Well I’ve gone and joined the Dark Side…..I bought a banjo. #Now the good news is that it’s a 17 fret tenor banjo that I’ll tune GDAE. #So it’s not as bad as it could be! #
I acquired a Vega Little Wonder from our favorite auction site. #It should be here in about a week. #It looks to be in pretty decent shape but of course the seller wasn’t instrument savvy so we’ll see when it gets here. #I know it’s going to need a good cleaning and probably a set up. #But here are the questions I have:
1) How will I know if it needs a new head? #If it does, where do you buy them? #And I understand there are plastic and hide heads? #Which one works better?
2) Based on other discussions I’ve read, I’m planning on ordering some octave mandolin strings for it. #The gauges are 12, 22, 32 and 46. #Is that the general consensus? #The Irish Tenor strings that they sell seem awfully light for an instrument with a scale length this long.
3) It has the original tuners. #Assuming they are in good working condition, is there any reason to change them?
4) It doesn't come with a case. I'm thinking a gig bag will be sufficient to carry it around in. Can you recommend one that works well for this size of a banjo?
5) Is there anything else I need to think about doing to get it functional and playable?
I’ve been toying with the idea of getting an octave mandolin or tenor banjo for a while now. #I’m definitely excited to have a new voice to try out. #I’ll have to learn some more Irish tunes so I can put it to good use at our local session. #But I’m also planning on trying it out at some Old Time jams and seeing how it works. #Thanks for any info!!
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