I tried to tune it up with no capo, but the strings wouldn't take it.
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Old 08-17-2019, 05:25 AM
Fixedgear60 Fixedgear60 is offline
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Fixed;


It's sounding as though this may be a quick return to sender--even though it has nylon strings.
Have fun with it... also I should note that there is a 20% restocking fee for all non customized ukes sold. They are a small two man shop when I spoke to Scott and with the shipping fees back it was expensive to return unfortunately. I like you just wrote it off as the cost of experimentation ... and don't mind helping the little guys out who have a dream to make these instruments. In hind sight.. probably should have posted it for sale and passed the savings on to a member of this or the underground forum. These instruments are HIGH quality poly-something ukes :-)
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Old 08-17-2019, 06:16 PM
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Fixed,

It came, faster than a speeding bullet. I've been playing with it. It is really a nicely made instrument, and it really has a powerful projection. I've shown it to several village friends and neighbors--they all think it looks cool. I have to show it to the Banjo expert, but I suspect she'll find it too small.

When Banjoeles are advertised some say 8" and some say20-some inches--does that mean that some of them have a 23" diameter?
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Old 08-17-2019, 06:22 PM
mot mot is offline
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NBD pictures?
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Tom

PS If you don't want to invest in yourself, why should anyone else even bother to try?
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Old 08-17-2019, 09:51 PM
PHJim PHJim is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
Fixed,

It came, faster than a speeding bullet. I've been playing with it. It is really a nicely made instrument, and it really has a powerful projection. I've shown it to several village friends and neighbors--they all think it looks cool. I have to show it to the Banjo expert, but I suspect she'll find it too small.

When Banjoeles are advertised some say 8" and some say20-some inches--does that mean that some of them have a 23" diameter?
I would think 8" head diameter and 20" scale length.
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Old 08-17-2019, 11:01 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
Fixed,


When Banjoeles are advertised some say 8" and some say20-some inches--does that mean that some of them have a 23" diameter?
That must be the new new math
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Old 08-18-2019, 12:18 AM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
Fixed,


When Banjoeles are advertised some say 8" and some say20-some inches--does that mean that some of them have a 23" diameter?
That seems unlikely. Probably the overall length.
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  #12  
Old 08-18-2019, 09:37 AM
casualmusic casualmusic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
Fixed;

I've noticed, in different reviews, that some banjoleles sound like ukes and other sound like banjos--I want the banjo sound so it sounds like the G string is not going to work for me.

I also don't like heavy. One of the reasons I'm looking at this is that the 84 year old professional banjo player in the village is have trouble with the weight of her instruments. One of the first things I'll do when the instrument arrives is let the player contrast the weight.

And what about the easiest and best open tuning????

It's sounding as though this may be a quick return to sender--even though it has nylon strings.

Hi Evan


À. Banjo ukuleles:

Standard ukulele scale lengths:
- 20" baritone - DGBE or dGBE guitar tuning (optional GCEA/gCEA ukulele or DGBD/dGBD banjo)
- 17" tenor - gCEA or GCEA ukulele tuning (optional DGBE/dGBE guitar or DGBD/dGBD banjo)
- 15" concert - gCEA
- 12" soprano - gCEA

You can find the scale of your new banjolele by doubling the length from the nut to fret 12. (Adjust the intonation by sliding the moveable bridge).

For a baritone or tenor scale it's fairly easy to get a standard or special ukulele string set from vendor stock / backorder to achieve DGBD or dGBD banjo tuning.

For concert or soprano it'll be difficult to find a string set that will have nice sound and good tension. Better to learn gCEA or gift the banjolele to a ukulele enthusiast.


B. Gold Tone also offers a full line of very nice professional grade banjoleles. And the lovely inexpensive plastic body banjolele introduced last year (and copied by others) won a NAMM award.


C. Recommendation other than banjolele:

An 84 year old professional banjo player will probably find a four string banjolele to be rather wee and twee. And may not want to give up the fifth string.

She will likely prefer a full size but very light weight five string Gold Tone AC1 or AC1-R, or perhaps a mid weight AC5. The four string AC4 has a 4" shorter scale if less reach is needed.

The lightness is achieved by using a light weight molded composite rim that does not use many of the heavy metal parts needed on a traditional banjo.

The AC1 was awarded best new product at NAMM summer 2016. The other AC models are based on the AC1 rim. All are readily available from the Gold Tone website and many music stores.

The AC1, AC1-R, and AC4 are (!!) $200US. AC5 is more because of the maple resonator.

The AC1 (open back) and AC1-R (resonator plate) weigh 3.8 pounds. Professional banjos range from 6-12 pounds.

The AC5 uses a large detachable wood resonator chamber and thus weighs 6 pounds.

Best bet is to get your buddy an AC1-R or AC1 for least weight. Get the mid weight AC5 with maple resonator if a louder fuller sound is needed.


The four string AC4 has a shorter 22.5" scale and weighs 3.4 pounds. It is useful if the player needs a shorter reach and can give up the fifth string.

The AC4 ships with CGDA standard tenor banjo strings. I switched to GDAE irish tenor strings to get the same fingering as my violin.

On the second AC4 I use 0.012" standard banjo strings for DGBD banjo or DGBE guitar fingering, and 0.010 for GCEA ukulele fingering.


I like these composite body banjos a lot but unsure whether this forum would be interested in a review.


Cheers.

Last edited by casualmusic; 08-18-2019 at 12:29 PM.
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  #13  
Old 08-18-2019, 01:14 PM
kramster kramster is offline
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Someone sure seems to know a lot about these critters...cool
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  #14  
Old 08-18-2019, 03:28 PM
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Casual;

Thank you very much for your time and thoughtful response. I will be passing the information along to the village banjo player.
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Old 08-18-2019, 03:54 PM
ceciltguitar ceciltguitar is offline
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Evan, not exactly what you are asking about, but Deering used to make a 6 string nylon string banjo (banjitar?) tuned like a guitar:

https://www.deeringbanjos.com/produc...dtime-solana-6

I picked one (used, I think) up a couple of years ago. You might be able to find one, if you are interested.

I didn't realize that it was no longer made until I went to look it up for this post. Good thing I bought one when I did.
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