Banjos

[Grandeza]

Hey I went to sam ash with my friends today. Now 2/3 of em play guitar. My other friend wants to play bass. I had no desires to play anything as I play trumpet, but I only chose trumpet for my music class. We just went there to play their instruments cause my friend wanted to try out the SG guitar. We ended up there for a while. Towards the end I wandered into a back room in the store with all the acoustic guitars. And there it was..... I saw it and loved it. A BANJO. I tried it a little and I liked it a lot. So I'm getting one for my birthday. Anyone recommend a banjo that you have tried and is under maybe $550? Also some tips on the banjo please. I searched for a thread and found one from '04 so obviously i just made a new thread.

So just comment on banjos and their awesomeness. Also tips and don't forget to post a link to good banjos I can buy. Thanks guys.

 

[Moy]

Sadly, I can't give you any tips, but I can agree with ya and say banjos are awesome. Hopefully that's enough to have the right to post here.

I played the trumpet for a while too, but gave it up when I got braces.

It'd be cool to pick up the harmonica or somethin', since it's simple. My cousin plays the guitar, and always rubs my face in it for not being able to play an instrument.

 

[Grandeza]

Guitar is so common. 3/4 of my friends play guitar. Now who do you hear about that plays banjo?

 

[Moy]

Banjo. I'm sure Kazooie can contact him so he can give you a few tips.

 

[OmegaXXII]

Guitars yes, I listen to them and see them all the time, but Banjos? well it's a rare scene for me to see someone playing one since I've almost never seen one play it, but yea the Banjo itself sounds amazing

 

[Grandeza]

Also if anyone has links to any banjo tabs to some cool songs. Specifically, I'm looking for(if in existence) banjo tabs to Paranoid(metallica) and Enter Sandman(also metallica)

 

[Crimson King]

Dueling Banjos is pretty great to learn. Just watch the video of it on Youtube to learn to play it. It took me maybe 3 tries to figure the whole thing out.

 

[Grandeza]

Dueling Banjos is pretty great to learn. Just watch the video of it on Youtube to learn to play it. It took me maybe 3 tries to figure the whole thing out.

I definitely plan on that once I get my banjo.

So guys what sites are there for banjo-tabs? And also what banjos under $550 are good.

 

[Xsyven]

There really aren't any banjo tabs for guitar songs. Mainly because they're played on the guitar... which have one more string. And eBGDAE tuning.

I mean, sure, you can plunk out the melody... but that's not anything fun to sing along to.

 

[Grandeza]

Oh well. Anyone got any cool banjo songs that aren't too hard to play? I know dueling banjos will be great but are there any other cool song i should learn?

 

[Mugquomp]

Do you like bluegrass? Banjo is a pretty common instrument for that style of music. I'd suggest starting by learning some chord shapes and how to do some simple rolls. That'll get you started.

I play mandolin, but I've got a couple of friends who play banjo and I've tried to learn it on and off again, but the rolls take awhile to get down pat. But once you do it sounds sick.

 

[Dodongo]

Someone send me a free banjo. Ever since I got a strumstick I've wanted one.

 

[smash inc]

Drums ftw but Banjo's are pretty cool but i like drums more.

 

[MSTK]

I play instruments.

Banjo is something nice to pick up. The physicalities of it (the hard part, the starting part) are similar enough to the guitar, so if you already played guitar, your muscle memory and callouses will retain themselves during the switch.
But you don't really play guitar, so...all I can say is, in an instrument like this, the most difficult part about starting out is the actual pushing and plucking of the strings. If you find some good tabs then what to fret isn't the problem. It's fretting itself.
Playing by ear is a bit different. Start out with chords. In fact, if you know your chords you can pretty much cover every song in existence.

As for a nice banjo brand I'd suggest...well, Wildwood and Vega both are the well-established brands made here in the States. I could draw an analogy to Fender and Gibson here but that might be stretching it. More uniquer sounds come from the other brands, and those are pretty interesting.
Overall I'd just recommend you go out to Sam Ash and try out all the banjos and see which one has a better sound. Action (how hard you have to press the strings) can be adjusted later on, but that'd cost you money.

 

[notftomearth7]

Ah...banjos. The redneck's bass.