blindboygrunt Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 i know some of u guys pluck a banjo as well as guitar. someone i know says he needs strings for a long necked banjo , is he goin senile or is there such a thing ? and for all you guys who dont play banjos ; whats the difference between a banjo and a trampoline ? you take shoes off to jump on a trampoline thanks folk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 We've got to be careful when we discuss banjos in a guitar forum. Dangerous stuff.. .....Anyway, the long-neck is something that Pete Seeger supposedly came-up with in-order to play easily in the particular keys he wanted to sing in. I think the longer neck gives you a couple of extra octaves to play in. They're often tuned in Open E. Don't believe I've ever played one, but I've been told they are a bit easier on the fingers, but once you've toughened-up your fingers you can play most anything, so aside from a beginner, don't know if that applies. I think a tenor banjo is a long-neck. I think. I see one around here every-now-and-then. Not a lot of them, but they are around. They do exist.........So now that I've told you what I know (which ain't much), don't tell anyone we had this conversation in a guitar forum.....I was not here. This conversation did not take place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Here are a couple. Warning: ordinary 5-string banjo sets are too short! Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I think a tenor banjo is a long-neck. I think. A tenor banjo is a 4-string short neck (the shortest I know of in the banjo family). The plectrum (another 4-string) banjo's neck is longer than a tenor, but shorter than a "standard" 5-string bluegrass banjo. Then there is the Seeger style that has a neck about a mile long. So what's perfect pitch with a banjo..... tossing it into a dumpster and having it land on an accordion. So how can you tell when a banjo is in tune.... you can't. Being an archtop player, and knowing that the archtop was basically developed to replace the tenor and plectrum banjos in jazz bands, I picked up an old tenor to mess around with. 1936 Gibson TB-1 Tenor Banjo: Someday I may even learn to play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks for the correction, L5. I did say I didn't know much, didn't I?...lol....I might have been thinking of a baritone banjo I was reading about on Mudcat Review.....Anyway, another thing about the long neck banjo is that it covers a wider radius (target area) when you swing it like a baseball bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks for the correction, L5. I did say I didn't know much, didn't I?...lol....I might have been thinking of a baritone banjo I was reading about on Mudcat Review.....Anyway, another thing about the long neck banjo is that it covers a wider radius (target area) when you swing it like a baseball bat. thanks guys , reason i'm askin is because the guys asked me to get strings for his . should be easier to find for me now .hopefully someone this side of the pond does them . rare are they ? should i be tellin him to insure it ?? i think he said pete seeger one now you mention it . i mean if theyre rare in the states there certainly cant be many over here !! and i'll take the blame if someone shouts for talkin banjo's . we're all gibson lovers, but i needed help for this old guy cheers fellas :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis57 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Here are a couple. Warning: ordinary 5-string banjo sets are too short! Let's pick, -Tom Wow those are loooooong necks!!! Much prefer my short scaled H-Bird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 What's the definition of perfect pitch? When you throw a banjo in a dumpster without hitting the sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Q: You drop a banjo player and a bagpipe player out of a 20 story window - who hits the ground first? A: Who cares Back in the 1960s I wanted to play banjo real bad. Neve got around to it but I still have my copy of Pete's How to Play the Five String Banjo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgwoods Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I've played clawhammer banjo for more than 40 years. All the strings I have used are plenty long to work on a long neck- GHS, D'Addario, John Pearse, all long enough. I am not a sensitive guy, not easily offended, but until you come up with new, funny banjo joke you just mark yourself as a moron by repeating the same old boring jokes everyone knows. Nuff sed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I am not a sensitive guy, not easily offended, but until you come up with new, funny banjo joke you just mark yourself as a moron by repeating the same old boring jokes everyone knows. Nuff sed. JG, I've led a sheltered life, and haven't heard all the anti-banjo jokes. (Are we "banjoists" here?). You know we're just jealous because the banjo is so.... LOUD.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I've played clawhammer banjo for more than 40 years. All the strings I have used are plenty long to work on a long neck- GHS, D'Addario, John Pearse, all long enough. Interesting. Let me say why I said to be careful. I always thought the situation was as you describe -- most, if not all, were long enough. Along with a number of other faults, we collect banjos -- we have about 100. We have a few tenors from the 20s, but mostly minstrel era 5-strings; late 19th century and early 20th century 5-strings; a bunch of original 5-string and converted 20s Fairbanks, Vegas, and early Gibsons (clawhammer banjos); some "golden era" (late 20s and 30s) Gibsons (bluegrass banjos), and a very small number of "modern" banjos (up into the 60s), which include the two longneck ones I showed above (folk banjos). Well, like you, I started long ago (47 years in my case), and the first style I learned was from Pete Seeger's book -- I was really into the Kingston Trio. I almost never do that style anymore -- I now mostly play 3-finger style and Galax style clawhammer. So the long necks don't get much action. Well, a few months ago one of the long necks I had loaned out to an old folkie friend came home, and I decided to restring both of them. It had not happened in recent memory. Now, as you would expect, we have a lot of strings -- maybe 200 sets. Right now I am working my way through a bulk set (48) from Martin, but I also have a drawer full of packaged strings, and I have a lot more in cases. So I grabbed a set, and started to re-string -- too short. So I started a search, and looked at a bunch of sets -- all too short. So off I went to the local Sam Ash -- all to short too. Finally, I bought a few "longneck" sets off the Internet. Based on your statement, I am going to look a bit closer. If I already own usable long neck sets, I certainly don't want to pay retail for more. I am not a sensitive guy, not easily offended, but until you come up with new, funny banjo joke you just mark yourself as a moron by repeating the same old boring jokes everyone knows. One of the pitifully small set of things that I am proud of is that I created a banjo joke that can now occasionally be found on the list of jokes. Are you ready? "A banjo player without a banjo is like a baboon without a bazooka." Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 The long neck is, indeed, Seeger's idea. It added 3 extra frets. My math says it gives you one extra octave. Those extra three frets cover a LOT of territory and maybe added an extr 6" or so to the length. Seeger is reported to have said he did it to be different, to make his banjo stand out in the band... or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgwoods Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Hmmm, I "assume" long neck scale is 32" like the current Deering offering. I did look around a bit and see 34" mentioned. My collection includes 25 to 27 and on the rare occasions when I restring I must have 10 inches to spare. Perhaps that is not enough to get a few windings around the far posts . Used to play long neck, but civil war style and strung with gut. Fresh humore, always funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 cheers fellas :-) Haha, that Seegerism made me laugh, BBG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 What's the difference between a skunk run over on the road and a banjo player run over on the road? You see skid marks in front of the skunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 band members all spot paddy the banjo player in the street with a little kid pushed up against a wall. 'what are you doin to that kid paddy? leave him alone he's just a child!' 'no way ! this little s#@t turned my tunin peg and knocked my banko outta tune !' says paddy 'aww paddy , stop over reactin , sure we'll just tune it again' 'you don't understand ! he won't tell me which one he turned!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 What do you call 5 banjo players at the bottom of the Hudson River? - A good start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 How many banjo players does it take to screw in a light bulb? Five; one to screw it in and four to complain that it's electric. lament about how much they miss the old one. stand around and watch. What's the difference between a banjo and a(n)... onion? No one cries when you cut up a banjo. uzzie? An uzzie only repeats forty times. chain saw? A chain saw has a dynamic range. ...and/or... You can turn a chainsaw off. Harley Davidson motorcycle? You can tune a Harley. trampoline? You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline. Playing the banjo is a lot like throwing a javelin blindfolded: you don't have to be very good to get people's attention. What do you say to the banjo player in the three piece suit? ``Will the defendant please rise.'' What do you get when you throw a banjo and an accordion off the Empire State Building? Who cares? What do you call twenty-five banjos up to their necks in sand? Not enough sand. What do you call one-hundred banjos at the bottom of the ocean? A good start. What did the banjo player get on his IQ (or SAT) test? Drool. Why do some people take an instant aversion to banjo players? It saves time in the long run. What will you never say about a banjo player? That's the banjo player's porsche. Banjo players are a lot like sharks: they think they have to keep playing or they will sink. How can you tell the difference between all the banjo songs? By their names. (originally, ``Irish fiddle tunes'') The sixth fret on a banjo is a lot like the thirteenth floor on a building: you don't really need one. There's nothing I like better than the sound of a banjo, unless of course it's the sound of a chicken caught in a vacuum cleaner. Female five string banjoist shouting at her boyfriend in a crowded shopping mall: "Don't forget, sweetheart, I need a new G string." How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb? Twelve. One to change the bulb and eleven to say they could do it better. What do a vacuum cleaner and an electric guitar have in common. Both suck when you plug them in. What did the guitarist do when his teacher told him to turn his amplifier on? He caressed it softly and told it that he loved it. If you drop an accordion, a banjo and a viola off a 20-story building, which one lands first? Who cares? Why are banjo jokes so short? So guitarists can understand them. Why is a banjo player like a SCUD missile? Both are offensive and inaccurate. What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin? No-one minds if you spill beer on a fiddle. Why should you never try to drive a roof nail with a banjo? You might bend the nail. How do you keep your guitar from getting stolen? Put it in a banjo case. What's the difference between a banjo and an onion? No one cries when you cut up a banjo. Why do so many people take an instant dislike to the banjo? It saves time. How can you tell when a banjo player is out of tune? His fingers are moving. Why is a banjo solo like a bomb? By the time you hear it, it's too late to do anything about it. Why is a banjo solo like premature ejaculation? Because even when you know it's coming, there's nothing you can do about it. What do a banjo and a lawsuit have in common? Everyone is happy when the case is closed. What is the range of a banjo? As far as you can kick it. What's the difference between a chain saw and a banjo? If you absolutely had to, you could use a chain saw in a bluegrass band. Why shouldn't you drive off a cliff in a mini with three banjo players in it? You could fit in at least one more. Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a violin case? They think he's carrying a machine gun and might be about to use it. Why do people tremble with fear when someone comes into a bank carrying a banjo case? They think he's carrying a banjo and might be about to use it. How do you get a dozen banjo players to play in tune? 1.Shoot 11 of them. 2.Shoot all of them. 3.Who the hell wants a dozen banjo players? How does a banjo player’s brain cell die? Alone. Did you hear about the banjo player who played in tune? Neither did I. Why did the banjo player marry the accordion player? Upward mobility. Why is a guitar better than an fiddle? The guitar burns longer. What is a burning guitar good for? Setting a banjo on fire. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get away from the banjo player. How many banjo players does it take to change a lightbulb? Five. One to change the bulb and four to contemplate how Earl Scruggs would have done it. What is a gentleman? Somebody who knows how to play the banjo, but doesn't. What is the diffference between a dead banjo player lying in the road, and a dead squirrel lying in the road? The squirrel might have been on his way to a gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roughdiamond Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgwoods Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 You ain't seen nothing until you've seen the Dreaded Banjo Orchestra at Johnny Ds in Somerville MA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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