Six string banjos can be great tools for bluegrass, Dixieland and other genres that utilize guitar chords; however, beginners may have difficulty setting one up correctly.
Begin by placing your left forefinger at the 12th fret on the low E string and pluckeding. An octave overtone should appear, like an echo, when picking it.
The Neck
One key difference between 6 string banjo and guitar is how its neck connects to its body; generally it fits looser than on an acoustic guitar, enabling players to raise more frets up in the air and enjoy a more flexible fingerboard – one reason King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong used banjos on their iconic jazz recordings from 1920’s jazz recordings.
Modern banjos typically come equipped with coordinator rods that help adjust neck angle. Unfortunately, it can be easy to misadjust this setting and end up with strings sitting about half-an-inch from fingerboard by the 12th fret – an unacceptable situation which requires tightening your coordinator rods as soon as possible to remedy.
Getting intonated strings under control should be priority one when tuning an instrument’s action, followed by tuning all other strings as necessary. Once these are perfectly intonated, tune your high D string. Often it is necessary to adjust either closer to or further from the tailpiece in order to get it into its rightful place; you can do this by pressing down on one string behind the twelfth fret and picking again; if the overtone level at that fret has lowered further back than expected you need to move the bridge closer toward or away from its tailpiece accordingly.
The Heads
Six string banjos differ from their guitar-tuned cousins in that their heads can be tuned. This feature is crucial, since when out-of-tune heads sound like Satan himself (it is much easier to get your high notes in sync on an acoustic guitar).
Like drumheads on drums, each banjo head produces its own pitch when struck. Like with drums, setting your banjo’s head so it will align with its strings is possible and should be done for several reasons: sound quality improvement as well as making playing band music much simpler (as banjo heads that are out of tune won’t pound against one another as occurs with untuned instruments).
If you are used to playing steel string or electric guitars, you may benefit from switching over to banjos with radiused fingerboards that feature very slightly curved fretboards for easier bar chording and fingerpicking. Companies such as LR Baggs, Fishman and Kavanjo offer these models at various price points.
The Hardware
Most 6-string banjos feature steel strings – either phosphor bronze or nickel wound – with extra light sets to allow them to be played like guitars, while their fingerboards often sport radiused edges similar to an acoustic guitar’s to make adapting easier for guitarists switching over from playing guitars.
People used to strumming open strings on their guitar may find that when strumming open strings on a six string banjo they tend to sound cacophonous until you fret or deaden two lower strings, and even then strumming patterns that rely on multiple open strings at full volume tend to sound weak – an issue common to all banjos but particularly for 6-string models targeted exclusively toward guitarists as a way of quickly “learning the banjo.” This issue becomes compounded when marketing specifically targets guitar players for quick “learn-the-banjo.”
Even when purchasing from a reputable manufacturer, your instrument may still require some adjustments before being ready to play. Many lower cost manufacturers don’t setup their instruments adequately out of the box – not uncommonly banjos from China arrive without tightened heads and neck adjustments either tightened or adjusted prior to shipping and travel across oceans may loosen everything even further! Many boutique music store owners, especially small town ones will do initial setup on instruments they sell.
The Sound
The neck, bridge and heads all play an essential part in shaping how a banjo sounds. A high quality instrument will produce a warm and full sound on all strings – including bottom ones! Being able to play chords while having enough sustain allows the six string banjo to excel at jazz, blues, country music dixieland ragtime etc. Though not traditionally designed for fast Scruggs-style rolls it is capable of becoming quite an amazing instrument when played carefully with palm muting and careful picking just on top strings this banjo can truly transform itself into something very special indeed!
String selection will have an impactful impact on sound. Many older style banjos feature round wound sets which produce a warm tone with short sustain, while modern banjos usually come equipped with nylon strings that produce warm plunky sounds similar to what was popular over 100 years ago. Nickel wound electric guitar strings work especially well when playing these instruments.
Many banjos come straight out of the factory with their neck bent slightly back (known as “bowing”), making adjustment straightforward: loosen the strings and tighten coordinator rods slowly until straightness returns to your neck. You should learn this process and practice doing it on your own or seek assistance from an expert in banjos to demonstrate.