The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #51

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    I found this Dean Electric 6 string Banjo6-String Banjo?-6-string-banjo-jpg& there's a Pickup for easy recording. 6 string Banjos often have a slightly deeper body to help those low notes resonate better. It's a bit like the Viola, which needs a slightly deeper body for those low notes to work better. Johnny St. Cyr played one of these, & this goes back to the 1920s & 30s before we had amplification. These things are fairly loud because the Drum Head is acting like a super loud amplifier.
    Last edited by s11141827; 03-09-2023 at 04:22 PM. Reason: new updates

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #52

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    Deering makes a well-built 6-string banjo but I have never had a chance to play one. To me it seems a little redundant since in a band situation the lower strings are simply not heard and not needed - the "action" takes place in the mid and higher registers, where your 4-voice chords are heard.
    On a side note : sometimes I bring my Resonator guitar instead of the (plectrum) banjo when the gig is suited - comping 4-to-the-bar on that guitar is easily heard since it's much louder than a typical/normal wooden guitar and in a swing context it works just as fine as any acoustic archtop guitar.

    6 String Banjos - The Guitar Players Banjo
    – Deering(R) Banjo Company

  4. #53

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    These were made back in the 1920s & 30s before we had amplification

  5. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gitterbug View Post
    6-string banjos sound dark and muddy. Some people change the bottom A and E strings to lighter gauges and tune them an octave higher. That's redundant IMHO. I'd suggest a Plectrum banjo with Chicago tuning, i.e. the guitar's top four strings. That's how I've tugged along all my life (without getting very far, but that's another story). In my country there's only a handful of traditional jazz banjo players, and most of them use Chicago tuning. Old banjos cost a fortune. An expert told me that a Gold Tone Plectrum goes a long way. But banjo is a real hotrod for an instrument: so many components, materials, variables - and opinions.

    I think the 6 string Banjo is actually a Compromise (very much like the Viola & Upright Bass, except for the Hutchins versions) because the body is undersized for those low notes. Most 6 string Banjos made today (such as this Richwood) have a slightly deeper body than their 4 or 5 string Counterparts so that the low notes speak more clearly.6-String Banjo?-41269-2-jpg

  6. #55

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    A couple of years ago I believed it could be a good idea to achieve a banjo rythm sound in ragtime/dixie/old style tunes in a bigband. I was not to fond of 6 string banjo's. I bought me a 1977 Ibanez Artist plectrum banjo. I intended to tune it EADG, but could not find a set of suitable strings and ended up in tuning it down to DGCF. That worked reasonably. The D string was a bit too low in tension, felt wobbly. One day I will pick it up again. My banjo is getting no attention anymore, it lives it life in the case as I left that band for another bigband.

    Just wondering if there is another plectrum banjo player that tunes to EADG or DGCF. I would welcome some string advice

    6-String Banjo?-1977-ibanez-artist-2625054-jpg

  7. #56

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    Quote Originally Posted by hotpepper01 View Post
    A couple of years ago I believed it could be a good idea to achieve a banjo rythm sound in ragtime/dixie/old style tunes in a bigband. I was not to fond of 6 string banjo's. I bought me a 1977 Ibanez Artist plectrum banjo. I intended to tune it EADG, but could not find a set of suitable strings and ended up in tuning it down to DGCF. That worked reasonably. The D string was a bit too low in tension, felt wobbly. One day I will pick it up again. My banjo is getting no attention anymore, it lives it life in the case as I left that band for another bigband.

    Just wondering if there is another plectrum banjo player that tunes to EADG or DGCF. I would welcome some string advice

    6-String Banjo?-1977-ibanez-artist-2625054-jpg
    It can be tuned DGBE like a Baritone Ukulele so we're good to go.

  8. #57

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    The 6 string Guitar-Banjo goes way back to the early 1920s & 30s before we had amplification. What they usually do is make the body of a 6 string Banjo a little bit deeper so that the lower notes speak clearly.

  9. #58

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    6 String Banjos should require a Deeper Body to help accommodate the lower notes, just like 14 inch Violas have deeper bodies than Violins.

  10. #59

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    One minute he's playing 7 strings, the next 4!
    Excellent stuff.

  11. #60

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    I’m a newbie to this board and wanted to add my “two cents” to the guitarists who are thinking about doubling on a banjo.

    I would suggest getting a plectrum banjo and tuning it to DGBE, also known as “Chicago tuning.” Then you can play right away, using all the guitar fingerings and chord shapes you already know. The increased 26” scale of a plectrum neck may take some getting used to, so you might need to play more barre chords a little further down the neck (closer to the head), where the spaces between the frets are a bit smaller. (You could accomplish the same thing by putting a capo on the first or second fret, but that solution creates other problems). Your right-hand technique also needs to change somewhat – you need to bend your wrist inward at a 90-degree angle and then strum from the wrist (not the forearm, which basically doesn’t move up and down) in order to efficiently get those faster strums.

