A piccolo tango banjo

[kwaynewilliams]

Haven't been on the forum for a long time (even lost track of my old account), but that's because my arthritis pushed me away from double- and triple-stringed metal courses onto nylon-string instruments: generally the fifths-tuned banjos, like tenor and cello banjos.

My latest acquisition is a pure custom: a piccolo tango banjo from Zachary Hoyt. Tango banjos were the four-string brothers of mandolin banjos, generally built with the same frames and trim, but with four steel or nylon strings.

I don't know if any piccolo tangos were ever made, but this has the 10.25" scale of a piccolo mandolin combined with an 8" pot. It's tuned CGDA, one octave above a mandola. A tiny little jewel of a banjo.

[Bob Clark]

Hello Kwaynewilliams,

I am a great fan of piccolo mandolins (same scale as your piccolo banjo, give or take, and also tuned an octave above a mandola). They have become my go-to instrument for relaxed playing around the house, and also a frequent option in my guitar/mandolin duo. I like them so much I have now built a number of them in a flat-top version. In fact, I am just finishing up the latest one and will put up a thread about it in the next week or so.

This is an often overlooked member of the mandolin family, but provides a great additional voice in a variety of settings and genres. Your banjo version is a really cool instrument and I'll bet it has a wonderful voice.

I hope you get as much joy out of this little beauty as I get out of my growing herd of piccolo mandolins.

Best wishes,

Bob

[Jim Garber]

I think the tango banjos were also called lead banjos. A friend of mine has a Weymann version of my 7" head MB style 25 (I believe). They are sometimes mistaken for banjo ukes but the scale is a little longer.

[kwaynewilliams]

Tango banjos basically evolved into tenor banjos, with a longer scale and mandola tuning. "Melody banjo" was a popular alternative term. I've never heard them called "lead" banjos, but term is really hard to search for. "Lead banjo" tends to be about people playing lead with a 5-string.

[Jim Garber]

I know I heard that term "lead banjo" somewhere but when I did a search I found some posts I made years ago. It does seem like either "melody banjo" or "banjolin" might be the more common terms.

[kwaynewilliams]

Hello Kwaynewilliams,
I like them so much I have now built a number of them in a flat-top version. In fact, I am just finishing up the latest one and will put up a thread about it in the next week or so.

What are you using for strings?

[s11141827]

That would make it a Soprano 4 String Mandobanjo