Plectrum/Tenor

  1. Eddie Sheehy
    I've been a little annoyed lately by the ' dullish thump' of my G string on my 19-fret Paramount. It's ok for ITM - 'cos the bass string don't get much use, but it's a killer on Swing chords. Capoing at 5 to put it in CGDA tuning is awkward - not enough neck left for jazz and swing. So I thought how about a 22-fret Plectrum Banjo tuned down to GDAE -the lighter strings on the PB would have a brighter sound on the bass string. The downside - a 27" scale. The upside - capoing on 5 for CGDA still leaves a lot of neck. Well I'm no stranger to a27" scale since two of my zouks are that, and I tune them GDAE for melody - small hands and all. So I got a Paramount Aristocrat Plectrum Banjo and tuned it GDAE and the sound is wondrous. So I tuned my Paramount Tenor Banjo to CGDA for Swing and Jazz and I have my PB for all else with the versatility of a capo.
  2. xiledscot
    xiledscot
    Hello Eddie....good luck with your new Banjo.
    I wanted to ask what you thought the advantage was of tuning CGDA? Is it the style of music that suits it?
    I know O'Connor uses it for jazz but he and many other traditional players use it for jigs and reels as well.
    For me it's mainly convenience.It's the Mandolin,Banjo,Fiddle thing,all tuned GDAE therefore interchangeable(in theory).
  3. Eddie Sheehy
    CGDA is standard Tenor tuning. GDAE is great for straight across ITM fiddle tunes, but it's a convenience. To me the Tenor Banjo loses a ringing quality when dropped to GDAE and using heavier strings.
  4. xiledscot
    xiledscot
    Thanks Eddie.I think it's good'n healthy that we are all different.
    Have Fun!
    David
  5. Topher Gayle
    Topher Gayle
    I have three tenor banjos. The best one is an old Vega Tubaphone with an extra large pot - I think it is 12.5" or so. It sounds great as an Irish tenor GDAE. My other old Vega is a Style N and it sounded aweful tuned that way. But when I string it up for standard tenor CGDA, it sounds pretty good! The third one is a no-name - I wish I could identify it, but there are no markings at all on it - and I have it tuned like a plectrum banjo just to try that tuning out. I kind of like it.
Results 1 to 5 of 5