Guitar to banjo/mandolin

[Aarfy]

I’m interested in picking up the banjo or mandolin - anyone here have cross over experience?

I’m an OK-ish guitarist - mostly rhythm with some lead - but a fairly quick learner - any thoughts on best next steps?

thanks!

 

[dreadnut]

Yeah. The Banjo is fun, but it is a totally different approach and style, especially the 5-string Banjo.

Mandolin is much easier to transition into, in my opinion; you can flat pick and strum or pick out melody and harmony runs. If you are already playing guitar, Mandolin would be my recommendation.

 

[Aarfy]

I always love the mandolin solo (!) at frank turners tiny desk concert. Tough crowd if you watch til the end , but Matt is great on mandolin - very accomplished pianist and guitarist too, I believe!

 

[Aarfy]

I also wonder how Kristian of the Tallest man on earth manages to just play 1. In the way he does and 2. All the time instruments he does

it’s nuts!

 

[Nuuska]

Kristian seems to have a Guild with a non-typical pickguard.

 

[walrus]

Just for fun...



walrus

 

[Prince of Darkness]

I remember that when I got my first mandolin I was rather daunted by just how small it was, but in reality it turned out really easy to transition into playing. The fifths tuning means that a lot of the chords are simply mirror images of the four lower notes of guitar chords. I am finding the banjo to be more challenging, but really need to spend more time working on it!

 

[Cougar]

I used to have and enjoyed playing a longneck open back 5-string banjo, capo'd at the 3rd fret. The four strings are (generally) tuned the same as the bottom (treble) four strings of a guitar, so the chords are the same (without the bass E and A strings). You can play 'em lots of different ways.... More recently I picked up an inexpensive Epiphone 5-string - seemed to work fine - but couldn't get back into it at the time, so sold it. Once I get settled back in after the Big Move, I might pick me up another one just for fun. They are fun.

 

[Guildedagain]

Mandolins are really sweet little instruments, tuned in 5ths like a violin, it opens up a world of new possibilities and theres nothing quite like a mandolin solo, although you can mimick it on the high E of a bright guitar like a D35 with a Dunlop superthin white nylon 46mm pick. It's like you're picking 64th notes...;]

 

[JohnW63]

I thought about getting a mandolin, for a bit, but it seemed that to get a good sounding one you had to spend a good amount of cash.