Resonator or Banjo Uke? A Poll

If you could have only one type, which would it be?

  • Resonator

    Votes: 20 60.6%

  • Banjo Uke

    Votes: 13 39.4%
  • Total voters
    33
Jerryc41

Jerryc41

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I bought a banjo uke because I like the sound of a banjo, but I can't play one. The banjo uke is a perfect compromise. Then I got a resonator because I liked the looks and the sound.

If you had to choose one or the other, which would it be? I would go with the banjo uke.
 
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Jerryc41 said:
I bought a banjo uke because I like the sound of a banjo, but I can't play one. The banjo uke is a perfect compromise. Then I got a resonator because I liked the looks and the sound.

If you had to choose one or the other, which would it be? I would go with the banjo uke.
Click to expand...

Absolutely a resonator. The sound is more malleable, so you can make one sound more like a regular uke, or more metallic, depending on how you hit the strings. They sound and look great.
 
I personally prefer the sound of my Mya Moe concert resonator over the banjolele (and over the National maple-body resonator, but that’s another thread) I love a banjo sound and I don’t think the banjolele can compete. That said, I have not played your Bean Sprout banjolele enough to change my mind. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
 
Resonator, for the volume and sound. If I had an urge to play banjo I would get a banjo and learn to play it as a different instrument.
 
Rllink said:
Resonator, for the volume and sound.......
Click to expand...

Yup, a resonator offers the combination of more volume (when you want it), a different sound, and is just generally more useful musically. A banjo uke is fantastic when you want to play a Stephen Foster tune, but there are a lot of songs where it just doesn't fit in well. Even though they are (sort of...) joking, some folks at a jam will groan when you take out a banjo uke, but be intrigued when you take out a resonator.

But what's with this "one or the other" concept? Get one of each!
 
I've never, not once in my life, had any interest in a resonator. They're scary-looking. :)

Maybe I need to re-think this.
 
kvehe said:
I've never, not once in my life, had any interest in a resonator. They're scary-looking. :)

Maybe I need to re-think this.
Click to expand...

The first time I saw one, it was being played onstage, and I really didn't know what it was. It had four strings, so I figured it was a uke. It wasn't until three years later that I bought my first.
 
The problem with both is that I need to get better before I want an instrument that'll cut through the crowd ;)

I love the concept of resonators but the ones worth playing are priced out of my budget. Ideally I'd get one set up for slide. After getting much better at slide.

I've almost bought a Little Gem banjolele (with LEDs) several times 'cause they're super cute and I like flashy things, but I couldn't figure out when I'd actually play it. I probably should admit I won't get one after passing on the black friday prices.
 
Jerryc41 said:
The first time I saw one, it was being played onstage, and I really didn't know what it was. It had four strings, so I figured it was a uke. It wasn't until three years later that I bought my first.
Click to expand...

I was looking at resonator guitars, but wincing at the thought of guitar string pain, when I realized that I could get a resonator ukulele with softer strings. That was a happy day.
 
Arcy said:
I love the concept of resonators...Ideally I'd get one set up for slide. After getting much better at slide.
Click to expand...

My teacher, Ron Gordon, used a Taylor ebony slide on my Mya Moe concert resonator and it sounded amazing! Even he seemed to be quite impressed. I have tried glass and metal slides, and they don't seem to work well on fluorocarbon strings. But the ebony wood rings. Unfortunately, the Taylor's "small" slide just means the tube is shorter not narrower/slimmer. So it is quite bulky on my lady pinky.
 
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I have both, so I didn't vote. I've been playing banjouke (Badly) for about a year or so, and bought it for Irish folk music, because I can't play a banjo, yet.
It's my 2nd one, and it's certainly not my favorite thing to play, but then it has Aquila strings, which I don't like.
I just got a resonator uke (see my NUD post) to learn to do Fishin Blues properly, and if I do, I'll certainly use it for other songs.
The 2 instruments aren't quite interchangeable for performance. The banjouke, I think, is practically useless for doing the Blues, or Jazz tunes, and Hawaiian, for sure.
The reso, well, I ain't sure about playing it for Irish folk songs. It might work for some Bluegrassy type things....
So I'm too confused, as you can see, to vote.
 
Arcy said:
The problem with both is that I need to get better before I want an instrument that'll cut through the crowd ;).....
Click to expand...

Our local jams are very welcoming to beginners, and the leader always says don't worry about making a mistake - no one will hear you. At which point I often quickly add, "Unless you are playing a banjo uke - in which case we'll ALL hear you."
 
First saw a resonator guitar on the cover of the Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" album. Was intrigued by its looks and sound. Especially played slide.

I heard a couple of reso ukes that were okay, so I bought a SoundSmith one that had good reviews. Meh. I guess I don't care for the metallic-tinged sound they produce. I sold it to a friend who loves it.

I have two banjo ukes. (The Deering tenor is incredibly loud and I have to muffle it if I'm playing in a uke group.) I like them, now I'm trying to get more proficient in playing them. As you say, they don't sound too good for some songs. But I think limiting them to Stephen Foster is a bit harsh. They can sound really good with many blues and a lot of folk songs. And indeed many traditional Irish, Scottish and British songs.

Not sure about Reggae though...
 
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Nickie said:
I just got a resonator uke (see my NUD post) to learn to do Fishin Blues properly, and if I do, I'll certainly use it for other songs. The 2 instruments aren't quite interchangeable for performance. The banjouke, I think, is practically useless for doing the Blues, or Jazz tunes, and Hawaiian, for sure.
Click to expand...

I play Fishin' Blues on banjo uke all the time. I imagine myself on a front porch with a view of the Mississippi. After all, banjos and the blues share similar origins. Just goes to show how we all have different ears for music :D

Now, it's true that I have played banjo ukes that are too loud and too bright to play fingerstyle. But a banjo uke with an open back and strings that are not too tight is a versatile instrument with a decent dynamic range. It's not all George Formby and yowza-yowza-yowza dixieland strums. I hated the Little Gems... until a friend showed up with one tuned down to DGBE (using the same strings it came with) and now I think it's delightful.
 
I've got both a National, and three banjo ukes - all open back. (My Stella is about 100 years old, an sounds great until you get to the 6th fret...)

I can play 'em soft and clean, I can play 'em loud and rough, and I can play 'em anywhere in between. Not about to give any of them up.
 
Would go with the resonator. Especially the full metal type. Looks like an instrument from the future. And resonator rhymes with terminator. :)
 
I have neither.
I will always have a traditional kind of uke as main uke.
Not planning on getting either one, but I see the banjo uke as more different from a traditional uke than the resonator, so I opted for the banjo uke. Regardless I would probably do 90% of my ukeing on something else.
 
Just came across this Mark Twain quote, “A gentleman is someone who knows how to play the banjo and doesn't.” Perhaps this could be applied to the banjolele.
 
I have an Eddy Finn Resonator Banjolele
I can play so softly that my wife in the adjacent room barely hears me, or,
I can play with gusto such that my wife tells me that the neighbors will hear me, even though the windows of my single detached house are closed.
Heaven help us all if I plug it into my small Honey Tone Amp, let alone my larger floor amp.

While I enjoy the tone the resonator imparts, it is the banjo ‘twang’ that draws me.
So my vote is for BANJO over RESONATOR.
 
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