Tenor guitar VS. tenor banjo (and why they exist)

I have two really great instruments in the shop today. Both are tenors, ones a guitar and the others a banjo. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. Let me know if this video was helpful for you in hearing and understanding the difference!
Both of these instruments are currently for sale on my website!
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[@RockStarOscarStern634]

2:50 You got that correct too, the Tenor Guitar is a Tenor Banjo neck on a Guitar body which makes it a Hybrid instrument. They still make Tenor Guitars which means today Tenor Banjoists can have lots of fun with the Tenor Guitar just like they did back in the early 1900s.

[@jamesclark2630]

ALSO 5 stringers like me. I tune it to the same open G as the first 4 strings of the banjo.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@jamesclark2630 Yep Open G, you can also use it for Slide Blues playing which really makes it SING.

[@jamesclark2630]

Tenor guitar " saved " a few anjo players from unemployment as the 6 string guitar obtained Big Band prominence. 5 string picker here, obtained my first tenor guitar early, through Nick Reynolds /Kingston Trio influence to get another sound. I tune it in open G, which is "sacrilege" I guess but allows me to use the same chords as the 5 string and has a different "character" as a result. Have now a special order Gibson 8 string, LG -3 body from 1960 I got used. It may have been made for a Mandola player. I tune it open G but arrange the strings like a 12 string. I also have two tenor resonators, one regular, one 8 string, made by Mike Soares of Long Island. I CAN finger pick tenor guitar, don't let anyone tell you " There ain't enough strings ". THANK YOU for this video Kyle.

[@kostringworks]

No problem James! Sounds like you have some fun stuff to play, love to hear this stuff! I'm glad ya dug the vid too!

[@prushimush]

Open G is acceptable on any 4-string banjo or guitar IMO - the 4-string crowd isn't tuning conformist like bluegrass banjo people can be. Sean Moyses uses open G on plectrum banjo and banjoline plectrum guitars and he is one of the world's finest players. I tune all my 4-string banjos and tenor guitars CGBD - plectrum tuning, here.

[@jamesclark2630]

@@kostringworks THANX for posting it !

[@jamesclark2630]

@@prushimush THANX for responding. Tenor is used in Fiddle competitions as the "backup", Texas influenced I believe, but you probably know that.

[@jamesclark2630]

@@prushimush I have found it also makes it possible to play Hawaiian " Slack Key ", oddly enough ! Also works great with Calypso.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The Tenor Banjo and Tenor Guitar can both play the same music because they use the same tuning. Anything written for Tenor Banjo can also be played on Tenor Guitar (and vise versa)

[@n00bster97]

What an underrated channel. I went to a jazz club recently and the band playing did a lot of Dixieland music. I fell in love with the way the banjo sounded and really want to dedicate this year to learning that style of music, but the tenor guitar might be more to my taste! I just subscribed, keep pushing out great videos !

[@kostringworks]

Appreciate it dude! Speaking of underrated, tenor guitars! I def think you should pick one up if it speaks to you cause they are def the black sheep of the guitar family. Thanks for saying hey, hope to chat more!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

There's another similarity between Tenor Guitar & Tenor Banjo is that they share the same tuning & they can play the same music.

[@scalhotrod]

Thank you for using Harry Reser's "Tiger Rag" as background music! By the way, that video is sped up a bit, Reser didn't always play at such a break-neck speed.

[@kostringworks]

Absolutely! He’s amazing. And good tip on the video speed, 😂.

[@robertsmith1860]

I play a 1927 Vega Artist Professional Tenor Banjo (13”head) that I purchased from Banana (of the Youngbloods) - Players Vintage Instruments. I’m one of the lead Banjoists of the San Francisco Banjo Band… many videos on KZbin. I loved your video. - BanjoBob

[@kostringworks]

Bob, that’s awesome! I’m familiar with the group and so cool you found this vid! I’m thinking about keeping this banjo now. Starting to fall in love with it.

