Mandolin vs Banjo

[JeffD]

Wow the thread is 10 years old. But the question and the many answers still have relevance.

And it swerves into the question "why play a musical instrument at all".

Here is my heretical thought: If the question is hard for you to answer, it really doesn't matter which you chose. If its easy there is no decision.

If it is an intellectual decision based on this and that whatnot, then ultimately it doesn't matter what you chose. Chose what makes sense to you. Chose the one upon which proficiency matters to you. On the other hand, if every fiber of your being, every molecule of your soul, heart, and every synaps of your brain yearns unceasingly for one, or for the other, well then you are likely not reading this thread and are down the rabbit hole watching instructional youtubes.

[milli857]

For me, the start and end of "which instrument should I play?" is "which instrument do I like listening to?"

I really love listening to Andrew Marlin, Sierra Hull, John Reischman and others so I started playing mandolin.
I later found that I love listening to Tony Rice, Chris Eldridge and others so I started learning guitar.
I also love listening to Larry Graham, James Jamerson, Joe Dart and others so I learned electric bass.

I don't think playing three different instruments held me back - in fact, I think I've been able to learn things from one instrument and apply them to others. It also keeps me inspired to be able to play lots of styles and several instruments.

[meow-n-dolin]

I have played both, along with guitar and various other things with strings, for quite some time. The learning curve is about the same for both, and a bit longer than for the guitar.

One thing, though, if you choose a mandolin, remember, nobody is going to offer you $$$ NOT to play

[Jim Garber]

I seem to be having some trouble posting a reply to your OP, so I’ll try posting with a quote. Hmm…. Seems to be working that way.

There’s a real good reason for that…. The OP is long gone having posted here last ten years ago. I still wish there was some sort of neon warning sign saying “This is a ten year old thread!”

[meow-n-dolin]

There’s a real good reason for that…. The OP is long gone having posted here last ten years ago. I still wish there was some sort of neon warning sign saying “This is a ten year old thread!”

Yeah. That would be nice.

[JeffD]

There’s a real good reason for that…. The OP is long gone having posted here last ten years ago. I still wish there was some sort of neon warning sign saying “This is a ten year old thread!”

I had the idea that the background for posts should age. So that a five year old posts would become more tan colored, and ten year old posts downright yellow-brown, etc. Yea it is a ridiculous idea when one can simple look up to the date line for every post. But I thought it was fun.

[Jim Garber]

At the hangout sites there are indications that the threads are archived. The difference is that you cannot post there after some time. I prefer the set up here mostly for those long-running threads such as Bowlbacks of Note, Mandolins that Won’t get a bid, and what’s only Bench among others. Maybe we just need larger type for the dates these started? I do like the aging coloration.

[Sue Rieter]

As someone who hasn't been involved with this site as long as some others, I personally don't mind old discussions coming back around. I learn stuff. As long as we understand that the original question from the original OP might be moot.

[Charlie Bernstein]

There are countless banjo jokes. I've never heard a mandolin joke. Does that help?

[milli857]

There are countless banjo jokes. I've never heard a mandolin joke. Does that help?

I've heard a number of "mandolins are never in tune" jokes

[Hudmister]

I've heard a number of "mandolins are never in tune" jokes

That is an observation about mandolins, they're not joking.

[catmandu2]

Although I only play mandolin, I *do* think upright bass is pretty sexy and am fairly intrigued by it.

I keep trying to get my brother (electric bass player) to get one so that I can check it out

DB is king of stringed instruments. And sexy. When in college I had my DB laying on its side next to my bed during sleeping hours; one night I awoke and found myself on the floor kneeling next to it, thinking it was my girlfriend. (Fortunately, nothing transpired further )

[Jim Garber]

The OP is long gone and decided to take up the tuba.

I verified that fact when I found his post on the Tuba Cafe. He decided to buy an A model tuba and got a lot more bang for his buck.

[5Guitars]

I'm primarily a guitarist. I bought a Mandola and a Tenor Banjo (same tuning) a few years ago. Loved the Mandola, never bonded with the Banjo - sold it and bought an Octave Mandolin. But that's just me ...

[Bill McCall]

There’s a real good reason for that…. The OP is long gone having posted here last ten years ago. I still wish there was some sort of neon warning sign saying “This is a ten year old thread!”

This information is readily available by reading the first post of a thread.