    If you can’t find a plectrum banjo, a five-string banjo WITH a resonator (no open back) and WITHOUT that fifth drone string will be perfectly fine too. A tenor banjo [usually tuned CGDA] would require you to learn all new fingerings and at least in my opinion, wouldn’t sound as full as a plectrum. You might also feel cramped on its 22” scale. And while it’s true a tenor banjo may “cut through” other band instruments better than a plectrum, you can accomplish the same thing by aiming a shotgun instrument mic at the sound holes of your resonator (and NOT at the banjo head itself), and then plugging that mic into the guitar amp of your choice. Finally, I don’t think a six-string banjo is a good idea; it doesn’t really sound like a banjo. Although there have been some great six-string jazz banjo players like Danny Barker, I still think you’d be better off with a four-string banjo.

    I make these suggestions because of my own background. I arrived at the guitar by starting out with a plectrum banjo [tuned CGBD] and played that for many years. I went from basic comping to playing melody-chord solos on a good variety of tunes. But when I turned 60 in 2010, I wanted to play something a little softer and smoother, so I started looking into guitars. I also wanted to move away from Dixieland/Ragtime/Roaring Twenties repertoire and into some of the lovely ballads of the 1930’s, when guitars began to substitute for banjos in many bands, and into even some swing tunes of the 1940’s.

    After much thought, I bought a 6-string Ibanez Artcore electric archtop and restrung it with just four strings running down the center of the fretboard (leaving the first and last nut slots empty). I took a set of D’Addario 12’s, tossed the two bass strings and retuned the remaining DGBE strings to CGBD, my old plectrum tuning. With my older fingers, I really appreciated the 24.75” scale of the guitar, as opposed to the 26” scale of my plectrum. Although my 4-string guitar doesn’t sound quite like a 6-string guitar (there’s no low end), it’s worked out pretty well and I’m satisfied with the outcome.

    Sorry for the length of this post, but I hope it’s helpful to someone, and I look forward to getting lots of good guitar info on this board. SETH
    Last edited by SethB; 12-25-2023 at 12:37 PM. Reason: typo

  12. #61

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    I'm the OP. When I initially posted this, I already had Guitars, Tenor Ukes, and a Bass. Then I got a Plectrum Banjo and tuned it Chicago style (D G B E) and later as an Irish Tenor (down to G D A E). Then I got a Mandola (C G D A). Then I got a Tenor Banjo (also C G D A). I just couldn't bond with the Banjos, so I sold them (at a loss of course). But I loved the Mandola, so now I have a Mandolin (G D A E) and an Octave Mandolin (G D A E an octave lower) as well. The Mandola remains my favorite non-guitar fretted stringed instrument; in fact, I'm somewhat addicted to it!

  13. #62

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    I have a 6 string Banjo which has a crwth style bridge

  14. #63

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    Quote Originally Posted by SethB View Post
    I’m a newbie to this board and wanted to add my “two cents” to the guitarists who are thinking about doubling on a banjo.

    I would suggest getting a plectrum banjo and tuning it to DGBE, also known as “Chicago tuning.” Then you can play right away, using all the guitar fingerings and chord shapes you already know. The increased 26” scale of a plectrum neck may take some getting used to, so you might need to play more barre chords a little further down the neck (closer to the head), where the spaces between the frets are a bit smaller. (You could accomplish the same thing by putting a capo on the first or second fret, but that solution creates other problems). Your right-hand technique also needs to change somewhat – you need to bend your wrist inward at a 90-degree angle and then strum from the wrist (not the forearm, which basically doesn’t move up and down) in order to efficiently get those faster strums.

    If you can’t find a plectrum banjo, a five-string banjo WITH a resonator (no open back) and WITHOUT that fifth drone string will be perfectly fine too. A tenor banjo [usually tuned CGDA] would require you to learn all new fingerings and at least in my opinion, wouldn’t sound as full as a plectrum. You might also feel cramped on its 22” scale. And while it’s true a tenor banjo may “cut through” other band instruments better than a plectrum, you can accomplish the same thing by aiming a shotgun instrument mic at the sound holes of your resonator (and NOT at the banjo head itself), and then plugging that mic into the guitar amp of your choice. Finally, I don’t think a six-string banjo is a good idea; it doesn’t really sound like a banjo. Although there have been some great six-string jazz banjo players like Danny Barker, I still think you’d be better off with a four-string banjo.

    I make these suggestions because of my own background. I arrived at the guitar by starting out with a plectrum banjo [tuned CGBD] and played that for many years. I went from basic comping to playing melody-chord solos on a good variety of tunes. But when I turned 60 in 2010, I wanted to play something a little softer and smoother, so I started looking into guitars. I also wanted to move away from Dixieland/Ragtime/Roaring Twenties repertoire and into some of the lovely ballads of the 1930’s, when guitars began to substitute for banjos in many bands, and into even some swing tunes of the 1940’s.

    After much thought, I bought a 6-string Ibanez Artcore electric archtop and restrung it with just four strings running down the center of the fretboard (leaving the first and last nut slots empty). I took a set of D’Addario 12’s, tossed the two bass strings and retuned the remaining DGBE strings to CGBD, my old plectrum tuning. With my older fingers, I really appreciated the 24.75” scale of the guitar, as opposed to the 26” scale of my plectrum. Although my 4-string guitar doesn’t sound quite like a 6-string guitar (there’s no low end), it’s worked out pretty well and I’m satisfied with the outcome.

    Sorry for the length of this post, but I hope it’s helpful to someone, and I look forward to getting lots of good guitar info on this board. SETH


    Johnny St Cyr played 6 string Banjo & actually 6 string Banjos usually have a little bit larger body.