Gold Tone makes and sells a beautiful Wood Body Banjo called a Banjola, but they are extremely rare in Australia and I have not been able to find a single one. I made my own instead.
@@ErickvdK thanks, buddy! Guess I'll have to keep making cool stuff and sharing on RUclips then. Good thing I thought you some new ideas for upcoming mods.
Even though this is a "lets see if this works" type of thing, it sounds real good! I'm surprised that cheap mandolin body was able to stand the tension!
Thanks for that! Playing this banjo makes me laugh because it looks and seems like it shouldn't have worked by just slapping the parts together the way I did.
@@MountainHomeJerrel I've already enjoyed many of your videos, and I'm looking forward to more! Thank you so much for sharing your work and passion with all of us!
Obviously we're all mostly hearing the sound as conveyed by computer speakers or headphones, but I like this sound. I'm getting something with less twang than a traditional banjo. Without the resonator head you won't get the same punch and volume, but in many situations that's an improvement.
@@joeldcanfield_spinhead you certainly will get less dirty looks from strangers when you join their jam session! A 5 string banjo player puts their fate in their own hands, especially when they put pickups in their instrument...
Nice. All you need to remember folks is that the 12th fret is exactly half way between the Bridge and Nut. So the Bridge is placed the same distance from the 12th fret as the measurement from the Nut to the 12th fret. Simple
Fortunately this lined up easily, and it turned out the bridge ended up in the middle point of the F holes, so it looks like it was meant to be that way!
I've been hearing that since I was a child and it's simply not true, because I've taken guitars where the 12th fret is dead half way between the bridge and the nut, and they still didn't tune well. The pressure needed to press on each string to make contact with the frets skews this, and that pressure isn't the same on each string but string gauge affects it, thus the angle of saddles on stringed instruments and the need for adjustment, and can be seen on electric guitars where each string has their own independent saddle to allow for intonation. String action also skews bridge/saddle placement. The more travel a string has to do before contacting the fret, the more the intonation will be affected. A properly intonated instrument accounts for these variables, including varying string sets that come in varying gauges, which further affects things.
@@ErickvdK thanks for the vote of confidence. Ive made my own electric once, a neck through SG with fender scale length and plan to make a few other electrics based on other designs I have in mind, with innovative wiring not offered commercially in the coming year. I need to get back home and get some workshop space. But I don't have the patience for real luthery, that is all the patience needed for the attention to detail quality acoustics necessitate. I am a stickler for detail though. Not patient, though. I'm just a guitarist with about 40 years playing experience, or had before I moved on. So I have a pretty good idea of what I want from a musical instrument, and what makes an instrument unplayable. But what I described in my earlier comment is just basic physics, and I think that's precisely the problem with some builders and operations. They don't know their physics and are really not much more than wood workers turned luthier. Another fault I've identified in my lifetime is that some aren't even musicians. I think being a musician helps tremendously in designing an instrument that players need, rather than what a builder wants to impose on players.
Banjola? Why on Earth don't they call it a Banjolin? Such a cool project. You really need some vices or clamps or something to help you hold stuff you're working on. Looking forwards to the Doc.
Thanks for watching! I also am unsure why they call it a Banjola. I have some clamps but they only work on things that make sense. Trying to attach this I'll fitting neck to this body was just ridiculous.
Theirs is possible married to a body closer in size to a mandola, rather than the smaller (which is literally what it means) mandolin. (Mandolin = small mandola, just as violin means small viola.)
Gold Tone makes and sells a beautiful Wood Body Banjo called a Banjola, but they are extremely rare in Australia and I have not been able to find a single one. I made my own instead.
Wildwood Flower with bare fingers sounds great on that. Love it!
@@GenXstacker Thank you for listening! I should try to do a longer, full band version with other banjos including this one.
Well, that’s one way to do it. LOL! Crude but effective! I like the way it sounds!
@@stevesstrings5243 Hi Steve! Thanks buddy. At the end of the day, it was a fun build and I got a playable instrument out of it!
Jerrel, you are a f""ing hero in my book!!!😂
@@ErickvdK thanks, buddy! Guess I'll have to keep making cool stuff and sharing on RUclips then. Good thing I thought you some new ideas for upcoming mods.
