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Subject: gold tone 4 string tenor's/plectrum
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 23:13:45 -0700

Hello-
Do the cripple creek tenor type banjos have a deeper sound vs a
plectrum model?? Also, do you know what type of banjo Ralph Stanley played?
Was it a tenor? I appreciate any feedback and I am in the early stages of
researching which kind of banjo to buy.

Thanks-
Jim

Greetings Jim...

The Plectrum banjo will have the deeper tone due to the longer scale neck...the Cripple Creek tenor is a decent workhorse that tunes up and plays well...both are tuned entirely different due to the neck scale length.

Ralph Stanley plays an archtop 5-string resontor-type banjo...it does have a trebly tone since the diameter is smaller than a standard banjo head...

A 5-string is played in a bluegrass venue...a tenor would be played in Irish music on average...a plectrum would be played in a jazz/ragtime setting...

Hope this helps...Mickey

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Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2002 21:15:04 -0400

Hey Mickey-

I'm a guitarist who needs to play banjo for an upcoming theatrical production.So I have some quick learning to do.
I have a real basic question. What's the difference between 4 and 5 string banjos (besides the obvious)?
Someone told me the 4 string is for dixieland style and the 5 is for bluegrass finger-picking. True?

Paul Birnbaum

Greetings Paul,

Glad to assist if I can:

There are essentially two types of 4-string banjos:
1. the Tenor
2. the Plectrum

The Tenor banjo has a shorter scale neck...it's mostly used today in Irish settings...they're tuned traditionally in the C-G-D-A sequence from low to high strings. Many Irish Tenor banjo players are using the Octave tuning G-D-A-E...


The Plectrum has a longer scale neck similar to the length of a 5-string banjo...these banjos have been used extensively within the New Orleans Jazz (Dixieland) settings...great for ragtime and pop standards...

Neither the Tenor nor the Plectrum are used within Bluegrass settings...

The 5-String banjo is the Bluegrass banjo...the 5th string drone string gives it its characteristic sound...the 4-string banjos do not have a drone string and are almost always played with a flatpick (plectrum)...the 5-string is almost always played with fingerpicks within the fingerstyle approach...The 5-string has the versatility to be played within many other styles of music such as classical, ragtime, jazz or rock...however, it's mainly known as a bluegrass instrument.

There are two types of 5-strings:
1. the open-back: known as the traditional Appalachian banjo...very popular for frailing/clawhammer styles...where the back of the nails are used in a downward strum fashion...with the thumb hitting the drone 5th string...

2. the resonator: known as the traditional Bluegrass banjo...usually played with fingerpicks...the most popular banjo being made today...

Hope this helps, Mickey

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Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 08:40:33 EDT

Good morning.............
I recently purchased a Sierra 5 string from you and now am having second thoughts about a 5 string banjo.......
The Plectrum, I am told, generally refered to as the 5 string banjo without the 5th string...........true assumption?
Do you have the Deering Sierra Plectrum Banjo?
And what would be the cost of the same?
Sincerely,
Patrick

Greetings Patrick,

Glad to assist...

1. The most important thing to consider between the two: what style of music do you hope to accomplish? If you're hoping to play any bluegrass whatsoever, stay with the 5-string. The Plectrum would be as out of place as an ant at an aardvark convention. However, if you're hoping to play New Orleans Ragtime/Jazz, the Plectrum would be the banjo of choice...and the 5-string would be sorely out of place within this setting. For Irish and Celtic music, I'd recommend the tenor banjo.

I'm not sure where you may have heard that a Plectrum would be a 5-string without the 5th string (drone)...the 5-string and the plectrum are two completely different animals.

We currently do not have a Sierra Plectrum...however, if you're still interested in one, I believe they're more readily available than a 5-string Sierra. We do have a beautiful Sierra with a pop-off resonator in stock...this would be a versatile 5-string that can be used within bluegrass or frailing settings.

Let me know how you'd like to proceed...at your disposal, Mickey

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Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 11:23:42 -0400
Subject: need help choosing banjo style


hi mickey,
i recently wrote you guys, inquiring about the deering goodtime models. someone on your staff took the time to quikly reply with some helpful
info, i appreciate this. that together with your trade in policy, lessons and your expertise have convinced me that this is the place.

now lets get down to business. this may be lengthy, so please bear with me. my name is dick stone. i am 66 years old. just had my first heart
attack. hope it's my last. i retired a few years ago and it's boring as hell. in my youth, traveled the country as drummer in a rock band. ( soul
suvivors; expressway to your heart).

i'm starting a band, yes even at my age. a local club owner here in ma. has given me the use of his club and a 3 night a week gig. not much money, but who cares. during the last year or so, i've contacted some of my friends in boston, nashville, memphis, and their all yearning to get back in the business. so this may happen.

