Buying a Old Banjo on Ebay

[Roy]

Howdy. Guitar player here. I've been wanting to get a banjo and was thinking about a Banjitar so I don't have to learn a new intrument. I don't intend on using it traditionally. I'm trying to do an ethnic/jazz thing and this is actually an attempt to get something like a Koto. I found out that you can tune tenor banjos to EADG and there aint no funny tuning peg 1/2 way up the neck. I would rather sacrifice sustain and volume for a mellow tone (might even go plastic strings) rather than have something that sustains, is loud and has lots of harmonics, but is harsh sounding. I was thinking an open back would be the way to go but I was wondering, can't you just take a resonator off and have both bases covered by buying a resonator banjo?

 

I'm a banjo noob'. I'm buying off Ebay, unplayed. I'm probably going to buy an antique. This is a recipe for disaster. What sort of questions should I be asking when buying an old banjo? (please note - every seller will say it's good and loud and sounds great) Will an old banjo have neck reset issues like an old guitar?

[Roy]

Oh yeah. Forgot to mention, I was thinking a tenor over a Banjitar bacause A-It opens up way more purchasing options. B-Cheaper. I don't want a Chinese piece of ... C-It would suit my purposes just fine. I will be primarily using a guitar pick to play it.

[daklander]

Go on over to the Banjo Hangout and check into the forums there. You'll get more banjo players to ask the questions of.

If you're going to buy a six string banjo why not just go out and buy one of the new ones instead of shooting in the dark with ebay? Prices ain't all that bad.

[Roy]

Thanks. Great site. I don't want to go with a Dean or equivelent because I've read nothing but bad things about them. I think I'll get more for my money buying vintage. I was looking at a Gold Tone GT 750 for $750 at Elderly. Kinda pricey. I could probably get a nice tenor for about $250 and add a pickup if needed. I can live without the 2 extra strings for $500 savings.

[Muddslide]

I don't know how you might feel about this, but have you considered a banjo-ukulele (aka banjolele)?

 

I have a couple (one for sale actually, but probably for more than you are looking to set down for one).

 

Being small scale, they are more like traditional kotos in that sense and while you can work up some serious volume, they ARE strung with nylon strings.

 

I love this instrument, but I have a number of other wood ukes and a metal resonator uke that I play more often and don't really need 2 banjo ukes.

 

But either way, you may be able to find what you are looking for in a banjo-uke. They aren't as common to find on eBay as regular or tenor banjos though, I don't believe. But they may be cheaper than most "regular" banjos. A lot of the vintage ones need some work, though.

 

PS-- just noticed your last post. The banjo uke I'm selling is made by Gold Tone. It's their top of the line resonator model (the resonator can be removed). That company is the only maker of current banjo-ukes that I know of aside from a company that markets lesser-quality ones under the name Tyler Mountain (and some other names but it's the same instrument).

 

I got mine through Elderly Instruments for I think a little under $400 and bought a nice hardshell case for it that cost a little over $100.

 

Anyway, the banjo uke is cool as hell as an instrument and people go ape for it every time they see it or hear it (whenever I pull out mine or play it, anyway.) May I suggest you check them out at the Elderly site or just google "banjo uke", "banjo ukulele" or "banjolele"-- you'll find some info on them fer sure.

[guitarist21]

My general feeling about banjitars is that you might as well just learn a new instrument. That way you can just pick up anyone's banjo in, like, a jam session or something. Plus, good banjitars tend to be expensive. I'd be more willing to take the learning curve over more expensive.

 

Ellen

 

P.S. I have a tenor banjo. Sometimes I tune it to "guitar" tuning for a different sound and it works just fine.

[Roy]

Yup...thought about getting a banjo-uke...and a koa uke, and a dobro, and a saz, and a lute, and.....

 

Thamks for the advice Ellen. I think a Banjitar is out of the running now. 4 strings and a lot of money saved works for me. Here's one I lowballed and lost. It wasn't my fav'.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:US:11&Item=190054526537

[Roy]

Here's another I lowballed and didn't win.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-tenor-or-4-string-banjo_W0QQitemZ290053813069QQihZ019QQcategoryZ10177QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I dunno...I think somebody is getting a pretty cool instrument for cheap.