So, I have been really digging the sound of the baritone banjo lately. I don't have one, can't justify shelling out for one, so I improvised. I grabbed one of my old regular 5-string beaters that I haven't played in years and slapped some baritone strings on it. I LOVE IT!!! I didn't adjust or tweak a thing, just put the strings on. It took a minute to get used to the feel, but it is such a cool twist in terms of sound and feel. Such deep bass, it feels really satisfying to play. I have no idea how it stacks up next to an actual baritone in terms of the dimensions, set up, etc., I just know I love playing it! Like I said, I put them on a cheap 5 string beater, so I wasn't worried about harming the instrument. It's invigorated my playing on my regular banjo as well. For $9.00 I almost feel like I can suddenly play a second instrument! Thought I would share.
Cool. Recently I acquired a baritone ukulele. It's like a small guitar. Four strings tuned DGBE. First hour I was fiddling around with guitar chords and trying to get used to the difference from banjo chords. Then I gave up and down tuned the 1st string to D, so I now had a "guitar" tuned to open G like the banjo. Except it was missing the 5th string. Still, within minutes of getting it in tune I was play a dozen banjo tunes on it. Granted I had to change my fingering a bit because there's no 5th string to bounce of off. But I found other ways to compensate. The baritone ukulele has a deep, rich sound and a lot more sustain than a banjo. I probably play banjo around 3-4 hours a day, and the baritone about an hour.
I also have an old banjo that was just taking up space, and isn't worth the hit on shipping I would take if I sold it. It has a 12" pot and a "Gibson scale" neck. I threw some of the heaviest gage GHS strings I could find on it and tune it down a step or three and it sounds great. I didn't even know they made baritone strings. I'll have to order a pair.
I was really happy with how this turned out. I probably wouldn't play a baritone banjo enough to justify the purchase of one, but it is a low investment / good change of pace banjo to keep things fresh.
