I actually tune my banjo to C G B Eb. By tuning the 1st string up a semitone from standard plectrum tuning, it makes playing the F-maj shape easier when used further along the fretboard, towards the nut. It also makes playing melodies on the 1st 3 strings a bit easier, coz they are now in a regular all-maj 3rds tuning.
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA The Tenor Banjo is kinda a Small Plectrum Banjo tuned like a Mandola (C, G, D, A). Brent Hayes played the 5 String Plectrum Banjo which is essentially a 4 String Plectrum Banjo with an added Bass String (let's expand the catalogue with those instruments) & you can tune it to Open G (G2, D3, G3, B3, D4) & play Rolling stones music on it.
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA Open G is great for slide Blues playing. Any 5 String Banjo players out there? This is a good instrument to expand your technique with Strumming, & many more genres of music like Jazz. Eddie Peabody popularized the Plectrum Banjo.
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA String Gauges? I see a Wound 3rd which is interesting? The thinnest Wound String Octave4Plus makes is a 13w (also a 10w etc) which is under low tension to prevent breakage.
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA I've always wanted to get a Banjitar (with Magnetic Pickup) because they're my favorite. We should also keep those 12 String Banjitars going cause they're cool. We also need Long Neck Plectrum Banjos (Tuned a Minor Third lower than Standard Plectrum Banjos which means every other Plectrum Tuning will be a Minor Third lower than Normally).
My grandpa gave me his banjo a couple years ago and sadly he is weeks from passing, if not days. My banjo has just been stolen from my van while I was at work (I am a teacher)! I have been learning a song to play for him when I visit on Saturday as I know it’ll warm his heart. What is your most economical banjo as I cannot afford much? Thank you!
Go into a well stocked local music store (not the big chains) and buy four individual strings - a 30, 24, 16, and 12 gauge. That's what I do. Hardly costs any more, and you get the best results.
I do tune Chicago style, typically buy Ernie Ball Regular slinky pack and use the 1st:10, 2nd:13, 3rd:17, 4th:26. Its good for any standard guitar player, lots of notes are familiar and only missing the 5th and 6th string.
Hi David, great to see you... A long time since I used to communicate with you, when I worked on Acoustic Magazine here in the UK. Hoping that all is well at Deering Banjos. Regards Warren
Hey Warren, this is David. Everything is good here at Deering. Hope all is well with you as well. I would love to hear about any updates with your music career. Hopefully the banjo is still a large part of it!
Sadly David, I'm back doing a mundane day job. I did three years of solo performing (the banjo being a good part of my act). The music scene is sadly very much spoilt by people having their faces in their phones. Regrettably I can't find a job in the music induatry that suits my passion... Any jobs going at Deering for budding Brit? 🙂 Currently, i'm just doing a mundane driving job. How are you?
@@DeeringBanjoCo I'm pretty sure 5 String Banjo pickers would have fun strumming on a Plectrum Banjo because 1) the scale Length is the same, & 2) they'd be able to have fun in a Jazz Band.
Hey up. If i want to learn plectrum banjo and 5 string banjo should i just get a 5 string and play it like a 4 string when i want to and a 5 string when i want to or should i get noth a 4 and 5 string banjo?
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA Banjo makers started to realize that if you take the 5th String off your 5 String Banjo, you then get a Banjo that you play instead of with your fingers, you use a Pick.
I own a regular 5-string banjo, but I'm thinking about converting it to a plectrum banjo because I always play it with a pick and hardly ever use the 5th string.
@@marvinthemaniac7698 I don't I pulled it and the thumb winder off, it is a lot easier to go up and down the fret board now. Although I want a real plectrum banjo, something with an open back.
Hi David this is Mr Mike I have spoken to Carol on the phone and I'm planning to stop by in October. I started TH-cam channel because of Carol (Mr.Mike 2 finger banjo ). I'm only interested in good time 17 fret ,plectrum, fretless and wanted to know if you normally have them in the showroom. I'm perfectly content with what I do to keep it as simple as possible. Thanks.
Hi Mike, Great to see your videos! David doesn't have access to these messages, but he has your email address and will reach out to you very soon. if you do not hear from him, please submit your query to info@deeringbanjos.com. He will pick those messages up. Thanks!
+chas5131 Not at all. In fact the plectrum banjo neck is slightly narrower than a 5-string neck due to the fact that it does not have the 5th string. The nut on a 5-string neck is 1 ¼” while the nut on the plectrum neck is 1 3/16”.
