Banjolele vs 4 String Banjo

I've been interested in adding a banjolele to the family in order to have some fun with the George Formby era songs. I am looking at new and vintage instruments. I discovered the Maybelle Slingerland series and have seen alot of them on eBay. I see some identified as a "banjolele" and others are labeled a "4 string banjo."

Is there a difference between the instruments? Can a 4 string banjo be tuned as a banjolele?

There are many different tunings for banjo and different picking styles eh bluegrass VS claw hammer. A four string banjo could also be a tenor banjo supposed to be tuned in fifths. Banjolele likely has shorter scale and design for synthetic strings whereas a banjo has steel strings

I have and play both a "John Grey & Son" banjolele, tuned "hi-G" with Aquila "reds" and a much more modern "Grafton" 4-string tenor banjo, tuned in fifths with steel strings ... two more different instruments would be difficult to find!

Whilst a 4-string banjo "could" be tuned as a ukulele, it'd probably do a much better job replacing a baritone ukulele than anything higher in pitch, simply because of the scale length, 20".

Although George Formby can often be seen playing a banjo-ukulele, one has got to remember that was in the days before electrical amplification was the norm ... if a performer wanted to be heard they had to play a loud instrument! Bear in mind, if you look around, George Formby can be seen playing a more conventional ukulele in some film clips, so it's not necessarily true to suggest that one "needs" a banjolele to sound like George, it's much more down to the style of playing and the Yorkshire accent

Enjoy :music:

kypfer said:

Bear in mind, if you look around, George Formby can be seen playing a more conventional ukulele in some film clips, so it's not necessarily true to suggest that one "needs" a banjolele to sound like George, it's much more down to the style of playing and the Yorkshire accent

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I was given a Slingerland Maybelle and have a few old banjoleles, but as far as the tenor banjo, I often use an old S.S. Stewart tenor banjo, strung with nylon strings and tuned f Bb D G with a capo at the 2nd fret making it gCEA. I had trouble finding strings that would go up to C6 tuning without the capo, so the capo goes on and stays there.

Banjoette, Slingerland Maybelle, No-name banjolele (I've since given this one to my brother)

S.S. Stewart tenor banjo tuned gCEA with nylon strings and capo at 2.

chris667 said:

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Ooops ... sorry! I'm a "foreigner" myself ... "they all sound the same"

We forgive you. This time!

My little Maybelle can be really loud. I have a sock in it and that helps, but I play with a fiddle, a resophonic guitar, a washboard and a trombone and have no trouble being heard. It's quite possible to play at a lower volume if that's what you want.

AmyDee said:

I've been interested in adding a banjolele to the family in order to have some fun with the George Formby era songs. I am looking at new and vintage instruments. I discovered the Maybelle Slingerland series and have seen alot of them on eBay. I see some identified as a "banjolele" and others are labeled a "4 string banjo."
Is there a difference between the instruments? Can a 4 string banjo be tuned as a banjolele?

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banjolele=banjo ukulele
4 string banjo = tenor banjo
tenor banjo and banjolele are different instruments , I have had both, banjo ukulele and tenor banjo [and tenor guitar, a 4 string guitar] and while you can tune the "tenors' like a uke, my opinion is they sound better using the tunings and strings they were designed for. They also have long skinny necks. I'd stick with a banjolele [uke banjo] they are available in almost every size and price range. I have an inexpensive [less than $100] Kmise that I took the back off and have a piece of foam in to tone it down.For as much as I play it it suits me fine. In my experience, most banjo ukes sound pretty much the same and can be extremely annoying in the wrong hands. The differences are mostly in the build quality. Some of the vintage ones need some work to get them playable, so figure that in.

There is no one official 4 string banjo. It's a generic term to describe any instrument with a banjo pot and a neck with 4 strings.
This would (or could) include a banjolele, a tenor banjo, a plectrum banjo or a cello banjo and perhaps more.

The tenor banjo is tuned differently by musicians depending on the style of music they play.
Standard tuning is CGDA.
Irish trad musicians often tune GDAE, an octave below fiddle or mandolin.
Many players use "Chicago tuning" or DGBE, like the top 4 strings of a guitar.
The plectrum banjo, with the same scale length as a 5-string banjo but without the thumb string, is often tuned CGBD or DGBD.
Of course, it's understood that you will need the proper gauge strings for each tuning.

About 15 years ago, I played in an Irish trad group and I tuned my banjo DAEB, standard tuning one tone sharp. Since very few fiddle tunes that we played made use of the fiddle's G string, I could play these tunes on the D, A and E strings and the high B would allow me to get some high notes while staying in first position. If I needed that low G, I'd switch over to the mandolin.

Jim Yates said:

I was given a Slingerland Maybelle and have a few old banjoleles, but as far as the tenor banjo, I often use an old S.S. Stewart tenor banjo, strung with nylon strings and tuned f Bb D G with a capo at the 2nd fret making it gCEA. I had trouble finding strings that would go up to C6 tuning without the capo, so the capo goes on and stays there.

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I’ve been doing the same thing, including the tuning, with an old 1920s Lyon &Healy “Own Make” 17 fret tenor for years. I ran it with a set of Nylguts cannibalized from a 5 string banjo set. (1,2,3,5,) for some 12 years before I broke a string It’s brash as hell and LOUD but it’s a HOOT to play!
What strings are you using?

Swamp Yankee said:

I’ve been doing the same thing, including the tuning, with an old 1920s Lyon &Healy “Own Make” 17 fret tenor for years. I ran it with a set of Nylguts cannibalized from a 5 string banjo set. (1,2,3,5,) for some 12 years before I broke a string It’s brash as hell and LOUD but it’s a HOOT to play!
What strings are you using?

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I went into Long & McQuade's and picked some strings out of their assorted singles. I don't recall the brand, but they're black.