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 ARCHIVED TOPIC: Help on the Missing Link Banjo


Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/395452

Odins_heathen - Posted - 01/29/2024:  15:56:33


I’m new to playing banjo, had a Recording King RKH-05 for about a month but I struggle to hear the high notes due to having a severe hearing impairment. So I decided to buy the Missing Link because I hear much better in the lower frequencies. I recently decided to learn banjo because I wasn’t supposed to make it this long with any form of hearing left which prevented me from picking up an instrument because I was worried I’d lose my hearing before I could learn enough. I’m running into a little road block with understanding chords on it. Is it the same chords as Open G except different notes. For example, the transposing chart says a D chord in open G is an A on the Missing Link. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it, is it as simple as the transposing chart says? I just want to make sure I’m off to a good start and don’t create any bad habits. It’s been hard to find any concrete info on this tuning. If it helps, it’s tuned in it’s natural tuning of cGCEG.

Brian Murphy - Posted - 01/29/2024:  16:12:15


It is tuned in Open C instead of Open G. In a normal banjo tuning, a C chord is the IV chord for a G. So, on a baritone banjo, your C chord forms now make an F chord (the IV chord of C tuning). A D chord in normal banjo tuning is the V chord. So on a baritone, the same chord forms with get you a G (the V chord of the C tuning).

Tractor1 - Posted - 01/29/2024:  16:20:19


you got it correct---Hope your hearing is stabilizedzed--I built what i christened a baritone banjo in 2010 --About a year later Bela came out with these--If they had been around I may have just got one of them instead--I had played banjos that tuning since the 90's because of it's vocal matching to bluegrass standards--Anyway I went a longer scale on mine -because the string gauge was getting'' too'' large--

The short version of my view on this--seasoned with hands on ----is the string gauge suggested on these is too large--I forget the numbers now--IF I came across a M link I would actually tune it higher  buy 1 tone and have a 26 on the third and 14s on the outsides--you might experiment with lighter than suggested strings for their tuning

one step at a time though --yes it transposes exactly --that way--good luck


Edited by - Tractor1 on 01/29/2024 16:23:40

Odins_heathen - Posted - 01/29/2024:  17:22:21


Thank you for your replies! That helps immensely!

Jake516 - Posted - 01/29/2024:  18:54:12


I play my ML a lot. FWIW, it sounds much better to me with a capo on the second fret, sounding in the key of D rather than C. I'm guessing that you could achieve the same result by taking Tom's suggestion and playing it open (no capo).

Tractor1 - Posted - 01/29/2024:  18:59:55


If you done that the low D string gauge on your regular banjo -should match the 3rd string gauge on the ML

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