Hi there. We actually replaced this with the very beautiful Artisan model, about two years ago. We decided to spruce it up a little with some very attractive inlays and the addition of a midnight maple fingerboard. However, the construction and quality remains the same. It will be the plectrum equivalent of this model: www.deeringbanjos.com/products/artisan-goodtime-banjo
It is the Goodtime Openback Plectrum. We do not have it on our web page (fixing that now) but imagine this model as a plectrum. www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/goodtime-openback-banjos/products/goodtime-banjo It would be the same price.
Hi there! Absolutely. And you raise a great point. The easiest way to to think of a plectrum is essentially as a 5 string banjo without the 5th string. So to get started, disregard the 5th string. You can remove it completely or you can do what some players do and loosen it enough to pull to one side. I have heard stories of Bela Fleck taking this approach to switch between 5 string and plectrum. Alternatively, you could simply mute the 5th or just play around it/avoid it. Once the 5th string is taken care of, you will want to tune that heavier 4th string down to a C from the D. And now you are plectrum ready. Now, one tuning that many plectrum guys use is Chicago tuning, which involves tuning the banjo like the top 4 strings of a guitar (DGBE). This of course can also be done on a 5 string if you wanted to have some fun. Hope this helps.
Lol once I was playing at my youth group bonfire and I accidentally broke my 5th string,and I had no time to replace it so I decided just to play it as a plectrum. Deering do you know of if there is a simple way to mute the 5th string so if I want to try some plectrum banjo but without removing or basically ruining the 5th string for when I need it again? (Oh,this might be a little off topic,but it is related to the tunings,after reading some stuff on banjo history the reason the standard plectrum tuning is CGBD instead of DGBD is cause back when the plectrum rose gCGBD was the common tuning on 5 string banjos,the tuning of gCGBD on the 5 string is actually a really great tuning if you strum a lot of chords like me,and a book that has helped me is pete seeger's one and the tuning in it is gCGBD.the gCGBD tuning sounds good and should be learned as another tuning on the 5 string banjo(I know I wrote a lot on that lol))
There is a good thread on Banjo Hangout about this. www.banjohangout.org/archive/135729 Seems that most people wedge something under that string at the location of their choosing. Maybe some felt, cardboard or something similar. I like the idea that one user commented about taking a piece of surgical tubing , slicing down one side and slipping it on and off very easily. I don't think there is an official way to do it, but there is definitely a lot of trial and error in a kind of "whatever works for you" way.
Thank you Ryan, for your constructive feedback. If you have any better videos of your playing, we would love to see them. This video was simply designed to give our audience a sample of what plectrum style playing typically sounds like, in comparison to say, bluegrass, or clawhammer. We deeply apologize that our demonstrators playing is not quite up to scratch. :-)
Don't apologize to the haters, Deering. These people have too much time on their hands, and unfortunately, they'd rather spend it on TH-cam comments instead of ACTUALLY making videos themselves and contribute to the creative processes that is, in my opinion, much more constructive. Your videos are great. Thanks. :)
Sorry Kris, I missed this one. Thanks for the support. We try hard, but we are also human and sadly, sometimes things don't turn out quite as perfect as I would like. Except our banjos. We make sure they are perfect every time. ;-)
I notice this clueless mop didn't upload any of his own playing yet. Oh, there is none? Right. Thought that. So you can go back to the kids table now RS. K buh bye. :)
Thank you - a most informative introduction to the plectrum banjo... now I can tune the one my husband brought home for Christmas!
Thanks for the comment! I am really happy we could help. Let us know if we can help you in any way.
I actually tune my banjo to C G B Eb. By tuning the 1st string up a semitone from standard plectrum tuning, it makes playing the F-maj shape easier when used further along the fretboard, towards the nut. It also makes playing melodies on the 1st 3 strings a bit easier, coz they are now in a regular all-maj 3rds tuning.
I’ve been wondering if anybody else did this! I find that it also makes Dom7 chords a lot easier since I don’t have to stretch as much.
Thank you and nice playing on the example tunes!
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA
The Tenor Banjo is kinda a Small Plectrum Banjo tuned like a Mandola (C, G, D, A). Brent Hayes played the 5 String Plectrum Banjo which is essentially a 4 String Plectrum Banjo with an added Bass String (let's expand the catalogue with those instruments) & you can tune it to Open G (G2, D3, G3, B3, D4) & play Rolling stones music on it.
Thanks for answering so fast
I intend to get the Sierra Plectrum, lovely video David , well done
Such a kind person
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA
Open G is great for slide Blues playing. Any 5 String Banjo players out there? This is a good instrument to expand your technique with Strumming, & many more genres of music like Jazz. Eddie Peabody popularized the Plectrum Banjo.
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA
Scargold played a 5 String Plectrum Banjo which has a Low F String added to it
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA
String Gauges? I see a Wound 3rd which is interesting? The thinnest Wound String Octave4Plus makes is a 13w (also a 10w etc) which is under low tension to prevent breakage.
