I have an old Banjo mandolin, which is to say, a banjo body with a mandolin-like neck. I guess that's a banjolin? It is old and heavy, and has a resonator on it. I bought it years ago at a flea market. It has no manufacturer's marks on it that I can recognize. I fixed it up, replaced its shrunken fingerboard, strung it up and played it abut an hour before I decided it really sounded terrible. Every couple of years I take it down and try again. Last week I did it, and as usual, it sounds harsh and nasty and out of tune. It's even very stiff to play. For me it's a very cool-looking wall-hanger.
To contrast, I also have an old Slingerland Maybell banjo ukulele, which I string with metal strings and tune down to D in fifths (so it ends up one step up from mandola tuning). I had been given it in about 1975 and had to replace its shrunken fingeboard, its nut, missing bridge and tailpiece, and I refinished it, too. This lovely little instrument sounds sweet and mellow, and plays like a dream. I've most recently been using it to play one tune in a jug band that plays Motown hits, if you can imagine such a thing! (OK, since you asked: http://www.purrgirl.com/Jugtown.html In the photo in that page, it is me holding the banjolin in a sort of American Gothic pose at the left rear). Topher On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 2:30 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > I love my banjolin, it's the others that hate it. It's a 1915 Weymann. > Should not be left out among small children. > Not to be confused with a Hennwey. > > Clyde Clevenger > Just My Opinion, But It's Right > Salem, Oregon > Old Circle > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Linda" <[email protected]> > To: "Taterbugmando" <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, November 8, 2009 2:20:45 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific > Subject: Re: Heads Up... > > > For the record, banjolins have their place in world, they can be used > as weapons, they don't need to be in tune, sound just as good either > way...and the bits that come in the cases with them are seriously > cool. > ljt > > On Nov 9, 8:59 am, [email protected] wrote: >> Ya know, it's not negative if I agree. >> >> Believe it or not, opinions are okay with me. >> >> Clyde Clevenger >> Just My Opinion, But It's Right >> Salem, Oregon >> Old Circle >> >> -- > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