[DougC]

At the hangout sites there are indications that the threads are archived. The difference is that you cannot post there after some time. I prefer the set up here mostly for those long-running threads such as Bowlbacks of Note, Mandolins that Won’t get a bid, and what’s only Bench among others. Maybe we just need larger type for the dates these started? I do like the aging coloration.

Yes, many others would agree that there are great topics that reoccur but they are not (easily) accessible and therefore are repeated. The sad part is that many are tired of reading 'the same old thing' and think that there is nothing new. Great ideas and topics are timeless and there is always something interesting.

[Jim Garber]

This information is readily available by reading the first post of a thread.

Many people find these threads via search engine and may never see the first post. Also they are probably new to the site and therefore would not know where the dates are.

[TX2AK]

To Sue and CarlM, I have a ‘54 Kay upright - maybe the quintessential bluegrass bass (while there are certainly much nicer and finer carved instruments out there); and you are right - it is physically taxing to play. A heavy tone ring banjo is harder on your back, which is a particular issue for me; but in the playing itself, banjo is easier (I think) than mandolin or upright bass, physically. Mandolin only because of the double strings and extremely high tension. Sue, you might try to get your brother to try a Uke Bass. They don’t have the visual appeal that an upright does, but they can sound very close - closer than any electric or acoustic/electric I have played. They have big fat, floppy, gummy strings, and require minimal pressure and zero calluses - my 9 year old is learning bass on one right now. That’s not to say it is a child’s instrument, it’s not - I bought one in Hawaii as a souvenir, after playing with a guy who was killing it on one. The guy had been through the electric bass thing, upright thing, and finally settled in his mid-60s in Hawaii, and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of lugging around an upright, and he didn’t like the sound of a normal electric bass - though a fretless P-Bass-type with flats can get close (something I never have dialed in, but have heard); and with a Phil Jones amp, you don’t even have to plug into power; they can be powered by a laptop battery!

As far as sexy, I just mean it’s not typically a lead instrument, most of the time. For anyone who loves music, there can be something sexy about someone holding it all together and anchoring the group with an understated elegance, which I think is embodied in the bass. I’m not trying to sell the world on the bass; I just think it is the easiest instrument with which to start and learn the number system and how music is actually made. To this day, I have to think about what chords would be the 3rd, 6th, etc. on any instrument - on the bass, if you know the root, everything else just falls. For me, from there, it’s easier to draw those lines with chord shapes on other instruments.

To JiminRussia: I am not positive about whether you are agreeing with my post about theory or disagreeing. I definitely wish I had minored in music of some sort in college (because a minor doesn’t matter anyway), or when I was in law school at Texas Tech in Lubbock, had known about the bluegrass program (banjo at the time led by Alan Munde) at South Plains College and taken at least a fun ed class each semester with my recreational time, rather than drinking beer and playing 42 (I’d probably be a lot thinner and further along in music); but I don’t think formal music education is required to enjoy making music. I do think every instrument is easier if you have a basic understanding of theory, and can at least make everything relative on an instrument. For me, that has come so much more easily on mandolin than banjo; but it all stems from a pro, years ago, pressing me to play bass with them because I wasn’t good enough on banjo or guitar, and teaching me the Nashville Number system, which was so easy and a no-brainer on bass; that has made translation to other instruments much easier. It’s not necessary, and we all have different journeys, but I thought it was simplest on bass. Truly getting it requires knowing one setup on bass- know where the root is, and the rest falls in place; while it requires at least 3 shapes, progressions and translations on everything else, at least of the bluegrass instruments.

[TX2AK]

To supplement the post above, I’ll add that I play with a guitarist who has an incredible ear and could find the chords to what I was playing on banjo or mandolin, even testing him and not calling the key, etc., but could not tell me what he was playing to save his life (a skill I envy and will probably never understand); and my wife, who is a melody-hearing-and-finding-champion on her fiddle; once they learned the very rudimentary basics of the numbers system, their playing, which was already good, became 10X more impressive (making me appreciate my inadequacy 10X more; but makes for a lot of fun). I suspect that the real pros (the people we know and touring/session musicians) started like my friend or wife and spent time learning their instrument(s), and had the sheer dedication and drive to be great. That said, I think most humans can learn to enjoy making music with some dedication; for some that’s 30 minutes per day; and for others it’s 2+ hrs per day, and maybe we are all good at different things. I know that for me, not having TV for several years boosted my playing; but it can be an easy time suck; and I won’t even start on social media - that is a novel unto itself for me and the people I know who don’t understand how one finds the time for xxxxx.