NPBD, Plectrum Banjo is a thing!

[stevo58]

You should be able to pick up a Silver Bell Style 1 or a Vega Professional (tubaphone tone ring) for under $2k. You might have to wait a bit. Gruhn has a Vega in stock for $1500. Either one of those could easily be your “banjo for life” if you aren’t chasing bling.

Brands to look for are Bacon & Day (Silver Bell Series)
Vega (with a tubaphone)
Paramount
Weymann
Trujo

Any of those will get you more for less than a new instrument. Check the ads on the Banjo Hangout.

If you want to spend more money, you can buy an OME (beautiful instruments) or a rarish vintage Epiphone, one of the “recording” models. If you are looking to give your wife a reason to divorce you, you could buy a B&D style 6 Non Plus Ultra. You’d be single, but at least you’d have arguably the finest jazz banjo ever made.

Personally, I don’t like Gibson flathead-style banjos in a brass band (trad) context. In my experience they are too overtone-rich and don’t cut through the wall of sound coming from the horns. That’s just me.

[Christian Miller]

I did a quick scan of the market. Serious plectrum banjos with a cast brass/bronze/steel tone ring have almost disappeared. Why and where?

15 years ago when I was hunting for one, there were several well-stocked US vendors offering many vintage and more recent samples: Mandolin Brothers, Intermountain Guitar & Banjo, Matt Umanov, Elderly and others I can't remember offhand. Glorious brands: Gibson, Epiphone, Bacon&Day, Paramount, Orpheum, Vega...

About a decade ago the word was that aging German collectors or their estates were liquidating, and banjo prices would sink. There even was a major annual fair in Germany, with loads of banjos changing hands. Why do I find next to nothing now?

Elderly is still in business but I don't think they have a single PB in stock. Sture Svarén, a Swedish specialist, has one unnamed PB among his current inventory of 63 banjos. Gold Tone, a current manufacturer with a reasonable price range, only has a Cripple Creek PB version, with a rolled brass tone ring. They used to have a model with cast ring; if you stumble on one, grab it!

Hmm... maybe I should part with my Fender Artist. Won't take it to the grave anyway.

Probably cost of manufacturing

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hep To The Jive]

You should be able to pick up a Silver Bell Style 1 or a Vega Professional (tubaphone tone ring) for under $2k. You might have to wait a bit. Gruhn has a Vega in stock for $1500. Either one of those could easily be your “banjo for life” if you aren’t chasing bling.

Brands to look for are Bacon & Day (Silver Bell Series)
Vega (with a tubaphone)
Paramount
Weymann
Trujo

Any of those will get you more for less than a new instrument. Check the ads on the Banjo Hangout.

If you want to spend more money, you can buy an OME (beautiful instruments) or a rarish vintage Epiphone, one of the “recording” models. If you are looking to give your wife a reason to divorce you, you could buy a B&D style 6 Non Plus Ultra. You’d be single, but at least you’d have arguably the finest jazz banjo ever made.

Personally, I don’t like Gibson flathead-style banjos in a brass band (trad) context. In my experience they are too overtone-rich and don’t cut through the wall of sound coming from the horns. That’s just me.

Amazing info, thank you! I'm not chasing bling for sure, neither on guitar or banjo, just a working class instrument that does the job. Not worried about a divorce either, I'm enjoying my bachelor life in China haha.

[Hep To The Jive]

Found some videos on the Red Note, a lot actually, here's a few

I surprised even my bandmates singing this old Soviet jazz classic

Down By The Riverside

and banjitar in action. Actually even louder than plectrum, resonator is a better quality I think.

[Gitterbug]

The old Soviet classic "Some of these days" was composed by a Sheldonyi Brooksky in 1910. Banjo and a great sousaphone player enough to keep up the swing in that drum-free band!

[Woody Sound]

Don't recomend it, the shorter neck of tenor is not made for that tuning, it will sound too dark and will be useless in the band setting.

As an experiment, I once used extra light guitar strings (8-?) to use Chicago tuning, but tuned up an octave on a Tenor. It was “interesting.”

[Cavalier]

As an experiment, I once used extra light guitar strings (8-?) to use Chicago tuning, but tuned up an octave on a Tenor. It was “interesting.”

The down side on a tenor is you lose a lot of range by not tuning in 5ths. Something like half a octave?

[Woody Sound]

The down side on a tenor is you lose a lot of range by not tuning in 5ths. Something like half a octave?

