General Music Chat

I think I do. The price looks good. Do I want it?
http://roanoke.craigslist.org/msg/1110498978.html

You can get a brand new one for about $250.

http://www.music123.com/Search/Default. ... WRWXYB&o=5

http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend ... sku=519798

And if you don't like it you can return it. That's worth $50 to me.

I knew there was a reason I asked here. Thanks! I'll offer him $125.

Paul,
Cin would say to me, (as in the case of my new synthesizer that I still don't have)...
"Do Ya really need it right now?"

Happy Easter To you and yours!
John

Need it? Who cares... I WANT ONE...never even heard of it before.

I've played 'em. They're okay, but really kinda limited in their use. Get a real banjo & learn how to do some stuff on it, & you'll be much better off, imho. It's way more versatile than this thing, believe it or not. This is for guitarists who want the sound, but they can never get that sound with it. The placement of the strings, & the finger rolls, are what make that cool banjo sound, Paul. When you try to play a banjo that's set up like a guitar, that's exactly what it sounds like, & it's a poor substitute for the real thing.

Still, if you're only going to use it on 1 or 2 songs, $125 ain't a bad price. But if you wanna learn to play a banjo, this ain't the way to do it.

^ nice chunk of advice philby. thanks!

For some reason this reminds me of that idjit I know who got a resonator mandolin. He convinced himself that it was designed to be played like a dobro, so he uses a slide on it. Of course he completely ignores the fact that the strings are set at different heights, so it nearly always rattles & squeeks as the slide slips over them, & sounds like crap in general, but at least he's determined, right?

Then there's the banjo-mandolin, or banjolin, or manjo. It's a mandolin with a banjo head. It's played like a mandolin, but sounds like a banjo. What's the frikken point? It'll give ya the volume, & that's about it. Any banjo player will play rings around anyone who tries to play the thing with a single pick, & it will NEVER sound either like a true banjo or a mandolin.

Anyone ever play one of those Rainbird or Rainsong guitars? (I forget the right name, but it's Rain-something)? They're completely made out of carbon fiber & have an amazing amount of volume. BUT - they sound like poop! Way middy, no bass, little high end, but they'll hold their own in a bluegrass band cuz the volume is right up there with the banjo & mandolin, & the timbre fits in that area, too. I picked one up at Chuck Levin's, sat down & hit a G chord, & nearly dropped it cuz its volume startled me so much! Truly icky sound, though, unless you use the p/u & tweak the hell out of it.

Some things just shouldn't be messed with, imho.

Philby, dem's some good comments fer sure, and you're probably right all the way around. I'd still like one to tinker with, I think finger picked in an open tuning it might just be usable. I doubt if I'd do more than try a pick now and then, just to see how it works, but it would most likely be all finger pickin with me, and open tuning all the way. That would also make it sound and play more like a banjo too.

I wonder how it would work with a slide bar....

Satriani used one on a song or two off of Flying in a Blue Dream. Just strummed it for rhythm though. He could have done the same thing with a ukulele.

Pete - AAAAAaaargh! (thinking about the slide)

ratsass - Satriani could have played a tenor banjo, cuz that's how they're used, although they only have 4 strings

Hehe...

Hey I'm always looking for ways to get different sounds. I've tried slide on a mandolin, and on bass guitar, I have a xylophone that just might find its way into my song "Last Train", I'd probably try a violin bow on a banjo too if I had one...

LOL

I never saw a banjo neck that had enough arch to it to make a bow useful, myself. You'll end up hitting every string, Pete.

I like new sounds, too, but it usually involves using unusual instruments rather than unusual methods of playing them...p'raps I should broaden my horizons a bit...hmm...a bow on the bagpipes?

hmm...a bow on the bagpipes?

I'll bring the arrows.

hmm...a bow on the bagpipes?

I'll bring the arrows.

Shame on ya Rat!
If you ever find yerself in the same pub as our Main man, Celtic Pipin' Rich, I wouldn't expect him to buy ya a round after that remark.
Howlin'