I don't play guitar, so for me getting a six string guitar (banjitar, guitjo) was simply a way to use an all 4ths tuning with a banjo sound. Before learning about the Gold Tone A-6 Mini Acoustic Composite Banjitar, I never actually considered getting a six string banjo because the neck would be too long for me. I actually played around with the idea of getting a Puerto Rican cuatro since that is tuned in all 4ths BEADG with a scale length of about 20.5 inches, which is in my comfort zone.
The Gold Tone AC-6 Mini Banjitar has a shorter scale than most guitars or banjo-guitars at approximately 22.8 inches. As soon as I learned of this instrument's existence I tried to buy one but it looked like the left-handed ones were out of stock. I called Gold Tone and David said that they could set it up left-handed with side dots for no extra charge so I was sold.
The instrument arrived and played OK right out of the box. As I expected, the 22.8 inch scale was still a little bit too long for me. It's not the finger stretch that bothers me but the shoulder position. Anything longer than a 17-fret, 21 inch scale tenor banjo causes bursitis in my shoulder to flare up. So I got a Shubb capo and I use that on the 2nd fret which makes the scale length about 20.3 inches. Problem solved.
The open string tuning I use is E-A-D-G-C-F low to high, which is like standard tuning with the top two strings tuned up a half step to keep the 4ths ratio throughout all the strings. With a capo at the 2nd fret this becomes F#-B-E-A-D-G. I think this is going to work well for Irish tunes since the open string notes B, E, A, D, and G are found in almost every Irish session tune. I don't play chords or strum. Just melodies played with a guitar pick.
I took it to a local music shop over the weekend and they made a few minor adjustments to the neck angle and head tension which improved the action and playability. Now it sounds just fine, I think. My main instrument will remain the tenor banjo tuned in 5ths, but my goal is to learn a few tunes at a time on the banitar so that I can break it out at a slow Irish session. It's also good for ear training - trying to find where the notes are.
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