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Thread: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

  1. #26
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Newbie, if you're still with us, here's a recent thread on mandolin-banjos:

    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...Mandolin-Banjo
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  2. #27
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Oops, posted the same message twice.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  3. #28
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Quote Originally Posted by Sue Rieter View Post
    I wonder if your instrument was left with attachment issues due to abandonment?
    Probably, poor dear. Never did anything to hurt anybody, then gets treated thisaway. Honestly, even though I no longer had a professional use for her, she was a good-sounding instrument, as these things go - nowhere near as harsh as a typical banjolin. It might yet be worth restoring, theoretically - although it could well be more cost-effective to find another one for a similar sum. I should ask my luthier if he still has it, tucked away in a corner of his basement. It might have been lost in a flood, though, which would settle the matter.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sue Rieter View Post
    Hmmm. I think I'll go with "A happy sound utterly devoid of subtlety" vs. "unholy sound".
    Now, if I can only convince my husband.....
    Good luck with that. The first part of that was fearless leader's assessment, and him being a drummer, makes sense from that perspective. My assessment is not terribly flattering, but you're welcome to it.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  4. #29
    Registered User Sue Rieter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    I see Ranald is trying to direct the thread back to the topic at hand.

    To be honest, the main reason I exacerbated the diversion was I was afraid the OP might be put off by the "devil's instrument" designation, and maybe not realizing it was a joke.

    I'm no expert in instruments by any stretch, but the only marking on mine is on the dowel inside, and you have to take the shiny back plate off to see it.

  5. #30
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Well, I know these get a bad rap for being obnoxious, but most folks put mandolin strings on them. Even the X-light 9-32 mandolin strings are too heavy. That will stress the instrument and make it harsh. I use two sets of tenor banjo strings, it is a banjo first, with the G a 28, and it allows me a .010 on the E. A 28 is a heavy string for a banjo. It makes them much easier to play, last longer without self destructing, and most importantly sound waaay better.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  6. #31
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Just to add further complications, there are four-stringed instruments that are neither ukulele-banjos, nor four-string mandolin banjos.

    They are called melody banjos, and, while rarely found, may be products of the more prestigious companies -- Vega, Paramount, Gibson et. al.
    Allen Hopkins
    Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
    Natl Triolian Dobro mando
    Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
    H-O mandolinetto
    Stradolin Vega banjolin
    Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
    Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
    Flatiron 3K OM

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  8. #32
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    Just to add further complications ...
    Mission accomplished!
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  9. #33
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    The term “melody banjo” sounds, to me, a bit of an oxymoron.

    Having given the matter some further thought, if you take 4 strings off a mandolin-banjo, does it stop being a mandolin-banjo? If you were to take all the strings off, it wouldn’t stop being a mandolin-banjo.

  10. #34

    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    I'm new to the sound it makes but I have a way of making my acoustic guitar sound unholy as well so yes it makes an unholy sound but my friend played it and sounded like a banjo kinda

  11. #35
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    The term “melody banjo” sounds, to me, a bit of an oxymoron.

    .
    Not really, as these were used literally to play the melody in large banjo ensembles.

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  13. #36
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    The term “melody banjo” sounds, to me, a bit of an oxymoron.
    David either completely missed or just ignored your assertion. To the uninitiated: it's more or less the "conventional wisdom" among many members hereabouts that b****s are more akin to annoying noisemakers than musical instruments, so the juxtaposition of a musical term with their name results in an oxymoron.

    Having given the matter some further thought, if you take 4 strings off a mandolin-banjo, does it stop being a mandolin-banjo? If you were to take all the strings off, it wouldn’t stop being a mandolin-banjo.
    In the first condition, it would be a single-string mandolin-b****, yet still a m-b. In the second condition it would still be a m-b, but since the possibility of producing sound had been disabled, it would then be rendered safe for human interaction. Indeed, it would have developed into something that could serve a useful purpose - a wall hanging. That is, if you can stomach even the mere sight of it.

    [Note to OP: Just kidding. Mostly Enjoy your new acquisition. Tune it same as a mandolin - GDAE. Have fun with it. ]
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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  15. #37
    Registered User Sue Rieter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear View Post
    David either completely missed or just ignored your assertion. To the uninitiated: it's more or less the "conventional wisdom" among many members hereabouts that b****s are more akin to annoying noisemakers than musical instruments, so the juxtaposition of a musical term with their name results in an oxymoron.



    In the first condition, it would be a single-string mandolin-b****, yet still a m-b. In the second condition it would still be a m-b, but since the possibility of producing sound had been disabled, it would then be rendered safe for human interaction. Indeed, it would have developed into something that could serve a useful purpose - a wall hanging. That is, if you can stomach even the mere sight of it.

    [Note to OP: Just kidding. Mostly Enjoy your new acquisition. Tune it same as a mandolin - GDAE. Have fun with it. ]
    Hey now! I think when you take the strings off, it's just a m-b waiting for new strings. Maybe you just decided to try the tenor banjo ones vs. the mandolin ones as suggested by pops1 above.

    And YMMV, but mine is very nice looking
    Maybe not as lovely as my mandolin, but still very cool, in her own way

  16. #38
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Help!!:I have aqquired an Unmarked unnamed 7 string banjolele

    Well, yes. It is what it is, strings or not. The structure isn't changed by the existence or lack of accessories - or necessities, which strings are, in order to enable functionality.

    Yes, as always, YMMV. To each his/her own. I should try to find the thread from a couple months ago concerning the guy in England who collected some 800-900 b****s, festooning every wall in his flat. That might produce some deleterious effects on some viewers.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

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