Nathanial Baker
Aug-21-2004, 7:59pm
what's a good brand of banjo-mandolin? do they make any with a fifth string? if so, what are the brands? a banjo-mandolin is a mandolin with a banjo head. knowledgable replies are greatly appreciated.
Nathanial Baker
Alanede
Aug-22-2004, 5:16pm
Good mandolin banjos were made by Gibson, Vega, and Bacon, mostly before 1940, and prices for one in good to excellent playing condition run $500 on up. Unlike a mandolin, the tonal quality and volume of one of these is easily adjustable.
For less money, I would suggest a new Tyler Mountain, for about $200, available through eBay. These are not excessively loud, but are not so adjustable for tone.
I would avoid the little no-name or off-brand models on eBay. Though often cheap, they are so often so badly warped as to be unplayable, and not worth trying to salvage.
I hope this helps.
Alan
Mandolin-Banjo man
Eugene
Aug-22-2004, 6:00pm
I would definitely favor vintage pieces by any of the various brands mentioned in all the various discussions on this. Bernunzio (http://bernunzio.com/cgi-bin/bernunzio/f2k.pl?Class=Mandolin) is a respected shop that seems to move more of these than anybody else. If you don't mind putting a bit of effort into this, the Bruno there seems a good buy. Bruno was a New York retailer who commissioned pices from a great many manufacturers for their house brand. I would guess the one listed at Bernunzio might be by Favilla...maybe.