I've just started to play the tennor banjo, and I was tuning it CGDA. But I just read on another web site that for traditional Irish music it is typically tuned down to GDAE. Is that right? Seems like the strings would be too floppy... Thanks.
hi
i had the same problem when i started, i tried to play it that way a couple of weeks.. It's better to tune it GDAE for irish music, but you'll have to change the strings, personnaly i use the following gauge:
E 014, A 022, D 032, G 045
good luck
without knowing what kind of banjo paul-leray has, i wouldn;t want to comment on the suitability of his string set but the majority of tenor banjos (particularly vintage ones) would be pretty unhappy with strings that heavy.
in my shop i use the following gauges:-
23" scale tenor banjos 10/15/26w/36w or 11/16/28w/38w
22" scale tenor banjos 11/16/28w/38w or 12/18w/30w/40w
21" scale tenor banjos 12/18w/30w/40w or 13/20w/32w/42w
the use of excessively heavy strings will cause the neck to bend on many banjos - on a vintage banjo without a truss rod, this can be a serious problem
Andy, you don't say how the strings are tuned for your suggested string guages. If your going to tune a tenor
banjo down from CGDA to GDAE there's a lot less tension, it follows that heavier guage strings
would not wreak havoc in the same way as if you kept it in the traditional tuning.
to answer injun bob's point, all those gauges are for GDAE tuning. they are considerably heavier than for CGDA tuning (which would use something like 9/12/22w/30w) but nothing like as heavy as the strings suggested by paul-leray (14/22w/32w/45w). i would hesitate to put strings that heavy even on a very short scale tenor (say 20" scale) and i certainly wouldn;t want to put such strings on a vintage 23" instrument. i can appreciate that players like to try different gauges of strings to improve the tone of their banjos but i see a distressing number of vintage banjos that have been seriously damaged by inappropriate stringing. my best advice is to consult a competent luthier if you are in doubt as to the proper gauges of string on a particular instrument.
My old Luthier friend, God rest his soul, Was miffed at me for using the Irish tuning on my Tenor Banjo. His comments were that the only way to make it work out correctly was with a curved bridge.
I use a slight slant to get "close enough" for the tenor banjo.
My poor Banjo lies in it's case and waits for me to take it to the shop. If you would like to help, send untraceable cash to Mark's Banjo Relief Fund. By the Kevin - If you read this - you might want to start a petition to get that instrument banned from my hands.
Tenor banjo tuning
Tenor banjo tuning
I've just started to play the tennor banjo, and I was tuning it CGDA. But I just read on another web site that for traditional Irish music it is typically tuned down to GDAE. Is that right? Seems like the strings would be too floppy... Thanks.
# Posted on October 5th 2002 by jeSuisUneVache
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
hi
i had the same problem when i started, i tried to play it that way a couple of weeks.. It's better to tune it GDAE for irish music, but you'll have to change the strings, personnaly i use the following gauge:
E 014, A 022, D 032, G 045
good luck
# Posted on October 5th 2002 by paul95
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
Thanks!
# Posted on October 5th 2002 by jeSuisUneVache
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
Yes, tuned 1 octave lower than the fiddle, that's the idea.
# Posted on October 5th 2002 by glauber
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
without knowing what kind of banjo paul-leray has, i wouldn;t want to comment on the suitability of his string set but the majority of tenor banjos (particularly vintage ones) would be pretty unhappy with strings that heavy.
in my shop i use the following gauges:-
23" scale tenor banjos 10/15/26w/36w or 11/16/28w/38w
22" scale tenor banjos 11/16/28w/38w or 12/18w/30w/40w
21" scale tenor banjos 12/18w/30w/40w or 13/20w/32w/42w
the use of excessively heavy strings will cause the neck to bend on many banjos - on a vintage banjo without a truss rod, this can be a serious problem
# Posted on October 6th 2002 by teetotaller
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
If you're new to Irish tenor check out this site:
http://www.irishbanjo.com/
# Posted on October 6th 2002 by SPeak
Re: Andybanjo's Tenor banjo tuning
Andy, you don't say how the strings are tuned for your suggested string guages. If your going to tune a tenor
banjo down from CGDA to GDAE there's a lot less tension, it follows that heavier guage strings
would not wreak havoc in the same way as if you kept it in the traditional tuning.
# Posted on October 6th 2002 by injun bob
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
Tenor banjo tuning?
Isn't this an oxymoron
# Posted on October 6th 2002 by ...
Re: Tenor banjo tuning
to answer injun bob's point, all those gauges are for GDAE tuning. they are considerably heavier than for CGDA tuning (which would use something like 9/12/22w/30w) but nothing like as heavy as the strings suggested by paul-leray (14/22w/32w/45w). i would hesitate to put strings that heavy even on a very short scale tenor (say 20" scale) and i certainly wouldn;t want to put such strings on a vintage 23" instrument. i can appreciate that players like to try different gauges of strings to improve the tone of their banjos but i see a distressing number of vintage banjos that have been seriously damaged by inappropriate stringing. my best advice is to consult a competent luthier if you are in doubt as to the proper gauges of string on a particular instrument.
# Posted on October 7th 2002 by teetotaller
My old Luthier friend, God rest his soul, Was miffed at me for using the Irish tuning on my Tenor Banjo. His comments were that the only way to make it work out correctly was with a curved bridge.
I use a slight slant to get "close enough" for the tenor banjo.
My poor Banjo lies in it's case and waits for me to take it to the shop. If you would like to help, send untraceable cash to Mark's Banjo Relief Fund. By the Kevin - If you read this - you might want to start a petition to get that instrument banned from my hands.
Thank you all for the gauges!
Mark
# Posted on October 11th 2002 by Mark Cordova