tbanjo: My New 5-string Tenor Banjo made by Zach Hoyt

Thursday, July 10, 2025

My New 5-string Tenor Banjo made by Zach Hoyt

Las month I emailed banjo maker Zachary Hoyt with an idea for a one-of-a-kind banjo, and now that banjo has arrived. That might be a record time for a custom made instrument! My idea was to make a tenor banjo with 5 strings instead of 4 so that it can be tuned in 5ths GDAEB from low to high. Zach has made that dream a reality. In a matter of weeks!

Zachary Hoyt banjo #391

My main inspiration for this banjo was so that I wouldn't have to deal with the 7th fret high B note. About half of all Irish tunes have this high B note in them and that reach or shift up to the 7th fret of the E-string is something I never got comfortable with even after years of playing tenor banjo in the "Irish" GDAE tuning. This banjo has one more string of equal length tuned to B, which is a 5th above the open E string. Problem solved. It turns out that this actually isn't a totally new idea. Michael Kang of the band The String Cheese Incident has been playing a 5 string electric baritone mandolin tuned FCGDA or GDAEB for years now.

Getting an open string to tune up that high B (B4 octave) is a bit of a gamble. Tenor banjos were originally designed to be tuned CGDA with A as the highest note, and that in-and-of-itself is pushing it. This B is a whole step higher than that A. On a regular 19-fret tenor banjo with a 23 inch scale, it would be asking a lot of a string to get up to that pitch without breaking. So what I did was reduce the scale length to 19.75 inches, which is a scale length that Zach already uses on his A-scale 5-string clawhammer style banjos. An .008 or .009 string can be tuned up to B at this 19.75 inch scale length.

For the other four strings - the GDAE strings - I simply need to use slightly heavier gauges than you would normally use on an Irish tenor banjo. For the low G string, something like a .046w gauge will work. I don't mind a heavier gauge for the low G. Only about 10% of Irish tunes even have a note lower than D, so the main reason you'd ever be playing anything on that G string is to harmonize with a melody note in the D string. I can live with that. It's better than not having that string at all.

The banjo pot is an openback ten inch block wood Ash rim with a walnut rim cap. Featuring brass hardware and 12 total brackets like you might find on an old-time banjo. Zach prefers 10 inch pots for his 19.75 inch scale banjos and I agreed that a 10 inch rim is the proper aesthetic and ergonomic ratio for this scale length. It probably puts the bridge in a better position than a larger rim would have. I think the 10 inch rim gives it a punchier, more direct sound. The use of a Waverly style tailpiece instead of a no knot tailpiece puts more break angle on the strings, which should also help brighten up the sound.

The neck is made of ash with a walnut center stripe. Zach recommended ash even though it may not be as pretty as other wood options because he thinks it has a bit of extra volume and projection over maple or cherry. The width at the nut is about about 4 centimeters (1.6 inches). Not bad considering that it's got 5 strings across there. The fretboard wood is jatoba and the headstock showcases a stunning walnut peghead overlay.

The tuning pegs are individual Gotoh Schaller-style knobs that I picked out. These have a 16:1 gear ratio. I happen to like the looks of guitar style tuners over regular banjo tuning pegs. The headstock is a special design I requested inspired by the shape used on Mann mandolins and some five string bass guitars. It has a 10 inch Renaissance head and a wooden arm rest.

As a personality type, I'm pretty individualized and not one to always go along with the conventional thinking. For example, I don't buy into the belief that playing Irish tunes on a tenor banjo requires a 19-fret, 23 inch scale vintage banjo with resonator. I happen to like lighter weight, no frills, openback banjos mainly for the comfort factor, and I've found that the shorter scale length of a 17-fret 21 inch scale tenor banjo is easier to play and doesn't cause any bursitis in my shoulder. At 19.75" this Zach Hoyt banjo is even shorter than that which makes it an absolute joy to play!

I have no concerns about volume with this banjo. Up 'til now I've always stuffed a towel or t-shirt into the back of my banjos to muffle the sound out of a fear of being too loud or abrasive. I'm not planning on doing that with this banjo though!

Specs:

Tuned in 5ths GDAEB from low to high

10 inch openback pot with twelve brackets

19.75 inch scale length

Approx. 4cm (1.6in) width at nut

Ash neck with walnut neck stripe

Ash block wood rim with walnut rim cap

Jatoba fretboard wood

Brass hardware

Two way truss rod

Wood tone ring profile in top of rim

Renaissance head