Even though this is a "lets see if this works" type of thing, it sounds real good! I'm surprised that cheap mandolin body was able to stand the tension!
Thanks for that! Playing this banjo makes me laugh because it looks and seems like it shouldn't have worked by just slapping the parts together the way I did.
@@Wagano98 I have no doubt that the 8 strings of the mandolin have more tension than a banjo. I’m tempted to try it myself.
New to the channel. I’m enjoying your videos!
I really appreciate that!! Thank you for coming to hang out here. I've heaps more stuff to share with you.
@@MountainHomeJerrel I've already enjoyed many of your videos, and I'm looking forward to more! Thank you so much for sharing your work and passion with all of us!
@@musicalintentions sharing with other people who have the same passions is what it's all about.
I couldn't agree more.
Obviously we're all mostly hearing the sound as conveyed by computer speakers or headphones, but I like this sound. I'm getting something with less twang than a traditional banjo. Without the resonator head you won't get the same punch and volume, but in many situations that's an improvement.
@@joeldcanfield_spinhead you certainly will get less dirty looks from strangers when you join their jam session! A 5 string banjo player puts their fate in their own hands, especially when they put pickups in their instrument...
Nice. All you need to remember folks is that the 12th fret is exactly half way between the Bridge and Nut. So the Bridge is placed the same distance from the 12th fret as the measurement from the Nut to the 12th fret. Simple
Fortunately this lined up easily, and it turned out the bridge ended up in the middle point of the F holes, so it looks like it was meant to be that way!
I've been hearing that since I was a child and it's simply not true, because I've taken guitars where the 12th fret is dead half way between the bridge and the nut, and they still didn't tune well.
The pressure needed to press on each string to make contact with the frets skews this, and that pressure isn't the same on each string but string gauge affects it, thus the angle of saddles on stringed instruments and the need for adjustment, and can be seen on electric guitars where each string has their own independent saddle to allow for intonation.
String action also skews bridge/saddle placement. The more travel a string has to do before contacting the fret, the more the intonation will be affected.
A properly intonated instrument accounts for these variables, including varying string sets that come in varying gauges, which further affects things.
@@boxerfencerIf you are not a luthier, you should be!😊
@@ErickvdK thanks for the vote of confidence.
Ive made my own electric once, a neck through SG with fender scale length and plan to make a few other electrics based on other designs I have in mind, with innovative wiring not offered commercially in the coming year. I need to get back home and get some workshop space. But I don't have the patience for real luthery, that is all the patience needed for the attention to detail quality acoustics necessitate. I am a stickler for detail though. Not patient, though.
I'm just a guitarist with about 40 years playing experience, or had before I moved on. So I have a pretty good idea of what I want from a musical instrument, and what makes an instrument unplayable.
But what I described in my earlier comment is just basic physics, and I think that's precisely the problem with some builders and operations. They don't know their physics and are really not much more than wood workers turned luthier.
Another fault I've identified in my lifetime is that some aren't even musicians. I think being a musician helps tremendously in designing an instrument that players need, rather than what a builder wants to impose on players.
The musicologist approach definitely appeals. Good playing and cowboy luthiery are fun, but not unique. I prefer learning while I'm having fun.
I absolutely agree. It's important to enjoy what you're doing, and keep learning more.
Banjola? Why on Earth don't they call it a Banjolin? Such a cool project. You really need some vices or clamps or something to help you hold stuff you're working on. Looking forwards to the Doc.
Thanks for watching! I also am unsure why they call it a Banjola. I have some clamps but they only work on things that make sense. Trying to attach this I'll fitting neck to this body was just ridiculous.
Banjolin is a mandolin stringing with a banjo style membrane and body. My brother has one from the 30s, extra plinky percussive and loud!
Theirs is possible married to a body closer in size to a mandola, rather than the smaller (which is literally what it means) mandolin. (Mandolin = small mandola, just as violin means small viola.)
I hadn't seen the banjo-now that I have, that's a Gold Tone mandola body, thus the name.
@@joeldcanfield_spinhead that explains it!