Hot Club Man - Posted - 01/07/2025:  10:46:50

Does anybody know what tuning Maurice Bolyer used on his tenor banjo? The sound of his recordings--to my ears anyway--sound not as 'shrill' (For want of a better word) as the standard tuning of the tenor. A sort of a cross between the tenor / plectrum tunings. Did he use an altered tenor tuning maybe? Check out his recordings.

Whatever tuning he used a great sound. Maurice Bolyer top musician.

Your thoughts on this subject?

Mojesty - Posted - 01/08/2025:  06:48:05

Maurice used CGDA tuning. He was a master of the tenor banjo, and played a Gibson Florentine. If you want to know more about him, contact me.

allfrets - Posted - 01/24/2025:  12:10:24

Maurice Bolyer typically used CGDA tuning with the C string tuned up an octave...

TB4 - Posted - 01/24/2025:  12:33:03

It's a correct question: in fact the timbre of Bolyer's instrument, his picking and the inversions he often uses make one think that his instrument sounds a bit like a plectrum.

Edited by - TB4 on 01/24/2025 12:34:46

Hot Club Man - Posted - 01/25/2025:  13:44:29

Many thanks everybody for your replies to my Maurice Bolyer question. I agree with Marco--Maurice's style and tuning makes me also think a bit like a plectrum sound. Like all the banjo 'greats' he has his own sound--recognisable.

As Maurice tuned the 4th string (C) an octave up what gauge covered string do you think he would used to get to that octave C? Myself? I play plectrum banjo and would like to give my 4th (C) a try an octave up-------Could be interesting.

Compass56 - Posted - 01/26/2025:  13:46:11

I tried a high C on the 4th string once. It definitely was not for me.

Mojesty - Posted - 01/27/2025:  04:07:37

Maurice would have used a 14 or 16 gauge unwound string on the 4th string. I use a 14 gauge on one of my banjos. It is wonderful for chord melody, but not good for single note melodies.

Meestro - Posted - 01/29/2025:  19:23:55

Maurice used an .016 for the octave C.

It sounds like a plectrum because the voicing from the lowest open string (G) to the A-string is now a maj9th as the same as a plectrum range of a 9th. So the chord voicings were similar, much more closed.

What you had to think about was notes that were a major 7th apart in a chord such as the low open C to the 4th fret b on the G string now become a minor 2nd so there is more of a clash even though it could be used to advantage.
MWjen Maurice passed away and his banjo became available Borgy Borgerson, a good friend of mine and Tim Allan, had a chance to purchase it. Maurice was a brilliant musician and a working banjoist. The carving on the back of that resonator had some nice gouges in it from his belt buckle and the peg head had been broken and was held together by a stove bolt, nut and a fender washer on each side. When as a kid, I first heard Maurice on an 8 track tape his picking was so fast and clean that, I had assumed he played five-string. I think Tim could jump in on this subject.


One more thing about the octave C string. It worked really nicely for Borgy when I was playing bass with him or when he used tuba players.