Dean Guitars Backwoods 6 Banjo

This is the Dean Backwoods 6. Call it an acoustic guitar that sounds like a banjo, call it a banjo tuned like a guitar, maybe even a hybrid name like Banjotar? Guitjo?

Either way it rocks. I keep one of these in my studio arsenal just in case a track needs a little banjo. When I'm not recording with it, it makes one heck of a conversation piece. Everyone wants to check it out.

I saw it in my local Guitar Center. It was used. Normally they run around $250, I paid $175 on the used market. I play it with regular medium/light gauge guitar strings.

You don't have to think! It sounds very close to a banjo but plays with the same left hand fingers as a guitar. The string tension and spacing that you are already used to helps out a great deal as well.

Nothing at all.

Well built. This is a closed back design which gives it that extra twang that a banjo should have. It came stock with a Remo head and Grover brand tuners.

Get one now and call your friends over for a hoedown later! All your guitar licks transfer right over to the Backwoods. A brilliant build by Dean.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I'm 62, been playing on and off for about 46 yrs. Not as good as I should be. R and R, Blues, Folk, and bluegrass.

Bought on E-Bay for $120.00. I used to own a Gibson Mastertone which frustrated me to death. I didn't want the learning curve.

I really like the fact that when my fingers get sore I can pick this up and keep playing because the action is so light and I get a different noise while I'm working on guitar things. The tone is excellent for this price range of Banjo. I am constantly amazed at guitar songs that sound great on this instrument. I find that it sounds like a 5 string when flatpicked and a tenor banjo when strummed especially using bar chords up the neck. It takes at least an hour or so of playing it to get the hang of it, but once you do you start experimenting with different things that will translate to the guitar. Other things that you stumble upon may not translate to the guitar very well. It has expanded my knowledge and ability and it is fun.

Some Simon and Garfunkle songs do not sound good on this instrument. The lower bass notes are weak in the first 3 frets.

The construction, fit, and finish are excellent for this price range.

Getting bored just playing the same old stuff on your acoustic guitar? Get one of these, it will open up another route of expression without the learning curve.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a six string banjo which is tuned E A D G B E, like a standard guitar. It is designed for guitar players who like the sound of a banjo but don't want to go through learning how to play in the different tuning. This banjo has a mahogany neck with 25 inch scale, a mahogany body, an 11 inch head, 22 frets, and Grover tuners.

UTILIZATION

I wish I had good things to say about this "guitanjo", but I just don't. It was a nice idea on paper - after all, the guitar and banjo are two fretted, stringed instruments, right? How different can they be? Well, any guitarist who has tried to pick a banjo (or vice versa) has discovered right away that the answer is "extremely different".

So getting the banjo sound into a guitar configuration is a good idea, but this Backwoods Banjo is just poorly made, all around. The neck had a huge bow in it, the fret edges were sharp, and the nut slots were improperly carved. All these problems mean that the guitar was just not fun to play or tune.

SOUNDS

It sounds fairly banjo-like. But the sound is of a cheap banjo. I am by no means a good banjo player, but I do teach in a store with one of the world's top banjo players, and I hear his instrument, and his many student's instruments, and I can tell a great difference in their tonal qualities. This Dean was on the low end of the ladder in sound quality, unfortunately.

OVERALL OPINION

Bottom line - this is just not a good instrument. If the craftsmanship had more attention to detail, and the woods were made of a higher quality, I'm sure the story I'd be telling right now would be different. But this is about as good as an abused pawn shop special that's been sitting in the shop for years - that is to say, bad! This instrument is so terrible that I am actually recommending anyone to check it out, just to have a gauge on the lower end of the scale.

The Dean Guitars Backwoods 6 String Banjo, or git-jo as it's known, is a unique instrument that combines that sound of a banjo with the make up of a guitar. This isn't the highest quality 6 string banjo out there that I've played, as to me this is a pretty cheap instrument. Not too many companies make 6 string banjos, but I've got a custom Carlo Robelli at home that I like a good deal more than this one. I don't know where this instrument is manufactured, but I'm sure it's overseas somewhere. It's strictly an acoustic instrument, so it's doesn't have any electronics.

UTILIZATION

The overall feel of the Dean Guitars Backwoods 6 String Banjo isn't the best in my opinion. It's playable, but for me the action didn't feel great and it wasn't the easiest instrument to play overall. It's got the same make up as a guitar, so it's a nice way for guitarists to get the sound of a banjo without having to actually learn how to play one, but I'm just not a big fan of the playability on this one...

SOUNDS

The Dean Guitars Backwoods 6 String Banjo certainly sounds like a real banjo, just not the best sounding banjo in the world. Most will certainly mistake this for a true 5 string banjo, but again I don't think it's the best sounding quality wise. There's not much that can be done to change that either, as you pretty much get what you get with this. It is pretty cheap so I guess I can't do too much complaining, but as far as 6 string banjos go, it's definitely toward the bottom of the list in terms of sound quality amongst the few that I've played.

OVERALL OPINION

While the Dean Guitars Backwoods 6 String Banjo is a super cheap way to get into the world of git-jos, banj-itars, or whichever name suits your fancy, I do think that they could have done better with this one. I've only just played the instrument a few times, but it's enough to know that it's not an instrument I'd recommend getting. I'd do a bit more research as there's other 6 string banjos out there that shouldn't cost too much more and will be of a much higher quality...