Mandolin-banjo

Inventors were experimenting to create amplified instruments in the days before electric amplification. The first patent for a mandolin-banjo was taken out in 1882 by Benjamin Bradbury of Brooklyn. The name banjolin was first patented by John Farris in 1885. The instrument was popularized prior to the 1920s, when the tenor banjo became more popular. In the heyday of mandolin orchestras and banjo bands (late 19th–early 20th century), all sorts of instruments were produced. The mandolin-banjo is one of the hybrids that resulted. It enabled mandolinists to produce a banjo sound without having to learn that instrument's fingerings. The instrument adds the banjo's volume to the mandolin. ==Distinctions==

Banjolin versus banjo-mandolin mandolin-banjo ca. 1920 with four pairs of strings. The banjolin is different from the banjo-mandolin in the number of strings that it has. Banjolins today are supposed to have four strings instead of 8 strings (in courses or pairs). However, that distinction is not universal; John Farris patented an instrument with 8 strings calling it a banjolin by name in 1885. The Farris banjolin was offered in soprano, alto, tenor, and bass models. However, he "converted it to a four-string instrument," maintaining the mandolin and violin scale length and tuning (GDAE). ==Companies==

Historic Compared to mandolins and banjos, manufacture of mandolin banjos grew scarce in the late 20th century. Historically, mass produced mandolin-banjos were made by companies including Gibson, Weymann & Son of Philadelphia, Vega, S.S. Stewart, Lange, and the English company Windsor, who all built and sold 4 and 8 string banjos in the early 20th century. Current manufacturers Today mandolins-banjos are being manufactured by Vintage, GoldTone, Rogue, Cumbus, Morgan Monroe and Musikalia - Dr. Alfio Leone. GoldTone makes the MB-850+ Mandolin-Banjo, with a removable maple resonator (converting the instrument to an open-backed instrument). The selection is not large and the instruments are not common in stores. Morgan Monroe has recently made three models, the MM-MB1 Mandolin Banjo the MM-MB2 Mandolin Banjo, and the Banjolin DLX (8 strings). The Morgan Monroe banjos look like traditional mandolin-banjos and have wooden resonators. The Cumbus model has a spun aluminum resonator. Prices currently range from around US$150 to $700. In Italy, Musikalia manufactures three models of Mandolin Banjo, always with wooden resonator (mahogany, padouk or maple root wood veneered), animal skin, but gives an alternative between simple or double aluminium ring. ==Instruction books==

Most instruction books concentrate on either the mandolin or the banjo. Mandolinists need more than just mandolin method because the physical differences between the two types of instruments creates problems to a novice learning to set up and tune the instrument. One of the first books to address the mandolin-banjo was Méthode pour Banjoline ou Mandoline-Banjo (Method for Banjolin and Mandolin-Banjo) by Salvador Leonardi. ==References==