Use tenor banjo ukulele as Irish tenor?

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Celtic Banjo

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A group dedicated to Celtic music played on all kinds of banjos in all kinds of styles.

152 Members, Created 6/10/2011 -

Administrators: Banjowen (owner) , imac50 , Tom Hanway

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From AlpacaLips on 2/28/2016 9:28:24 AM

I'm interested in getting two banjos I don't already have: a large-pot (11-12") tenor banjo ukulele, and an Irish tenor banjo.

Seeing the new Deering Goodtime tenor uke makes me wonder if the same instrument could do double duty for both purposes. One known limitation is the fact that the uke is limited to nylon strings. So the tone would obviously be different but I think that could be mitigated somewhat by playing the nylon with a pick near the bridge.

How about tuning? Can I use the same instrument and strings for common timings on both instruments?

4 Comments
	Picking Dick says: 2/28/2016 10:14:14 AM Hi, I have a Lanakai Concert Banjo Uke that I use for an ITB. Aquila makes Lo-C GDA strings for it but not GDAEs. I'm using it now, to see if I can learn ITB (I'm an old guy), if so, I'll get an ITB. I also have a Gold Tone tenor banjo Uke that's tuned Hi-D GBE. I use it for Clawhammer. I couldn't find any ITB strings for it at all. The low G is too low, and the Hi E is too high. Aquila doesn't make tenor banjo strings for it. When I'm satisfied that I can play ITB well, I'm gonna get a Gold Tone CC 205 Banjo.
	crazyace says: 4/6/2020 1:02:17 AM Deering do do the Goodtime Uke with Steel strings tuned to GDAE, a good friend of mine,Steve Noon, has one.
	AlpacaLips says: 4/6/2020 6:33:59 AM Thanks crazyace. I bought the Goodtime a couple years ago but haven’t modified the strings or tuning. As it turns out I barely have time to learn to play ukulele much less add Irish tenor to the mix. At some point I’ll probably find pick up an real Irish tenor banjo, although lately I’ve been very impressed watching David Walsh’s 5-string Celtic clawhammer playing on YouTube. Makes me think maybe I’ll use my bluegrass banjo for that instead.
	AlpacaLips says: 4/6/2020 6:33:59 AM Thanks crazyace. I bought the Goodtime a couple years ago but haven’t modified the strings or tuning. As it turns out I barely have time to learn to play ukulele much less add Irish tenor to the mix. At some point I’ll probably find pick up an real Irish tenor banjo, although lately I’ve been very impressed watching David Walsh’s 5-string Celtic clawhammer playing on YouTube. Makes me think maybe I’ll use my bluegrass banjo for that instead.
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