I have one,in addition to my 5 string banjos and I do enjoy playing it! Used to write articles about it for a different banjo forum.
I have one,in addition to my 5 string banjos and I do enjoy playing it! Used to write articles about it for a different banjo forum.
Why yes Mizz Belle ...
I too play a 6-stringer and enjoy the variety it gives me from my plectrum or 5-string. Playing a lot of trad jazz a la Johnny St Cyr it does something the plectrum doesn't ... not better ... just different. They're also great as back up instruments for contra dances.
Ryk
oh how cool! You have any videos of you playing,and do you ever try fingerpicking blues on it (country blues)? Any pics of the instrument? I have an Estrada......
Good god!!! ... videos of me! Perish the thought.
They're great for all types of fingerpicking ... being a Vermonter i had to learn Maple Leaf Rag. Basically i play whatever moves me or in a jam ... whatever needs playin'. I got a great deal on a used Deering Deluxe years ago and love it. If i were interested in getting another 6 i'd look into a 12"head.
Ryk
Just a cheap Gold Tone 6 string that I like it a lot except the bass is lacking a bit. A bigger head might be punchier, and I have a fibre head that will fit so I might yet try that, or tinker more with the bridge. Great action and playability, nice tone, well made, and a perfect fit to share the Gold Tone 5 string case. With acoustic recordings it's handy for duplicating parts, adding colour, lead fills, etc, but also excels as a lead melody instrument. I was surprised to find that I prefer the tone with the resonator back attached, not the case with my 4 and 5 strings.
I have one that I inherited from a friend that passed away. I enjoy it more than I thought I would. I replaced the low E and A strings with strings an octave higher to more closely approximate the reentrant tuning of a 5 string.
My brother, Gary, has a six string banjo that he strings in Chicago or high strung tuning, with the 3rd,4th, 5th and 6th strings an octave higher. His weekly jam group has 4 guitars, so he has tried to add some different textures with the Autoharp, guitjo and 5 string.
gary's banjitar.jpg
Like Nashville tuning.Originally Posted by Jim Yates
It's simply a 6 string banjo.
Not a "banjitar" or "guitjo"
Regardless of the number of strings or how it is tuned, you play it as if it were a banjo. Because it is...
I've got the Dean model. Had a new bridge and some other tweaks done to it and now it plays great. But I have a 5 string that gets most of my attention now.
I think we should all just agree to call it a 6 String Banjo though. It really isn't a guitar in any way other than the tuning. And I tune mine like a banjo anyway with the 5th string at G and 6th a D. You have to play and pick it like a banjo. It's a banjo, with 6 strings!
Just my two cents!
Exactly. I don't know why I called it Chicago tuning. That is DGBE on the tenor banjo or guitar. Thanks for correcting me Bart.
My son Clay has a six string banjo that he uses in a jazz group, The Hot Club Of Port Hope.
I've been playing 4 and 5 string for years. I was buying a Bodhran in a shop in Belfast recently when I spotted a 6 for sale. Very tempted! I think it would sound great for songs such as "Follow Me Up To Carlow" and "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye."
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