Banjo is a stringed instrument that is often mistaken for a guitar. Although some of the banjo parts are similar to guitar parts, banjos, and guitars are pretty different from each other.

Guitars have six strings. But banjos only have five strings. Banjos are also relatively smaller than guitars. A guitar is usually made of wood. But a banjo can be made of plastic, skin, vellum, etc. Another significant difference between a guitar and a banjo is that the banjo has a circular body.

Both guitars and banjos are supposed to have tuning stability, and an instrument called a tuner is used for it. The section below details various types of banjo tuners and the benefits of upgrading to Gotoh banjo tuners.

Banjo and Guitar Tuners: Basics

Banjo tuners are available in various types and finishes. Some of them are discussed below.

Clip-on Tuners

Clip-on tuners are the most convenient devices for tuning your banjo. You can attach the clip-on tuner to the headstock of the banjo. It displays the pitch of each string as you play.

The installation is much easy with this tuner, and you can checkout the strings’ pitch as and when necessary.

Handheld Tuners

Handheld tuners are a bit more advanced than the regular tuners. It has an in-built metronome and a cable input. It also comes with a speaker to listen to the tuning pitch.

Tuner Pedals

This tuner is installed onto the pedalboard for higher convenience. It works well if your banjo has an output jack pickup.

Gotoh Banjo Tuners

Gotoh tuners are pretty popular among banjo players now. Many famous banjo artists use Gotoh tuners instead of the standard ones.

Gotoh is a Japanese company established in 1950 to make violin strings. By 1960, they began making guitar parts. They became well known for their product quality, attractive designs, etc.

After several decades, the manufacturers at Gotoh expanded their product line with tuners, tailpieces, bridges, etc. The Gotoh tuners became very famous quickly, even outside Japan.

Gotoh tuners improve the tuning stability of the instrument. So, all kinds of banjo and guitar players started using Gotoh tuners more.

 

Benefits of Using Gotoh Banjo Tuners

Gotoh Banjo tuners noticed customer feedback and put forward items that are easy to install and smoother to use. Some of the Banjo tuner replacement benefits are as follows.

Gear Ratio

The tuners of banjos and guitars have always had minimal options. When it comes to gear ratio and all, the options were very few. The gear ratio of available tuners was between 12:1 and 16:1.

Around 2000, Gotoh introduced a new series of tuners with an 18:1 gear ratio. This series of tuners were named Gotoh 510 series.

Later on, they introduced another series called the Gotoh Delta series. Delta series consisted of a 21:1 gear ratio. The Delta series solved many problems in the Banjo tuning stability and helped the brand achieve the title of the leading tuner manufacturer.

Aesthetics

Gotoh planetary banjo tuners introduced a more contoured style to the tuners. The contoured housing and buttons improved the aesthetics of the instruments.

All the Gotoh tuners are handcrafted and thus unique. They feature a modern and elegant design which gives a premium vibe.

Affordability

Pricing is always an issue with many tuners. Customers often have to pay high sums of money to purchase quality tuners from a website or a shop. But Gotoh supplied tuner items at an affordable price.

Even now, they sell tuners for a reasonable price. The tuners with a high gear ratio can have a relatively higher price. But they also manufacture regular tuners on an affordable budget, which is available for purchase.

Variety of Gotoh Banjo Tuner Options

Gotoh produces a number of banjo tuners of varying weight, length, mechanism, etc. Some of the most popular Gotoh tuner items are as follows.

Gotoh GB707 Bass Tuner

This item is specifically made for bass guitars. It is ideal for four-string instruments. This tuner features premium quality.

The interior is well-lubricated, and its high-quality elastic parts ensure no rattling when playing the instrument. According to the customer feedback, these items are smoother and produce an attractive tune.

Gotoh SD91 Vintage Tuner

This vintage tuner is very popular and has been replacing standard tuners for a while. This item requires 10 mm conversion bushings to fit correctly on a modern banjo or guitar.

Gotoh SG381 Locking Tuners

This product uses a locking technology for a better clamp on the banjo string. It uses a magnum lock technology for the locking purpose. It performs better than the ones fitted as stock.

It increases the possibility of delivering better performances. As the tuner locks the string in place, the player gets more control over the strings and their performance.

Gotoh SG381 Modern Tuners

This tuner features high stability. You would not feel any rattle while using this tuner. As there is no rattle, the tune comes out very clean, on a picture-perfect note.

This tuner is completely sealed. The permanent lubrication provides high contact between the spur gear wheels and the worm. Better contact between the worm and the wheels ensures high tuner durability.

Summary

Banjo is a popular stringed instrument that people often mistake for a guitar. But both the devices’ shape, number of strings, etc., are different. But being stringed instruments, tuning is crucial for both banjos and guitars.

Banjo tuners are famous for providing tuning stability for instruments. Gotoh is a well-known tuner manufacturer company from Japan. They produce aesthetically pleasing, high-quality tuners with a high gear ratio.

They produce a number of tuners, including vintage, modern, and locking versions. Each of them improves the clarity of the tune produced and, thus, is highly beneficial to any banjo.

FAQs

1.What kind of tuner does a banjo use?

Banjos usually use tuners like clip-on tuners, handheld tuners, pedal tuners, etc. Each of them is different in the installation process. Clip-on tuners are much easy and convenient to use. But handheld tuners cancel any error and improve the tune clarity.

2.Why are banjo tuners different?

Banjo tuners are much different from guitar tuners. Because guitar tuners come from the headstock at a ninety-degree angle. But banjo tuners project out of the headstock in a straight line.

3.What is the most common type of banjo?

There are a number of banjos available, like vintage banjos and modern banjos. Some of them are different in the number of strings also. The five-string banjo is the most common type of banjo. The 5th string to the first notes is G, D, G, B, D.