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA
I've always wanted to get a Banjitar (with Magnetic Pickup) because they're my favorite. We should also keep those 12 String Banjitars going cause they're cool. We also need Long Neck Plectrum Banjos (Tuned a Minor Third lower than Standard Plectrum Banjos which means every other Plectrum Tuning will be a Minor Third lower than Normally).
Fun fact there are also 5 String Plectrum Banjos which add on a Low F
Do you have a video of it turned exactly like a 5 string but without the 5th string.
@333jas Standard Plectrum Tuning is actually Drop C.
My grandpa gave me his banjo a couple years ago and sadly he is weeks from passing, if not days. My banjo has just been stolen from my van while I was at work (I am a teacher)! I have been learning a song to play for him when I visit on Saturday as I know it’ll warm his heart. What is your most economical banjo as I cannot afford much? Thank you!
Feel free to give us a call at +1 619 464 8252. We can help you find the banjo that you want.
@@DeeringBanjoCo I appreciate you reaching out, but unfortunately he passed before I could make it that Saturday 😔
Can you use standard plectrum banjo strings for Chicago tuning, or do you need to buy specially gauged ones?
Go into a well stocked local music store (not the big chains) and buy four individual strings - a 30, 24, 16, and 12 gauge. That's what I do. Hardly costs any more, and you get the best results.
Or get some guitar strings (electric with or without wound third)
might have to crush ball end to get the loop
@@danielstein5290 I don't recommend the steel guitar strings, for a spectrum I'd go for poshpor bronze acoustic strings
I do tune Chicago style, typically buy Ernie Ball Regular slinky pack and use the 1st:10, 2nd:13, 3rd:17, 4th:26. Its good for any standard guitar player, lots of notes are familiar and only missing the 5th and 6th string.
@@danielstein5290 Actually a much easier solution would be to get a Terminator Tailpiece
I just snapped the g-string on my 5-string this is good to know
Hi David, great to see you... A long time since I used to communicate with you, when I worked on Acoustic Magazine here in the UK.
Hoping that all is well at Deering Banjos.
Regards
Warren
Hey Warren, this is David. Everything is good here at Deering. Hope all is well with you as well. I would love to hear about any updates with your music career. Hopefully the banjo is still a large part of it!
Sadly David, I'm back doing a mundane day job. I did three years of solo performing (the banjo being a good part of my act). The music scene is sadly very much spoilt by people having their faces in their phones. Regrettably I can't find a job in the music induatry that suits my passion...
Any jobs going at Deering for budding Brit? 🙂
Currently, i'm just doing a mundane driving job.
How are you?
@@DeeringBanjoCo I'm pretty sure 5 String Banjo pickers would have fun strumming on a Plectrum Banjo because 1) the scale Length is the same, & 2) they'd be able to have fun in a Jazz Band.
Hey up. If i want to learn plectrum banjo and 5 string banjo should i just get a 5 string and play it like a 4 string when i want to and a 5 string when i want to or should i get noth a 4 and 5 string banjo?
@UCO-4dr1VNhniOiaGYS3e4BA
Banjo makers started to realize that if you take the 5th String off your 5 String Banjo, you then get a Banjo that you play instead of with your fingers, you use a Pick.
I own a regular 5-string banjo, but I'm thinking about converting it to a plectrum banjo because I always play it with a pick and hardly ever use the 5th string.
That is how I play my 5-string.
@@clubmike2910 do you ever use the 5th string?
@@marvinthemaniac7698 nope, I just strum the ole banjo. Key of G is my favorite.
@@clubmike2910 same here, but why do you still have the 5th string if you hardly ever use it?
@@marvinthemaniac7698 I don't I pulled it and the thumb winder off, it is a lot easier to go up and down the fret board now. Although I want a real plectrum banjo, something with an open back.
What models are you playing in this one, the 19 fret tenor, the 17 fret tenor, and 5 string videos? Thanks.
He's playing a plectrum. It's it's own model that typically has 22 frets. 19 and 17 fret banjos are tenors.
Hi David this is Mr Mike I have spoken to Carol on the phone and I'm planning to stop by in October. I started TH-cam channel because of Carol (Mr.Mike 2 finger banjo ). I'm only interested in good time 17 fret ,plectrum, fretless and wanted to know if you normally have them in the showroom. I'm perfectly content with what I do to keep it as simple as possible. Thanks.
Hi Mike,
Great to see your videos! David doesn't have access to these messages, but he has your email address and will reach out to you very soon. if you do not hear from him, please submit your query to info@deeringbanjos.com. He will pick those messages up. Thanks!
