Banjo Oddity - What is it?

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Mark Wybierala
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:14 am
Location: Central New Jersey

Banjo Oddity - What is it?

Post by Mark Wybierala »

Hey folks, A friend of mine recently acquired this oddity and from what I can see, all it needs is a bridge and some strings. The snake skin head is is great shape and is tight, But, what is it? The frets are installed as a major scale with no semitones. The front view show the ballpoint pen as the intonation point. It looks as though it was made in Japan or China via some oriental charactors on a lable. What looks like poorly made position markers are actually pieces of masking tape with Do, Re, Me,... written on them. Is this an actual mainstream instrument with a name or is it a one-off creation by someone?
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Mark Wybierala
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:14 am
Location: Central New Jersey

Re: Banjo Oddity - What is it?

Post by Mark Wybierala »

I should also mention that the frets are made from a thin bar stock and are at least 1/8" tall.
Randy Cordle
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Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:38 pm
Location: Central Illinois
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Re: Banjo Oddity - What is it?

Post by Randy Cordle »

Qinqin.
Lap steels, banjos, and mando family instruments for the world!
Mark Wybierala
Posts: 469
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:14 am
Location: Central New Jersey

Re: Banjo Oddity - What is it?

Post by Mark Wybierala »

Thanks Randy, A little google searching landed me at "qin qin" and a 4-string tuning of FCGD. I'm still not clear on whether the instrument should use nylon or steel strings because the articles mention both a traditional version and a modern version and this particular instrument is somewhere in between. I'll try nylon and see what I can noodle. The scale length is 24".
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