The Six-String Banjo

It's hardly a new concept, but it seems that I'm hearing more banjo sounds coming from various records these days: Keith Urban, Robert Plant, LeAnn Rimes. I suspect that sometimes what we are hearing is a session guitar player playing a six-string banjo, a hybrid instrument tuned like a standard guitar, but with the sound of a 5-string banjo. The newer sounds aren't being played in the Scruggs style, but more as just another tone playing a part in the arrangement. The typical (stereotypical) "banjo-y" sound is rare. This is not "Deliverance" or "Bonnie and Clyde".

Plant's recent duet record with bluegrass/pop diva Allison Krauss has plenty of examples of this new sound, used by avant-guitarist Marc Ribot (Tom Waits) to creepy effect on "Nothin'" and as a pseudo-Django French-cafe rhythm pulse on "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us". Nice.

I've been thinking about getting one, and I found that Deering makes several models and in fact, Rusty Danmeyer with LeAnn plays one. We call it a "ganjo". In the hands of a steel guitar player, the 6-string can sound especially authentic, since the right hand techniques used in both are so similar. You can sound like a guitarist playing the banjo or a banjoist playing a de-tuned banjo.

Obviously some people have taken to it with ease. Here's Brad Davis - and a damn fine cup of coffee - with a lesson or two. "It's good for the 'double down-ups'...it's got a real cool sound to it." says Brad. Word.



It's a neat sound, familiar and ancient, yet new and exotic. I like that.

UPDATE: Welcome music-loving Instapundit readers. Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Glenn for the link.