Banjos: open back or resonator
Banjos: open back or resonator
The visible difference between banjos is a wooden bowl on the back. It changes the sound considerably and it changes the weight even more.
Open back
No resonator. Sound radiates in all directions, including backwards into the player, which gives a softer, warmer and less directional voice.
Open-back banjos are lighter — sometimes dramatically so — and are the standard for clawhammer and old-time playing. They are also more comfortable to hold for long periods and easier to carry.
Resonator
A wooden bowl closes the back and reflects sound forwards. The result is louder, brighter and more directional, which is what a bluegrass banjo needs to cut through a band with fiddle, guitar and mandolin.
The resonator adds weight, and a resonator banjo on a strap for an evening is noticeably heavier than an open-back one.
Many resonators are removable, which offers some flexibility — though a banjo built as a bluegrass instrument does not become an old-time instrument simply by taking the back off.
What matters more than either
The head
The banjo head is the drum skin the bridge sits on, and it is the single largest influence on tone. Modern heads are synthetic; a frosted head is warmer, a clear head brighter.
Head tension changes the sound significantly and is adjustable with a bracket wrench. A slack head is dull and thuddy; over-tightening is possible and not advisable.
The tone ring
A metal ring the head sits over. Instruments with a heavy tone ring are brighter and louder and considerably heavier. Instruments without one are lighter and mellower, which suits old-time playing.
Number of brackets
More brackets around the rim means more even head tension. It is a reasonable proxy for build quality on student instruments.
Five strings and the fifth
The standard banjo has five strings, and the fifth is the short drone string with its tuning peg partway up the neck. It is not tuned like the others and is generally not fretted; it rings as a constant high note.
Four-string banjos — tenor and plectrum — are different instruments used in jazz and Irish music, played with a pick and strummed or picked in chords. If you want the sound people associate with banjo, you want five strings.
Travel and mini banjos
Shorter-scale instruments are easier to carry and easier for smaller hands. The trade-off is a shorter string length, which means less tension and a thinner voice, and fingering positions that differ from a full-scale instrument.
For a child, or for something to take places, they are a sensible choice.
Setup
Banjos come loose from the factory more often than other instruments, because there are many adjustable parts: head tension, bridge placement, coordinator rods, tailpiece height.
Bridge placement is the one to get right first: it is not glued, and moving it a few millimetres is the difference between an instrument that plays in tune up the neck and one that does not.
Practical checks before ordering
- Open back for clawhammer and old-time; resonator for bluegrass and volume.
- Pick up the weight before committing if you play standing.
- Five strings for the classic banjo sound.
- Check bracket count and whether a tone ring is fitted.
- Expect to set bridge placement and head tension after delivery.
Where this sits in the shop
Everything discussed above comes back to one part of the shop: Banjos, which currently holds 3 listings between $134.98 and $224.99. The whole of it is picked and packed at Music Inn World Instruments, 169 W 4th St, New York, NY, during Mon–Sat 10am–7pm, closed Sunday — so anything written here can be checked by phoning the counter on ((212) 243-5715.
From our shelves
- Vangoa Banjo 5 String Full Size Banjos Set with Resonator, Remo Head, Beginner Banjo Kit — $224.99
- Vangoa 5 String Banjo 26 Inch, MINI Travel Banjo Beginner Kit with Remo Head, Open Back & — $134.98
- Kmise Banjo 5 String Banjos,Full Size 38 Inch Open or Closed Back with Resonator, Bridge — $147.99
What we get asked about this
How fast are refunds?
We issue the refund within 5–7 business days of the return arriving. Your bank then takes its own one to five days to show it.
Can I cancel an order?
Yes, before it is picked — usually within about 12 hours on a business day. After dispatch it becomes a return.
Read next
- Violin sizes, and how to measure for one
- Lyre harps: string count and what it changes
- Mandolin styles: A body, F body and what actually differs
Ordering from Music Inn World Instruments
Orders of $49.00 or more ship free anywhere in the United States, and a flat $5.99 covers everything below that. Handling takes 1–2 business days and carrier transit is normally 3–7 business days. Unused items can go back within 30 days, and if the mistake was ours we pay the return postage.
Questions about anything above go to [email protected], answered within 1 business day, or call (212) 243-5715. Full detail is on the Shipping Policy and Refund and Returns pages.