The mandolin-banjo is a musical instrument that combines parts of a banjo and a mandolin. It has the body of a banjo, the neck, and the tuning of a mandolin. This instrument is also called a soprano banjo. It was created separately in multiple countries and has different names, such as mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, banjolin, and banjourine in English-speaking areas, banjoline and bandoline in France, and Cümbüş in Turkey.

The mandolin-banjo has the same string length as a mandolin, which is about 14 inches. It has four sets of strings, tuned the same way as a violin and mandolin (from lowest to highest: G, D, A, E). The strings rest on a drum-like surface, called a head, which is usually 10 inches wide and made of plastic today. In the past, the head was made of animal skin and could be as small as 5 inches wide. Larger heads were preferred because they made the instrument louder, which helped it be heard better in musical groups.

Origins

Before electric amplification was invented, inventors tried to make instruments that could produce louder sounds. In 1882, Benjamin Bradbury of Brooklyn received the first patent for a mandolin-banjo. In 1885, John Farris patented an instrument called the banjolin. This instrument was widely used before the 1920s, when the tenor banjo became more popular. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, many different instruments were made as part of mandolin orchestras and banjo bands. The mandolin-banjo was one of these mixed instruments. It allowed musicians to play a banjo-like sound without learning the banjo's complicated finger positions. This instrument combined the loudness of the banjo with the style of the mandolin.

Distinctions

The banjolin is different from the banjo-mandolin because of the number of strings it has. Today, banjolins usually have four strings, not eight (in courses or pairs). However, this rule is not always followed. In 1885, John Farris invented an instrument with eight strings and called it a banjolin. His Farris banjolin was available in soprano, alto, tenor, and bass models. Later, he changed it to a four-string instrument, keeping the same size and tuning as a mandolin or violin (GDAE).

Banjo hybrids often combine the word "banjo" with the name of another instrument, such as banjocello, banjo guitar, and banjo ukulele. This suggests the banjolin is a mix of a mandolin and a banjo. In advertisements, Farris did not explain where the name "banjolin" came from, but he noted that the instrument was played "like the violin." In the United States, the term "melody banjo" was used for four-string mandolin-banjos. These instruments were quieter than double-string versions but avoided tuning and sound issues.

In his 1921 book Méthode for the Banjoline or Mandoline-Banjo, Salvador Leonardi explained that naming conventions in the United States and France sometimes used the same names for different instruments. In France and England, the Banjoline was an open-backed instrument, while the mandoline-banjo had a closed back made of metal, creating a "tinny" sound. Leonardi noted that American instruments were also open-backed, and they called the Mandoline-Banjo or Bandoline what Europeans called the Banjoline.

Leonardi wrote that both amateur and professional musicians preferred the single-string version of these instruments over the double-string version because of the "nice clear sound," which resembled the violin's pizzicato technique. During the Hawaiian music craze in the early 20th century, instrument makers used popular instrument names to attract buyers. The name "banjolin" was used in this way for a type of bowed, fretless zither.

Companies

In the late 20th century, the production of mandolin-banjos became less common compared to mandolins and banjos. In the early 20th century, companies such as Gibson, Weymann & Son of Philadelphia, Vega, S.S. Stewart, Lange, and the English company Windsor made and sold 4- and 8-string mandolin-banjos in large numbers.

Today, mandolin-banjos are made by companies including Vintage, GoldTone, Rogue, Cumbus, Morgan Monroe, and Musikalia – Dr. Alfio Leone. GoldTone produces the MB-850+ Mandolin-Banjo, which has a removable maple resonator that can be taken off to change the instrument into an open-backed one. Few models are available, and these instruments are not often found in stores. Morgan Monroe recently created three models: the MM-MB1 Mandolin Banjo, the MM-MB2 Mandolin Banjo, and the Banjolin DLX (8 strings). These models look like traditional mandolin-banjos and have wooden resonators. The Cumbus model has a resonator made of spun aluminum. Prices range from about US$150 to $700. In Italy, Musikalia makes three models of Mandolin Banjo, all with wooden resonators made from mahogany, padouk, or maple root wood veneered, and animal skin. These models also offer a choice between a simple or double aluminum ring.

Instruction books

Most instruction books focus on either the mandolin or the banjo. People who play the mandolin need more than just books that only teach the mandolin because the way the instruments look and feel different can cause difficulties for beginners learning how to set up and tune the instrument. One of the first books to cover both the mandolin and the banjo was Méthode pour Banjoline ou Mandoline-Banjo (Method for Banjolin and Mandolin-Banjo) by Salvador Leonardi.