There are multiple instruments referred to as a bass banjo. The first to enter real production was the five-string cello banjo, tuned one

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

below a five-string banjo. This was followed by a four-string cello banjo, tuned CGDA in the same range as a

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

mandocello The mandocello () is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paired courses, with the strings in each course tuned in ...

, and modified

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

versions tuned EADG. More recently, true bass banjos, tuned EADG and played in conventional horizontal fashion have been introduced.

Five-string cello banjo

The five-string cello banjo was originally a gut-stringed instrument with a deep diameter rim, marketed by

S.S. Stewart Samuel Swaim Stewart (January 8, 1855—April 6, 1898), also known as S. S. Stewart, was a musician, composer, publisher, and manufacturer of banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to fo ...

in 1889. Advertising copy used the terms "bass banjo" and "cello banjo" to refer to the same instrument. Other banjo makers manufactured similar instruments, including A.C. Fairbanks, with a diameter head and a scale length and A.A. Farland, with head and a scale. Gold Tone is the only contemporary manufacturer.

Four-string cello banjo

In 1919, Gibson began manufacturing a 4-string cello banjo, known as the CB-4. Other vintage manufacturers of four-string bass banjos include Bacon & Day. Gold Tone is the only contemporary manufacturer.

Gibson bass banjo

Gibson produced a separate instrument called a "bass banjo" from 1930 to 1933. This was a 4-string instrument, played as an upright bass, with a stand substituting for a spike. It was tuned EADG, the same as Gibson's mando-bass.

Bassjo

The Bassjo, also referred to as the banjo bass in a 2006 article featuring

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American rock music, rock musician. He is the founder, lead singer, bassist, and primary songwriter of the band Primus (band), Primus. Listed as one of the greatest bassists of all time by ...

on the cover of Bassplayer Magazine was made by luthier Dan Maloney. Maloney was a friend of Claypool's approximately ten years ago when Claypool asked him to construct a guitar with "a banjo body and a bass neck (''"Les Does More"'' 43)." The Bassjo can be heard on Claypool's 2006 album ''" Of Whales and Woe"'' on the track ''Iowan Gal''", as well as Primus' "Captain Shiner" from the album ''

Tales from the Punchbowl ''Tales from the Punchbowl'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Primus, released on June 6, 1995. It was the band's last album with Tim Alexander before he rejoined Primus seven years later, and again in September 2013. It was ...

Bass Banjolele

The Bass

Banjolele The banjo ukulele, also known as the banjolele or banjo uke, is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. The earliest known banjoleles were built by John A. Bolander and by Alvin D. Keech, both ...

, is oftentimes made by individual luthiers and is without much mainstream use and production. They are often tuned E₁–A₁–D₂–G₂. It is often just another version of a U-Bass. It is often slightly longer than a U-Bass.

Gold Tone bass banjo

Gold Tone Music Group
produces a commercial version of the bass banjo. It has a scale and a pot.

Heftone upright

An unusual variation is the Heftone bass, which combines a large, banjo pot with an upright spindle to produce an upright bass banjo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass Banjo Banjo family instruments Bass (sound)