Agree, and the voicing spreads. However, as long as you know how to play the instrument in an appropriate stylistic manner, I’ve found very few people that notice the difference.

[Cavalier]

Hmmm, I don't know.... Deranged banjo ? I plead the 5ths....

[Cavalier]

For people plugging in I've had really good results with K&K's Banjo Twin system. It is natural sounding, care has to be taken in how you route and fasten the wires to avoid added sounds.

[Hep To The Jive]

The old Soviet classic "Some of these days" was composed by a Sheldonyi Brooksky in 1910. Banjo and a great sousaphone player enough to keep up the swing in that drum-free band!

The Soviet jazz orchestra leader L. Utesov came up with the lyrics, the music of course was lifted from the American jazz standard exactly. My grandparents listen to them

[stevo58]

For people plugging in I've had really good results with K&K's Banjo Twin system. It is natural sounding, care has to be taken in how you route and fasten the wires to avoid added sounds.

The best amplified tone I ever heard was with a Canadian bluegrass band that was touring Europe a few years ago. I forgot the name, but I have a CD at home. After the show, I asked the banjo player what pickup he used. He took the resonator off his banjo and showed me. He had mounted an SM-57 to the co-rods and fixed a jack on the flange. He was playing medium sized clubs with no feedback problems.

As a street band player, I don’t normally amplify, but if I ever do, I’ll try that.

[Woody Sound]

The Banjo Hangout Classifieds usually has a few plectrums, ranging from budget to crazy.

[Woody Sound]

For years I used a 5 string with the drone string and peg pulled off. Toward older age I got itchy for the real thing and splurged on an 80’s vintage Richelieu. It’s one of my favorite instruments, a real barker.

[Hep To The Jive]

Nice!

[Woody Sound]

Check this out. Could be just what some are looking for. If I didn't already have my Richelieu, I'd consider it.

Just a moment...

[Gitterbug]

If I didn't have my Fender Artist, I'd go for it (back in ca. 2012 at least.)

[Woody Sound]

How's this for timing? I just got a call for a weekend run of Mame! The jazz banjo will be banging!

Since there's been interest, as long as I have to get it ready, I'll open up the back to show my simple pickup setup.

[Woody Sound]

So, I have the simple Schatten system on my PB. Contact pickup under the head, simple passive vol control with 1/4" jack mounted to side brackets. There might be better, but it always sounds great to me (and others) and has served me well over the past several years in both dixie band and music theater settings. Of course it helps to go through a decent acoustic amp or pa, not a "guitar amp." I use a Genzler Acoustic Array.

[Woody Sound]

And for your banjo entertainment:

[shpalman]

Well I couldn't resist; some of the pieces just need banjo not guitar.

It arrived a few days ago. I'm aware that it's cheap but it's comfortable to play and seems to sound ok. The Weatherking head is a nice touch. I tried putting a GHS 220 stainless steel set on it (I need to avoid nickel) but the A didn't survive being tuned to pitch; I'll try the bronze 210 set next instead.

I'm been writing out the guitar/banjo part from some of the arrangements in Musescore to make use of its tab capabilities, which is helping me figure out the shapes in CGDA, and is also helping me figure out what the part is trying to do in terms of voice movement with certain chord choices. Still, I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I try taking it to band practice. It'll be a nice surprise for them.

[shpalman]

Actually I took it to band practice after less than two weeks, and now I'm only taking the banjo and not the guitar. I'll gig with it in less than two weeks' time.

[stevo58]

The A string is under crazy high tension on a 19-fret tenor; they often break when you string them up. You have to go very gentle with it when you tune it up. I also keep a couple extra A strings in my case, since it is also the only string that ever breaks.

Banjo is just too much fun. I’ve been playing much more banjo than guitar the last five years. Around here, many many more gigs, too.

Here is my little collection. I also have a 70s Kasuga-made flathead tenor for times when the weather is bad or for some other reason I don’t want to take the good one along.

[shpalman]

Nice collection.

I don't know why the steel GHS tenor set has a 0.0105" A string (nor why the D'Addario tenor set has a 0.016" D)

I'm thinking about some sort of concert-scale banjolele which apparently with Aquila 31U strings can be tuned to CGDA and therefore be a "travel banjo" but I didn't think about it in time for the Christmas holidays unfortunately.

[Woody Sound]

What is on the left? It looks like a B&D flange, but the flange metal looks brand new.