Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Suitcase banjo

#1

Hello all. I travel a lot for work and I am looking for a more portable option for bringing a banjo with me on a plane. I have looked at the travel banjos. They look great but are tuned in C. I also came across this suitcase banjo. I wonder if anyone here has one and can comment on it. http://m.backyardmusic.com/page/subpage/order-banjos/suitcase-5-string-travel-banjo.htm

What other options are there? My goal is to have something that can fit for carry on. 32 inches or less total length.
I am considering taking up mandolin as second instrument since it is smaller.

#2

Hi Joe, if it’s only for practicing, you could also have a look a a “tranjo” (Traveling Banjo) : http://www.tranjo.com/

If needed, you can fold it in a suitcase, but I keep it in a fiddler’s bag.

Becasue I live in an appartment, I mostly I use it for the “silent practicing” possibility (see their website for more information).

You don’t get a great sound out of it, but hey, at least you’re practicing !

Hope this is helpful …

#3

You could try this


Taking up mandolin is also a good idea

#4

The plunky and travel banjos are not in G tuning. That is the thing drawing me toward the suitcase banjo. However, it does not have a regular drum head and is quite a bit shorter than normal banjo. It may not help with practice if it feels too much different than a normal one.

#5

Nono, the Tranjo (www.tranjo.com) is in standard G tuning and has a full-scale fretboard. But it definitely feels different than a regular banjo.

#6

The tranjo costs more than my main banjo - deering artisan 2.

#7

Hi @jsmbrown if it’s just for study / practice it shouldn’t matter that its tuned to C, You’d still be practicing the same chord shapes you would be learning if it was a full size five string.

Is it not possible to retune these plucky to G @Jake @BanjoBen ???

#8

I was under the impression that it was tuned to G

#9

@Jake says the Plucky is indeed a C scale length, but that you can tune it to whatever…you may have to mess with the string gauges.

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#10

Anytime I’ve brought a full size banjo with me, they’ve let me have it as a carry on.

1 Like
#11

Could that have anything to do with the beard?

beard

4 Likes
#12

I went with the suitcase banjo. It is really cheap construction, but works well. It barely fits in a soft mandolin case. It fits better in a baritone Ukelele case. I am going to see if they will let me do carry-on with it in the Ukelele case today. I like the fact it is G tuning and the strings produce the tone you expect for the fretting. It is very quiet. It uses wood for the head instead of a skin. The pot seems to be made from thick cardboard tubing. The kind you see used for poring foundation footings. It was only $175 shipped so if something happens to it, I won’t be very upset. It is also very light and just what I need for being able to practice when on trips for work. If anyone is interested, I could do a video review.

3 Likes
#13

Yes please do. I would also like to know how many frets there are on the fingerboard. Thanks !

#14

Video review is up. It has 19 frets by the way.

1 Like