A mandolin banjo, as the name implies, is a hybrid of the two instruments. It is a member of the banjo string family with distinct mandolin characteristics. It is frequently mistaken for a banjolin, which is a completely different instrument. The instrument has a perfectly round belly made from a drumhead and a neck that extends from the center out, shorter than a banjo’s. Its sound is similar to that of a banjo, which is often heard in bluegrass music, but it is quieter than a banjo and louder than a mandolin. When W.A. Cole perfected the art of playing the instrument in 1918, he made it famous in America.
At first glance, a mandolin banjo resembles a banjo, but upon closer inspection, it is quite different. The instrument’s body is shaped like a banjo, and the top profile is made of materials similar to those used in drum heads. The backside is made of light-weight wood and can be left open or fitted with a resonator similar to a banjo. The instrument’s neck, which is designed like that of a mandolin, distinguishes it from a banjo. Like a mandolin, the fixed and fretted necks are the same length and have eight strings arranged in pairs over four courses.
The mandolin banjo has a rich, full sound that is ideal for songs with distinct melodies. Because it has as many strings as a mandolin, it is not suitable for harder-sounding tunes like an Irish jig. The mandolin is tuned similarly to a mandolin and produces a much softer tone than the four-string banjo. The amount of sound produced by the instrument is also influenced by the size of the head, or belly. Smaller heads make softer sounds, while larger heads make louder sounds.
When banjo orchestras became a part of mainstream American music in the 1920s, the mandolin banjo gained popularity. It was designed by W.A. Cole, a mandolin manufacturer, for mandolin players who needed a larger instrument than the mandolin. Other string instrument manufacturers, such as Gibson and Windsor, began mass-producing the mandolin banjo. The number of people who play this instrument has decreased dramatically in recent years. It was used as a substitute for the banjo in studio recordings of popular music for a brief period between 1970 and 1980.