The Worlds Biggest Playable Banjo made by Gibson

[GretschWretch]

Twang down in the bass range is, in my opinion, better sounding.

I believe "twang" down in the bass range sounds as "twong."

 

[Bruce Johnson]

In the early 1900's when ragtime and the big Sousa-style brass bands were on the wane in the days leading up to the explosion of jazz and swing with the Roaring 20's, bands made up of banjos and mandolins in the same four divisions as the viol-family instruments were a thing.

So you had mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos and bass mandolins, and banjos divided the same way, just as you see violins, violas, cellos, and bass viols.

As well, Gibson began to market guit-jos, a common session player's tool with the banjo body and head buttoned up to a guitar neck, tuned and played as any guitar..

In an acoustic-only world before amplification, a lot of instruments (mandolins and arch top guitars particularly) were influenced and adopted violin-based designs, both in construction and the concept of the various sized versions to.mimic four part harmony: Soprano, alto, baritone, and bass, as seen in these two families of instruments from that time frame, something Gibson's legendary designer Lloyd Loar labored to encompass.

Yeah, there were a lot of crazy acoustic stringed instruments built back in the 1920's. It's sad that very few have survived to today.

When I built Banjozilla, back in 1992, I was playing in a bluegrass/folk band. One of our dreams was to try being a modern all banjo band. A 5-string Lead Banjo, a Mando Banjo, a 4-string Open Back Banjo, a 6-string Guitar Banjo, and me on Banjozilla. We never quite got it all together. But we did do some recordings with me on Banjozilla. From 1995 to about 2005, I always took Banjozilla to the Topanga Bluegrass & Fiddle festival. Always a crowd pleaser.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I believe "twang" down in the bass range sounds as "twong."

Hah! Yeah, that's true. Banjozilla's sound is more of a Twong or maybe a Twummmm. Like the Dummmm of an upright, with a bit of low Twang mixed in.

 

[Killing Floor]

Gibson's also got just the guitar to jam with it.

 

[NobodyImportant]

Reminds me of when I had my wife pose with the Octobass at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix "for scale"

(They also have an empty display case with a wall text describing the "air guitar" it contains. Gotta love a museum with a sense of humor.)

The MIM is awesome!

 

[J Wilson]

Yeah, there were a lot of crazy acoustic stringed instruments built back in the 1920's. It's sad that very few have survived to today.

When I built Banjozilla, back in 1992, I was playing in a bluegrass/folk band. One of our dreams was to try being a modern all banjo band. A 5-string Lead Banjo, a Mando Banjo, a 4-string Open Back Banjo, a 6-string Guitar Banjo, and me on Banjozilla. We never quite got it all together. But we did do some recordings with me on Banjozilla. From 1995 to about 2005, I always took Banjozilla to the Topanga Bluegrass & Fiddle festival. Always a crowd pleaser.

Bruce, where do you get 'zilla heads, can you just use the appropriate drum head or do you use something bespoke? Drum rim or lugs on the wooden rim, though I'm sure you're capable of grabbing the metal bits.

 

[J Wilson]

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So which Harp Guitar is best for metal . . . .

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[Bruce Johnson]

Bruce, where do you get 'zilla heads, can you just use the appropriate drum head or do you use something bespoke? Drum rim or lugs on the wooden rim, though I'm sure you're capable of grabbing the metal bits.

The head for Banjozilla is a 24" Remo Ambassador Bass Drum head, as typically used on the bass drum in marching bands. The Ambassador series are the heaviest gauge Mylar that they carry. I deliberately used a standard stocked size drum head, because at the time, I didn't know how long it would last. I'm tightening it to much higher tension than a Bass drum would normally be tightened to. I didn't know if it would be good for a few years or a year? But....that same head has been on there, up to tension, for 32 years and counting. No signs of pending failure.

Banjozilla currently lives in a quiet dry corner of my music room, surrounded by my Kay upright, a 1920's walnut-case upright piano, a few misc guitars, and my collection of Scroll Basses and a few other basses. That room is only about 10 feet from my little apartment where I sleep.

I sometimes worry that some night, I'll be awakened by a deep explosion sound. With a bit of twang. The night that Banjozilla's head let go!!!

 

[Tim Schnautz]

Am I lost? For some reason, I thought I was on a bass discussion site. Did I make a wrong turn?

No, you're on a bass site. Why do you ask.? BTW, this is the best metal for bass… l!

 

[Johnny Fingers]

From 1995 to about 2005, I always took Banjozilla to the Topanga Bluegrass & Fiddle festival. Always a crowd pleaser.

Back then my sister (the one-eyed fiddler) placed third at Topanga one year.

 

[packhowitzer]

It's pretty big... I guess..

 

[Kubicki Fan]

Twang down in the bass range is, in my opinion, better sounding.

Still, in me, it produces no pang.

 

[bcbassman]

I've seen a Gibson Bass mandolin up close and the frets are too wide above the 12th fret. I wonder if the bass banjo has the same intonation problems.
Cool stuff. That woman in the Gibson bass banjo ad looks like my mother. LOL

 

[Kubicki Fan]

Reminds me of when I had my wife pose with the Octobass at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix "for scale" (no pun intended, but I'll accept the groans):
View attachment 5383552

(They also have an empty display case with a wall text describing the "air guitar" it contains. Gotta love a museum with a sense of humor.)

An older version of the air guitar, from around 300 million years ago contained about 10% more oxygen, but playability was very close, depending on what stalked you.

 

[chuck3]

then there's always the contrabass balalaika ...

 

[Oscar Stern]

These are Bass Banjos, tuned and played like upright Double Basses. They are, indeed, Basses. They just look funny and have some twang in their sound.

They sound somewhere between a Bass & a Banjo but this can be known as Banjozilla's Great Grandaddy. It looks like a Banjo but bigger

 

[Bighands Bill]

I saw this at Galax Fidlers Convention in 2012. The guy made the resonator and everything else. It looks better than it sounded, if that's possible.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

According to the records, Gibson made only 10 of them, in the late 1920's. Only 2 are known to still exist today. The one in your picture is one of them. They were one of the references I looked at carefully when I was designing my Banjozilla.

By the way, the name Banjozilla is mine, for my upright bass banjo, which you've seen pictures of. I don't have any trademark on the name, but it's been appearing in national magazines and online since about 1994.

Where can I find a video/sound clip? A google search didn't return any videos of your banjozilla.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Where can I find a video/sound clip? A google search didn't return any videos of your banjozilla.

I believe there's one right on Banjozilla's own web page, right up at the top:

Bass Banjo

 

[Oscar Stern]

I believe there's one right on Banjozilla's own web page, right up at the top:

Bass Banjo

Why not make a new 6 string 34 inch Scale Fretted Version that's voiced specifically for Nylon Strings (E.G. Thomastik AB346 Strings) called "Nylo-Banjozilla". Some Banjos have Steel Strings other have Nylon Strings. Nylon Banjo Strings sound a bit mellower.