Re: Help with Identification from Poor Picture
Originally Posted by
AFBRAT
...Do these British ones have a different tone than a us banjolin? What genre of music was typically played in Britain with these instruments. It was not my go to thought when thinking of British music.
British mandolin banjos often have smaller "pots" (bodies) than their American counterparts, and as a result, may have a bit more "treble" tone, and sometimes a bit less volume -- though a shrill-sounding instrument will cut through, and most mando-banjos don't lack for projection.
Banjo makers were quite common in England (check out this page) but I'm not aware of a genre of British music that attracted banjoists the way bluegrass, Dixieland jazz and old-timey string band music attracted US players. The singer and actor George Formby made the ukulele banjo quite popular in the UK, and there is a fairly thriving group of "classical" banjoists still active in England. Banjo has become regularly featured in Irish instrumental music, but this development is more recent.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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