Resonator mandolin vs. banjo-mandolin...

[Griffis]

Hello, All.

Well, I will soon be taking possession of a banjolin for which I am swapping one of my better ukes. I'm really looking forward to it. There's a mandolinist named Dennis Pash who plays a lot of ragtime stuff on a banjolin and stumbling across some of his YouTube videos a few months ago was one of the inspirations for me to get back into playing mandolin.

I am also interested in the resonator mando, but as Nationals are scarce and out of my range, I'd be looking at a Johnson or Republic (which I think are made in the same factory.)

Anyway, before I shell out for a resonator mandolin, I wanted to ask if anyone here has experience with BOTH the resonator mando and the banjo-mando.

I own a few ukuleles, including a resonator and a banjo-uke. I find the resonator uke to fall somewhere between the wooden ukes and the banjo-uke, tonally speaking, and it offers a little more range of sounds. It sounds more like a wood uke when fingerpicked or strummed nearer the neck, and more banjo-ish closer to the bridge. It can go from sweet to pretty harsh.

But ukes are nylon-stringed, single-coursed instruments, so I assume there would be some difference between varities of uke and varities of mandolins.

I may want to hold off on the resonator mandolin because I am hoping to save for a nicer wooden mandolin (the only mando I have now is a cheap Rogue.)

Incidentally, I did use the search function and found a few discussions on different resonator mandolins, but nothing comparing the resonators to banjolins, so I was curious to hear the thoughts of anyone who plays both.

Thanks!

[mandroid]

you got your "stimulus" check coming go for it .

[Griffis]

I probably rambled too much to be clear in the first post. I have a banjo-uke that I am keeping as a banjo-uke (nylon strung, uke-tuned) but am acquiring a banjo-mandolin soon.

Also have been considering getting a resonator mandolin.

Really just curious as to the differences between a reso mando and a banjolin from anyone who has experience with both. Not planning to string the banjo-uke to mando tuning with steel strings...

[allenhopkins]

I have a Vega Little Wonder banjo-mandolin, and two resonator instruments: a National Triolian steel-body from the '30's, and a Dobro from, I guess, the '40's (It has the "National Dobro" label, so it's after the two companies merged in 1935).

Very different instruments. #The Vega -- which is a mid-price model, above the Style K but below the Tu-Ba-Phone -- is brash, raucous, with little sustain, a very "crisp" sound. #Cuts through in almost any environment. #Tremolo is like listening to a swarm around a beehive! #I use it sparingly, for ragtime, jug band, a bit of klezmer when I have to compete with a clarinet. #If you need a "pretty" sound, look elsewhere, but I work in a Celtic band with Mark Deprez, who built his own resonator-backed banjo-mandolin, and it's an effective lead instrument in a Celtic instrumental context. #If you'd like to hear an MP3 of Innisfree, you can click here. (http://www.allenhopkins.org/innisfree.html)

The two resonator instruments are very different. #The metal-bodied National has a longer scale, almost like a mandola (I gather the new Asian instruments have a similar scale). #It has the "National" style of resonator, in which the resonator cone rises in the middle, with a "biscuit" bridge glued to its apex. #It also is loud and assertive, not a beautiful sound, but very clear and with much more sustain than the banjo-mandolin. #It's also quite heavy. #The Dobro has a wood body, and a "Dobro" style resonator; the cone is "dished" in the middle, with a cast aluminum "spider" that sits on the cone, with a wooden bridge attached to the spider's center. #The scale is short, similar to most vintage A-style mandolins. Its sound is much softer, "ringy," with a long sustain -- almost sounds like chimes. #It works well in a small group situation, where that type of sound is desired.

I don't think you can buy new Dobro-type resonator instruments. #The Johnson and Republic instruments have the National-type cone, and therefore would probably have the more loud, assertive sound -- longer sustain than the banjo-mandolin, and more metallic overtones, but not too dissimilar IMHO. #The new National wood-bodied resonator mandolins have the National cone configuration as well, but owners report that while they're loud, they're not as metallic-sounding as the metal-bodied instruments (makes sense).

To try to sum up a bit: banjo-mandolins and National-style resonator mandolins aren't interchangeable in terms of sound. #They're both loud, but the banjo-mandolin has less sustain, an abrupt staccato sound, and, of course, sounds more like a banjo. #The National-style resonator has a more metallic ring, sustains longer, and sounds something like a cross between a mandolin and a National resonator guitar. #Both work in ragtime and jug band, and can be used in other styles if you're OK with a non-traditional sound. #While I think both are "niche" instruments, I'm glad I have them, use them when needed. and consider them useful additions to an eclectic mandolin player's arsenal.

Just my 2¢...

[Bob DeVellis]

Allen said it well. I've had 3 mandolin-banjos (including a Tu-ba-phone and a Whyte Laydie, which are high-end models) and got rid of them all. I found them too harsh sounding for most situations I wanted to play in, although they do have their place in certain types of music (I think more as strummers than pickers). I also have a Regal/Dobro wood-bodied mando that has a surprisingly sweet voice and I find much more useful than the mandolin-banjos. The m-bs were really great looking instruments, though.

[mandroid]

have liked the muted sound damping the head of my B-M, from the back, but that really cuts sustain, to a warm thump, which i hear in the lower tuned tenors but thats fine at the sessions with the Irish tunes.
took the 4 string melody banjo last time, a converted mandolin banjo.