Many consumers purchase 6-string banjos from mail-order and volume music stores with hopes of creating a Dixieland sound, yet strumming open strings won’t do it either – their open strings may muddy the tone!
For optimal banjo sound, tune it to guitar tuning and fret the bass string. A capo may help facilitate quick key changes.
Double Drop D Tuning
Most banjos purchased at full-service music stores will have been carefully checked and adjusted before being packed for shipment, making setup simpler than ever. However, if you intend on exploring double drop D tuning or more complex styles such as drop tunings you will likely require doing initial setup work yourself.
First, find a reference pitch for the lowest E string (6th string). A piano or tuning fork are both excellent tools for this, then pluck and compare its sound against that of the reference, making adjustments until they match. When all five strings have the same key and have had their octave intervals adjusted appropriately, you are ready to begin playing!
Beginners often begin their DADGAD banjo journey here. Retta Spradlin uses this tuning for Gettin’ Up the Stairs while Barry Hall employs it on Lady Gay; Art Rosenbaum recommends this tune in his book Old-Time Mountain Banjo to accompany Frankie Was a Good Girl and Buck Creek Girls from Old-Time Mountain Banjo as well. Furthermore, this tuning serves as an intermediate step on their path toward more complex tunings like DADGAD.
Acoustic
Modern 6-string banjos often utilize nylon string sets. While these don’t offer the classic “plonky” sound of older strings, they provide more comfort while playing without straining your neck to such an extent it breaks. You can also experiment with various tunings and string gauges; GHS 6 String Banjo Set Light features a light gauge which balances playability with tone perfectly.
Acoustic 6-string banjo fingerboards tend to be radiused like those found on acoustic guitars, making the instrument more accommodating if you come from playing guitars. Furthermore, this makes playing bar chords integral to bluegrass music more comfortable.
But there are also acoustic banjos with flat fingerboards, which are great for players who like strumming the low strings with a plectrum as these instruments allow you to hear the bass notes clearly. Furthermore, their fingerstyle playing makes for easy acoustic bluegrass musicians.
Today, artists such as Rod Stewart and Taylor Swift can be seen playing 6-string acoustic banjos. Tuned like a guitar, these banjos make an ideal instrument for bluegrass, country, or other genres; particularly convenient for guitarists wanting to learn banjo but do not have access to lower notes of 5-string banjos.
Electric
Virtually any 6-string banjo can be fitted or purchased with an electric pickup for playing live, busking or recording performances. Fishman, LR Baggs and Kavanjo all provide various models of electric pickups to meet budgetary and tone considerations.
A 6-string banjo can be tuned like a guitar by either using standard tuning (gGDGBD), or double drop D (gGDGBD). Most players who opt for this latter tuning prefer tuning the 1st string lower as this produces more symmetrical chord voicing that creates an engaging sound perfect for fingerstyle and singer-songwriter playing styles.
An alternative approach is to make the 6th string into a short drone (similar to that found on 5-string banjo), giving more musical possibilities due to its higher pitch compared to that found on 5th string bass note – often favoured by bluegrass and clawhammer banjo players.
Many banjos feature radiused fingerboards similar to an acoustic guitar for ease of playing; this allows for effortless strumming using plectrum or fingerpicking techniques. As with all stringed instruments, the 6-string banjo requires some tuning; first finding an ideal E string (6th), whether this be with piano tuning fork tuning fork etc, then adjust each peg until all pitches match up (this process may also benefit from using an electronic tuner for accurate results).
Pickup
Banjos equipped with tone rings (also called tone bars) add volume and sustain to their sound, but many mass-produced, budget banjos do not include one as standard equipment. Installing one is an inexpensive upgrade that dramatically elevates its quality.
Resonators can be an immense upgrade over wooden pot banjos. Not only can they increase volume in small rooms, they’re lighter than wooden-pot banjos and help make 6-string instruments more dynamic when played dynamically.
There are various aftermarket pickups for 6-string banjos that feature magnetic pickups attached to coordinator rod(s). They are known for having high resistance to feedback and output levels that allow them to work effectively with acoustic guitar amplifiers with or without preamp. While not as sensitive as microphones, these pickups may prove more efficient at reproducing higher frequencies than their acoustic-electric guitar counterparts.
Piezo pickups (shown below) provide another great option to amplify your banjo while still maintaining its authentic tone, eliminating the need for a separate preamp. However, they tend to be much more sensitive to feedback than magnet pickups; although not as sensitive as mics they do not reproduce lower frequencies as well and so resonators can help control them if it’s played loudly.