[@romelmadrayart]

I saw this is the standard tuning C-G-D-A linear or entrant tuning? And are there currently any good models in the $100 - $300 price range?

[@kostringworks]

Check out Goodtime Banjos! They make great affordable stuff.

[@romelmadrayart]

@@kostringworksThanks, any recommendations for 4 string tenor guitar brands that are good as well ?Also do you resell refurbished string instruments ?

[@kostringworks]

Recording king makes a great affordable tenor guitar! I do sell used stuff when I have it available. You can check my website for that! Thanks Romel!@@romelmadrayart

[@bloom_the_artist]

That thing you say about them playing the tenor guitar more percussively... I know that in dixieland jazz and traditional pop, guitars are rhythm instruments that really use the chucking technique, similar to mandolins in modern Bluegrass. Banjos were also very common in dixieland jazz.

[@RoseAkerman]

Interesting instruments!

[@kostringworks]

Right?! Still in shock I found this banjo garage sailing!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Actually one of the biggest similarities they have is that they have the same Tuning so the Tenor Guitar is basically a Tenor Banjo neck on a Guitar Body. That's because back in the 1920s & 30s as recording Technology improved, they found out that the Banjo sound wasn't a good match for the newer styles of music, so a Tenor Guitar (Tenor Banjo neck on Guitar Body) helped.

[@kostringworks]

Totally! Dig it!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@kostringworks Clifford Essex makes great Strings for it

[@kostringworks]

@@RockStarOscarStern634 noted!! I just sold the guitar, but I’m honestly thinking about keeping the banjo. It’s so nice.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

​@@kostringworksYes either way the Tenor Guitar is a Tenor Banjo neck on a Guitar body making it basically a hybrid.

[@rogertinker1813]

Thank you I always enjoy you videos but this is my first comment, I also am a subscriber

[@kostringworks]

Roger that's awesome, and I'm glad you said hey! The best part of making these vids is chatting with the folks after. I hope ya keep coming around!

[@mrgreeley8500]

Cool Been seeing a lot of tenor instruments found a kalamazoo guitar and a gibson guitar both tenor and i almost want to buy a oscar shmidt tenor banjo they are cheap and could fit in my stella collection.

[@kostringworks]

You can get really good deals on tenors for sure! Super nicely made instruments for what you're getting!

[@raymonddixon7603]

The tenor banjo is very popular in Ireland for Irish music. It is the most played.

[@sc1915]

I have a Harmony Tenor Guitar AND a Harmony Tenor Banjo... sometimes I step in something good 🤪 Great video as usual Kyle!

[@kostringworks]

Ha! Dude what a pair!

[@sc1915]

@@kostringworks 2/3rds of the holy trinity 🤔

[@marcsmith7037]

Harry Reser was sitting on a Ginger Ale bottle. He was sponsored by Cliquot Club soda. His band was "The Cliquot Club Eskimos". Harry is playing a plectrum banjo (standard 5-string length, 4 strings, tuned CGBD) in the clip. Today, the tenor you have is almost entirely played by Irish Trad players.

[@kostringworks]

Nice! Thanks for the fun facts!

[@artiefischel2579]

No, there's still a lot of jazz tenor banjo players around. Here's some Buddy Wachter, as an example kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnK2eICgor92mpo .

[@jamesclark2630]

THANX for the background ! ( 5 stringer)

[@MountainHomeJerrel]

Vegeta, what's the scouter say about how many tenor banjos they manufactured?

[@prushimush]

Lucky find getting a Vega tenor at a garage sale - we play tenors and plectrums banjos in Philadelphia string bands and Vegas are sought after, I play a 1920s B&D plectrum myself. Banjo people aren't into 'relicing' as much as vintage guitar people, so you could probably hide the missing hooks and make the instrument a bit more comfortable to play if you put an armrest on it. If the tuners ever give you any trouble, look into something like violin Peghedz - they fit in the unmodified friction peg slot but hold their tune a heck of a lot better, and you could revert to stock friction pegs if you really wanted to.