the band im starting will be a showband type, 8 or 9 members; playing all types of music, from early dixie to whats on the charts today and some originals. to get all the various sounds we will need all members will have to at least double on instruments. that's no problem for most
of the guys. the horns are from berkley, the tenor sax was with the early tina turner band.
the keyboard man, (masters), was musical director for the university of tennesee. this will be no ordinary pick up band. the bass player is also an accomplished drummer, so that will free me up. I SAID THAT I WOULD LEARN BANJO IN 6 MONTHS. me and my big mouth.
so here we go. what do i need to accomplish this stupid statement i made. i'll do it.

i don't need to be a great picker, although i would'nt mind. i just want, at least for now to get that banjo fill. do you know what i mean?

open back or resonator? 4 string or 5 string? acoustic or electric? can you omit the fifth string on a 5 string and play it as a 4 string? is 4 string easier to learn than a 5 string? how important is a tone ring?

deering now makes the goodtime availabe electrified and in a choice of colors. they will also electrify the other two goodtime models. is there an on stage feedback problem with amplified acoustic banjos? the sound man, formerly with a band called kiss from boston, said not to worry about this. what is
your opinion? he also said that he could attach a wireless mic to the banjo and run it through our pa amp and through our altec nineteen speakers.

i'm leaning to the deering or gold tone makes, but want your opinion. now that you know the situation, what do the think? i don't have a ton of dough, or a lot of time,but will spend what i have to. thanks for reading this novel and look forward to here from you, and doing business with fotw.
sincerely, Rischard Stone

Greetings Richard,

Glad to assist if I can:

1. Congrats on getting back into the music scene...apparently, you have a lot of experience to fall back on! This gives you a tremendous advantage amongst the many upstarts.

2. You made no mention of your main axe...if it's guitar, you'll find learning to banjo fairly easy...especially, if you've played fingerstyle guitar in the past. It's a mind to hand facility that can be trained to new patterns...and, 5-string, bluegrass style banjo is truly based on fingerpicking patterns played mostly over chordal patterns with only a few runs interspersed.

3. The style of music you will be playing on the banjo will dictate the type of banjo (4-String or 5-String) to purchase. For Dixieland and Jazz styles, you'll want a 4-string plectrum banjo; for Celtic/Irish styles, you'll want a tenor banjo; for bluegrass and country, you'll want a 5-string banjo. If you plan on playing all of these styles with authenticity, you'll have to purchase both a 5-string and a 4-string. It is possible to play (fake) dixieland on a 5-string by learning to strum the bottom 4 strings eliminating the 5th string drone. However, it's next to impossible to emulate a 5-string on a 4-string.

4. Open-Back or Resonator? For the styles of music you're pursuing, from what you've illustrated in your letter below, you'll most definitely want a resonator type banjo...works well in both Dixieland and Bluegrass genres...

5. Stage Feedback for Amplified Banjos? Yes, there's most definitely stage feedback when electrifying an acoustic banjo...this is true of most any acoustic instrument. The drums or bass will vibrate the acoustic instrument so that the pick-up tunes into the vibration and begins to hum and ultimately cause feedback. Now, you might consider the Deering Crossfire to eliminate this problem...which is a solid body electric banjo...otherwise, your best bet to electrify a 5-string, and minimize feedback, is to go to a magnetic pick-up such as what Gold Tone offers. The Goodtime has a piezo pick-up...which is a transducer type that picks up the vibration of the banjo head. It would pick up more of the acoustic properties of the banjo, however, if playing in a band setting, you'll most definitely want to stuff a T-Shirt in the back to prevent any potential feedback problems.

6. To learn 5-string banjo quickly, start with a video covering the styles you want to pursue. An instructional video is the next best thing to having a personal instructor. In fact, in some ways it can be better since you can rewind the same lesson repeatedly and at your discretion. Look for a video that covers the methodology approach to learning...this means a video that instructs with exercises and technique builders instead of learing one song to the next by rote.

Hope the above helps...if I left anything out, or didn't cover a particular question thoroughly, please get back with me directly.

Keep on Pickin', Mickey

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Subject: Help - Please!
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2001 15:59:05 -0500

I have two questions:

1. Can you use a flatpick with a banjo?

Yes, you can...many Irish players do play banjo with a flatpick. Although, most all of them are using a tenor banjo...a 4-string as opposed to a 5-string. Even so, you can still use a 5-string in the flatpicking mode...only, the 5-string befits fingerstyle due to the 5th drone string. Check out our video samplers of the tenor banjo on our website to get an idea of what these sound like with a flatpick:

http://www.folkofthewood.com/page319.htm


2. To get the "old" folk era sound, such as the Chad Mitchell Trio and the
Kingston Trio, would you recommend a Goodtimes I or II Banjo?

In this case, to stay true to this '60s folk tradition, you'll most definitely want an open-back 5-string banjo. And, you'll want to start developing your fingerpicking patterns for authenticity. Fortunately, as in the case of the Kingston Trio, these patterns are very basic and repeat from song to song...not nearly as complicated as bluegrass banjo.

Hope the above helps...Mickey