I'm having a hard time understanding how people scrape the head on plectrum banjo (this is why the top is not frosted).
Are big hands necessary for the plectrum banjo?
+chas5131 Not at all. In fact the plectrum banjo neck is slightly narrower than a 5-string neck due to the fact that it does not have the 5th string. The nut on a 5-string neck is 1 ¼” while the nut on the plectrum neck is 1 3/16”.
What model is this banjo?? Is it still available? I'm looking for an open back plectrum banjo.
Hi there. We actually replaced this with the very beautiful Artisan model, about two years ago. We decided to spruce it up a little with some very attractive inlays and the addition of a midnight maple fingerboard. However, the construction and quality remains the same.
It will be the plectrum equivalent of this model: www.deeringbanjos.com/products/artisan-goodtime-banjo
Deering Banjo Company -what is the least expensive open back plectrum banjo that you manufacture now or that you still have in stock ?
It is the Goodtime Openback Plectrum. We do not have it on our web page (fixing that now) but imagine this model as a plectrum. www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/goodtime-openback-banjos/products/goodtime-banjo
It would be the same price.
Deering Banjo Company - ok thank you !
Could you use Irish standard tuning gdae
Sure you could, though you would need the proper strings, and you'd have to tune lower.
Get some thicker strings and yeah
Hey is there a way to play plectrum music on a 5 string?
Hi there! Absolutely. And you raise a great point.
The easiest way to to think of a plectrum is essentially as a 5 string banjo without the 5th string. So to get started, disregard the 5th string. You can remove it completely or you can do what some players do and loosen it enough to pull to one side. I have heard stories of Bela Fleck taking this approach to switch between 5 string and plectrum. Alternatively, you could simply mute the 5th or just play around it/avoid it.
Once the 5th string is taken care of, you will want to tune that heavier 4th string down to a C from the D. And now you are plectrum ready.
Now, one tuning that many plectrum guys use is Chicago tuning, which involves tuning the banjo like the top 4 strings of a guitar (DGBE). This of course can also be done on a 5 string if you wanted to have some fun.
Hope this helps.
+Deering Banjo Company Hello thanks for responding this really helps!
Lol once I was playing at my youth group bonfire and I accidentally broke my 5th string,and I had no time to replace it so I decided just to play it as a plectrum. Deering do you know of if there is a simple way to mute the 5th string so if I want to try some plectrum banjo but without removing or basically ruining the 5th string for when I need it again?
(Oh,this might be a little off topic,but it is related to the tunings,after reading some stuff on banjo history the reason the standard plectrum tuning is CGBD instead of DGBD is cause back when the plectrum rose gCGBD was the common tuning on 5 string banjos,the tuning of gCGBD on the 5 string is actually a really great tuning if you strum a lot of chords like me,and a book that has helped me is pete seeger's one and the tuning in it is gCGBD.the gCGBD tuning sounds good and should be learned as another tuning on the 5 string banjo(I know I wrote a lot on that lol))
Any time!
There is a good thread on Banjo Hangout about this. www.banjohangout.org/archive/135729
Seems that most people wedge something under that string at the location of their choosing. Maybe some felt, cardboard or something similar. I like the idea that one user commented about taking a piece of surgical tubing , slicing down one side and slipping it on and off very easily.
I don't think there is an official way to do it, but there is definitely a lot of trial and error in a kind of "whatever works for you" way.
What banjo is meant for bluegrass music
Five string with a resonator is the standard, I'd think.
Doug Maddox banjo
cgbd tuneing
I keep starting over every 6 months with all of these fucking different tunings. I quit
☹️
For a demonstrator of the most difficult banjo style of all, he is not the right person for the job. Plectrum is sophisticated... Not this slop.
Thank you Ryan, for your constructive feedback. If you have any better videos of your playing, we would love to see them. This video was simply designed to give our audience a sample of what plectrum style playing typically sounds like, in comparison to say, bluegrass, or clawhammer. We deeply apologize that our demonstrators playing is not quite up to scratch. :-)
Don't apologize to the haters, Deering. These people have too much time on their hands, and unfortunately, they'd rather spend it on TH-cam comments instead of ACTUALLY making videos themselves and contribute to the creative processes that is, in my opinion, much more constructive. Your videos are great. Thanks. :)
Sorry Kris, I missed this one. Thanks for the support. We try hard, but we are also human and sadly, sometimes things don't turn out quite as perfect as I would like. Except our banjos. We make sure they are perfect every time. ;-)
I notice this clueless mop didn't upload any of his own playing yet. Oh, there is none? Right. Thought that. So you can go back to the kids table now RS. K buh bye. :)