[@kostringworks]

I know right! Super lucky. Thanks for the tips! So far the thing plays perfectly, wouldn't change a thing.

[@RavenYan]

Viola tuning ✨

[@Ryan98391]

I have a Kasuga Tenor banjo I'm learning to play.

[@kostringworks]

Nice! Not familiar with that brand. You digging it!?

[@Ryan98391]

@@kostringworks It's fun. I really like my plectrum and doing crazy covers in minor keys. I'm probably playing it way different than they originally did but oh well. I got an inexpensive five string banjo to go with it so I can be perpetually confused about tunings. I want an eight string tenor guitar so bad now...I just really love the four string ethos. I consider five string banjos in that family because the drone string isn't played like the other four strings. It takes me a little bit to go from my six string acoustic guitar to my other instruments. The spacing of string is different. I used the wrong term above. It's actually a Kasuga plectrum.

[@LostHorizons0]

I play a tenor guitar in “Chicago” tuning aka DGBE like a baritone uke (since I’m a ukulele player ).

[@kostringworks]

I dig that sound on a tenor!

[@Feather38]

The coolist !😎

[@kostringworks]

Thanks!! Still can't believe I found that banjo garage sailing.

[@Feather38]

@@kostringworks Right! Awesome find

[@euls868]

the banjo is a beauty.. too bad I am too far away, over the pond :)

[@kostringworks]

Yeah it be a pretty-penny to ship over there! It is sure a beaut though, totally agree. Thanks for watching!

[@anonymousperson4363]

Champagne bottle!

[@RavenYan]

Yoooo harry reser the sicko Eskimos

[@kostringworks]

what a guy huh!? Haha, I love that video so much. So over the top.

[@MrSlimbullfrog]

It’s ‘24! Time to bring back the instruments that were made when cocaine was legal. Weed is legal and the music reflects that.

[@kostringworks]

Haha. I think weed wasn’t “illegal” yet in 24 too.

[@MrSlimbullfrog]

@@kostringworks gospel! I forgot about that. I guess a mix of the two helped create the banjo mania dance craze. I absolutely love playing the tenor banjo in standard tuning. It makes toes tap, booties bounce, and fills hearts with sensuous desires

[@tylerhood9846]

If you want a good artist that plays tenor guitar, look no further than Willy Tea Taylor.

[@kostringworks]

Good tip!!

[@tompurvis1261]

You really missed the mark on your history. Your tenor guitar is a baritone ukulele. The scale length is off. The tenor banjo was needed to complete with horns before amplification. When that was no longer an issue, the banjo players needed an instrument to play, so the tenor guitar became more popular. Both were tuned CGDA. The tenor banjo was either 17 or 19 frets and played in a chord melody style. I invite you to Oklahoma City to visit the Banjo Hall of Fame, which is 90 percent tenor. The current use of the tenor is tuned GDAE, like the fiddle and mandolin. The strings are too heavy to play chord style and it is used instead as a melody instrument in Irish Traditional music. Gerry, at the end of your video, plays both. He currently lives in Santa Fe but is from Ireland. I have both along with an octave mandolin and standard mandolin, all tuned GDAE and with very different voices. The longer the string, the greater the sustain. I only really play the banjo in sessions but have pickup in all four and will play them when plugged in.

[@tompurvis1261]

Counting your frets, it could be a tenor guitar.

[@kostringworks]

@@tompurvis1261 Yep this one's a tenor guitar, but I also wasn't sure at first either. I have a video all about it too.

[@MountainHomeJerrel]

If that's the original nut, you can clearly see in the video that nut is cut for metal strings. The string slot width would not fit nylon (or nylgut in modern times). A Baritone uke generally would not use metal strings. The body also is bigger than what you would typically see on a baritone uke.