PanosTheGreek - Posted - 05/03/2026:  02:07:51

Greetings from the land of Zeus, Athens, Greece!

Panos here, banjo player and lead singer of a local band 'Rival Sun'. 

My band recently started playing gigs, and one common problem I run up against is that the sound people at the various venues always complain about me making their lives harder with how to set up the sound for my regular, acoustic Bluegrass banjo (I have a Recording King RK 35). And it's true that it's a pain for me as well to have to play stuck right in front of the banjo mic on stage, unable to move around and express myself in parts of songs where, e.g. the guitarist is doing a break or solo and just wanna bang heads with him (we don't play Bluegrass, we play heavier music but that's a whole other story).

And beyond that, I want to experiment with distortion. Basically, because there is only one lead guitar on the band, I play a lot of rhythm parts and I really need to get my instrument to sound like a hard rock / metal guitar for those parts in the future.

To sum up my intended use of any potential set-up:

* Be able to play unfettered on stage, not anchored to a mic

* Play with natural sound OR distortion / other effects

* Emulate the sound of a metal guitar in parts

While considering my options for Europe, I came up with two main avenues:

* Either get a banjo-appropriate pick-up and have it installed on my banjo

OR buy ready-made:

* Gold Tone electric banjo

thomann.de/gr/gold_tone_eb_5_e...4QAvD_BwE

*Ortega modified electric banjo (basically a cheaper banjo modified in much the same fashion as I could theoretically modify mine):

nakas.gr/en/proionta/mousika-o...o_560301/

So my questions are...

1. What are the pros and cons of modifying my banjo into an electric one? Will that change the sound it makes when played acoustically because of extra tension or weight on the back of the drum head? Also, can I trust luthiers in Greece, who will probably never done such a project before?

2. What would be a few banjo-appropriate pick-ups?

3. Is it worth leaving my banjo alone and getting a cheaper, already modified one?

4. Should I disregard the above and get an electric banjo?

Cheers in advance for any tips!

TScottHilton - Posted - 05/03/2026:  08:15:16

If I were you, I would try something like this Gold Tone magnetic pick up first: goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldton.../smp-plus

You can install this yourself in a matter of minutes. No need to take it to a luthier, and it is non permanent.

The pros of a magnetic pick up are that it works well if you want to add effects to the sound of your instrument (like heavy metal distortion) and that it is much less prone to feedback than a clip on mic for example. The cons are that the magnetic pickup will generally only pick up the vibrational frequency of the string, and thus you will lose many of the tonal qualities that make a banjo sound like a banjo.

This is the tricky thing about amplifying a banjo. You'll have to find a balance between a solution that gives you the ability to distort the signal/crank the volume way up, and a solution that lets your banjo still sound like a banjo and not an electric guitar.

There are other options in terms of effects pedals that can help emulate the sound of an acoustic banjo. That might be worth looking into as well. ie: Tone Dexter.

Dan Gellert - Posted - 05/03/2026:  10:15:38

A mini mic on a little gooseneck attached to the rim or tailpiece, and suspended just over the head, will give you a clean acoustic tone without having to stand in one spot. Why not one of those, AND a magnetic PU (like that Gold Tone, which doesn't contact the head), too? You could switch between them, or blend them, and get whatever kind of sound you like.

martyjoe - Posted - 05/03/2026:  10:23:41

I have a mesh head ready to go onto a banjo for this very sort of thing. The aim is for a proper sounding banjo through a pickup and be feedback free.

A Drum On A Stick - Posted - 05/03/2026:  10:58:05

2c as someone listening to banjos on stage: No single pickup will do 'metal guitar distortion' and 'acoustic banjo sound'.



For good acoustic banjo sound without a mic, I like the sound of pickups that measure head vibration, like the k&k style pickups.



For good distortion sound, I like the sound of pickups that measure string vibration, like traditional guitar single coils or humbuckers.



I think you'll have to experiment a bit to find out what fits your sound. No reason you couldn't have both with a switch.

Regarding modifying your banjo, these are both reversible so I don't see any reason to get a new banjo.  Neither should hurt the acoustic 'unplugged' tone of the banjo in any significant way.

Edited by - A Drum On A Stick on 05/03/2026 11:01:37

aaronoble - Posted - 05/03/2026:  14:41:37

Check out Prucha banjos in Czechia; they made multiple styles of electric banjo the last time I looked

Edited by - aaronoble on 05/03/2026 14:41:50

PanosTheGreek - Posted - 05/04/2026:  08:31:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan Gellert

A mini mic on a little gooseneck attached to the rim or tailpiece, and suspended just over the head, will give you a clean acoustic tone without having to stand in one spot. Why not one of those, AND a magnetic PU (like that Gold Tone, which doesn't contact the head), too? You could switch between them, or blend them, and get whatever kind of sound you like.

---

Marvellous idea actually! Hitting two birds with one stone!

PanosTheGreek - Posted - 05/04/2026:  08:33:40

quote:

---

Originally posted by A Drum On A Stick

2c as someone listening to banjos on stage: No single pickup will do 'metal guitar distortion' and 'acoustic banjo sound'.



For good acoustic banjo sound without a mic, I like the sound of pickups that measure head vibration, like the k&k style pickups.



For good distortion sound, I like the sound of pickups that measure string vibration, like traditional guitar single coils or humbuckers.



I think you'll have to experiment a bit to find out what fits your sound. No reason you couldn't have both with a switch.

Regarding modifying your banjo, these are both reversible so I don't see any reason to get a new banjo.  Neither should hurt the acoustic 'unplugged' tone of the banjo in any significant way.

---

Will do my research on those two different types of pickup!

Cheers!

PanosTheGreek - Posted - 05/04/2026:  08:34:44

A great big heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you!
You guys have steered me in the right direction with your tips, now I gotta do my European market research and start experimenting!

Will let you know how it goes in the future!