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Banjo for live use with rock style band?

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  • 21-03-2011 2:44am
    #1
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys,

    I play in a band with hints of trad throughout (mandolin for example), but it can get pretty loud. A few of our songs used banjo in recordings, so I'm looking to get something to play live. I would imagine it would have to have some kind of sustain to cut through?

    I guess a lot would be in the pickup as well. Unfortunately, I don't have a huge amount of money to spend, but don't want to buy a piece of crap. Any advice?
    Being a mando player, should I plump for a short scale altogether?

    I have played both (normal scale and short scale), and while I found the short scale easier coming from a mando background, it wouldn't really bother me either way........


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    #2
    eddison
    Closed Accounts Posts: 164 ✭✭eddison


    Hi Great to see the Banjo being played, it has such a happy sound. If you go for an old banjo, it has heaps more character. This might sound like old timey bull !! but it right. The older banjos were made from different wood, that today, and there is just something about the sound that is different, i can' t explain it. But usually I can tell a new Banjo form and old one, just by the tone. Looking for an expensive one? of course not, but I'l recommend one anyway, just incase you make the big time ;)

    Everyone will probably tell you about clareen banjos, but personal preference- I think they sound too metalic, no warmth to them. Clareens are a bit expensive up to 3500, but they do get cheap ones, and jig them about, to make them decent.
    Phil Davidson in Bristol is another maker, and I like the sound, and quality of his Banjos.

    Ok the cheap and cheerful.. Ashbury make a nice sounding Banjo, also Gold tone. Gold tone probably have the edge on most of the cheaper Banjo, as they have a good tonering- Its an archtop.
    I have a plectrum Banjo, which I add a capo to, to make it short or long, or strumming style, so it is flexible, with a nice sound. Boy it is loud! something about the character of the sound of a Banjo which seems to cut through other sounds.
    Eventually though, I got a vega 17 fret little wonder which I imported from the states. It was made in 1928, and it is a jewel! but I wouldn't recommend this. Older Banjos can be notoriously difficult, and upsetting to use. The pot can be out of round, it could have been left in the sun loosening the glue, the fret board might not be straight. Sometimes you get a buzzing which for the life of you, you cannot figure out where it is coming from- this will drive a person wrong ! BTW if you want the Ashbury, I am not using it anymore, as I am concentrating on the Vega, let me know. Other than that there is a music shop in Baldoyle ind est Dublin, which is supposed to be good.

    Good luck.


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    #3
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    hiya,

    cheers for that. Could you tell me more about the ashbury then....?


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    #4
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    just wondering which banjo would you think would cut through more, a short scale or a regular tenor? say in a band situation....?


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    #5
    eddison
    Closed Accounts Posts: 164 ✭✭eddison


    seachto7 wrote: »
    just wondering which banjo would you think would cut through more, a short scale or a regular tenor? say in a band situation....?

    Short scale will not have the sustain a 19 fret has, but not noticeably short from a listeners point of view.
    I find the 17 fret excellent. But regarding 'cutting through' in a session and so on, it really depends of the Banjo..
    For example is the resonator made of brass? or is it domed? how is the Banjo put together? What woods it is made from? softwoods will obviously absorb more sound. Some have an alloy rim, instead of wood. It also depends on the tone ring, the head.. for example if the head is made from Vellum, it will bee warmer, but not as cutting. A plastic head will be the opposite.
    If you wnat to 'cut through' in a session, you make pick a Banjo that can do that, but at the expense of a rich sound. Also it depends on how you hold the plec- what attack etc. But Banjos are pretty good at holding their own in a session, so I wouldn't really worry about it.
    A Banjo with a resonator is definitely louder.


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    #6
    seachto7
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,863 ✭✭✭seachto7


    I would be using it in a band situation, with drums, so would more than likely be miking it up either way....

    I did play a short scale tenor earlier, and I would go for one I think. It's easier to fret (coming from the mandolin), so I reckon I could adjust really quickly to it..


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    #7
    eddison
    Closed Accounts Posts: 164 ✭✭eddison


    Yeah it is easier to fret. I have an 11inch pot so it has a deeper warmer sound, and 17 fret neck. The action is another thing to watch for. But 11 inch is a good size because you wont have trouble getting a head- that is if you are buying an oldie!

    I like the Hartke KM200 monitor- it a keyboard monitor, but the Banjo sound is not like a guitar. If you put its sound through a synth, and speed it up, you'll notice the voice of a banjo is nearly human like a vocoder. This must be why a keyboard monitor sounds better than a guitar monitor to me. Although different strokes and all that.


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