Guitanjo, Banjuitar, whatever... I got one. :)

[Paulie]

After Taxi TV this week I felt inspired to find a guitar/banjo hybrid. Lo and behold, there was one for sale literally 3 miles from my house, across the street from where I buy groceries. The $265 listing had been up for a couple of months so when i found out the owner still had it I offered him $100 cash and he took it. Gret little instrument, with an electric pickup. Up next: a dobro!

[funsongs]

After Taxi TV this week I felt inspired to find a guitar/banjo hybrid. Lo and behold, there was one for sale literally 3 miles from my house, across the street from where I buy groceries. The $265 listing had been up for a couple of months so when i found out the owner still had it I offered him $100 cash and he took it. Gret little instrument, with an electric pickup. Up next: a dobro!

So - now... not only do you "got a guy"...
you gotta guy-tanjo!
WTG Paulie...
(and hey... lemme know about them horns, Dude...!! I'm Jonesin' here!)

[funsongs]

Seriously, though... I've been wanting to get one of those, too.
The Deering factory is about 20 minutes away... so I'm gonna see when I can get over there for one of their tours.
The one you got looks like a good choice.

[jazzstan]

I got a Dean Markley one not long ago. Nice. But I ain't gonna play no jazz on it, tho.

[SteveJCurtis]

I've borrowed a friend's Line 6 Variax that has a banjo sound on it which isn't too bad, but I think I'd rather get one of these!

[ComposerLDG]

Very cool, Paul! Looking forward to hearing what you do with it!

[mojobone]

I have the Variax, and I ended up getting a 5-string, because while it sounds authentic enough on its own, it's the banjo technique that's what makes it so distinctive, particularly with Scruggs-style bluegrass, but you can't really do anything but plectrum style on a bantar and have it really sound right, even though you can do rolls and hammer-ons, the octave string up top really makes a world of difference. Clawhammer style is pretty idiosyncratic, too. I think a guitarist's flatpicking skills more readily translate to mandolin.

Cool thing about the Variax, you can tune it to open D, capo at the fourth fret and and have basically banjo tuning at the flick of a switch, but the strings are too big and the high octave G string is on the wrong side of the middle four, which makes reading banjo tab an exercise not unlike three-dimensional chess, only at a hundred-odd BPM. I got about as far as Bile Them Cabbage Down before purchasing a regular 5-string from the money I saved on headache medication. Currently, I'm up to Old Joe Clark, in the songbook...

[TimWalter]

good score Paulie
I got a Samick 5 string banjo (with resonater) for I think $180, like new condition, on ebay. Im a big fan of Samick stuff, especially if it doesnt have electronics (probably their weekest point). I also have a Samick dobro that I ahve gotten some forwards with, that I think I paid about the same for on ebay. Both very solid builds.

Samick gets no love, and its a pity, because their stuff (if made in Korea) is really top notch. Not sure about the stuff coming out of Indonesia, now that they moved there. I think all told I have 5 Samick instruments (two arch top guitars, 1 electric bass, the dobro and the banjo) and very happy with all of them. So, if youre looking for a dobro, one option to look at is Samick. Inexpensive, and really good build quality. Try to get made in korea stuff if you can.

Thats my 1/2 cent.
Tim

[SteveJCurtis]

I have the Variax, and I ended up getting a 5-string, because while it sounds authentic enough on its own, it's the banjo technique that's what makes it so distinctive, particularly with Scruggs-style bluegrass, but you can't really do anything but plectrum style on a bantar and have it really sound right, even though you can do rolls and hammer-ons, the octave string up top really makes a world of difference. Clawhammer style is pretty idiosyncratic, too. I think a guitarist's flatpicking skills more readily translate to mandolin.

Cool thing about the Variax, you can tune it to open D, capo at the fourth fret and and have basically banjo tuning at the flick of a switch, but the strings are too big and the high octave G string is on the wrong side of the middle four, which makes reading banjo tab an exercise not unlike three-dimensional chess, only at a hundred-odd BPM. I got about as far as Bile Them Cabbage Down before purchasing a regular 5-string from the money I saved on headache medication. Currently, I'm up to Old Joe Clark, in the songbook...

...and i thought it was just me! Currentlly trying to save my pennies for a 5 string for all the same reasons Mojo!
Cheers / Steve

[mojobone]

I got a crazy-inexpensive yet perfectly functional 5-string from Rondo Music, though I think if I had it to do over, I'd go with Washburn's B9 offering. I purchased a hard case and even though it shipped in a box, the neck was snapped on delivery, due to the case's body well being too deep for the instrument. A second banjo, minus case, arrived intact, and I make sure to throw a hunk of foam in that case, when I use it, which is practically never. In fact, I deliberately have more instruments than cases, cuz I never take 'em all out at once; if a gig needs more than four instruments, I might as well bring a band, lol.