Hi all,
I Play Tin Whistle (high and low) Guitar, and starting on Irish Flute. But Im thinking about getting either a Mandolin, Tenor Banjo or Bouzouki. And have got a few quetions.
Which Instrument is more accepted and use in ITM ?
Can mandolin be used for melody ?
Under £200 ?
What’s the difference between a high and low Guitar?
I’ve only ever seen mandolin used for melody in ITM.
I have seen Bazouki used for both melody and rhythm.
Let’s see…
Mandolin.
Advantages: same range and finger stretch as a fiddle. Extremely versitile in genres other than ITM. One of the most flat-out all-around cool instruments ever.
Disadvantages: very difficult to play up to speed. Does not lend itself to accompaniment styles that are appropriate to ITM. Very, very few accomplished players to model your style on. Likely to be buried in any but the mellowest, most front-porchy kinds of sessions.
Tenor banjo.
Advantages: easier to play fast due to single (not doubled) strings. Really loud. Considerable precident in ITM. Loads of fun to play.
Disadvantages: widely disliked, for reasons passing understanding. Requires a wider finger stretch than the mandolin. Lends itself even less well to ITM-appropriate accompaniment. Also, the phrase “lyrically sensual banjo” is a googlenope, or was till just now.
Bouzouki.
Advantages: absolutely wonderful accompaniment instrument. Has enough sustain that you can use fiddlesque left-hand ornaments.
Disadvantages: arguably the worst choice for melody playing, especially if you get a long-scale instrument. Wide stretch and doubled strings make it next to impossible to play tunes up to speed.
mandolin
tenor banjo
bouzouki
Depending mostly on where you’re playing, all three show up often today, although the baz is a little less common (maybe). None of them have a truely ancient history in ITM, at least not the way the harp has, for instance. You’ll find purists that will say that none of them belong in a session.
I would rank them a bit differently than the previous poster, but everyone’s experience is a bit different.
I rate the mandolin as the easiest of the three to learn. It’s also the most readily available of the three with many more choices in design and price range. It can, but seldom does, play accompaniment in ITM, although it chords nicely in folk songs. How fast it can be played depends on the skill of the player. The doubled strings are something to get used to, but are not a hinderance to speed.
The banjo is often met with mixed emotions. Mostly because it’s loud. It can easily drown out many other traditional instruments. Some players will take steps to quiet their instrument by damping the head.
The bouzouki is indeed a lovely voiced instrument. It has far more sustain than the mandolin and has some very guitar-like qualities. It can be quite a stretch between frets on some instruments, although practice and technique bring it right up to speed.
If you’re after a stringed instrument under 200 pounds, then the mandolin will give you a lot more choices.
So, in short, you should go with mandolin, because it shoots lasers out of it’s forehead. I pretty much agree with everything Tim is saying except that as a mandolin addict I have to say that mandolin can play melody like a fiddle (but easier), and it accompanies nicely as well, not as well as the bouzouki mind you, but I’ve not had a problem accompanying songs on my mandolin. The chords are very easy, and you get remarkable tremolo.
My Two Cents.
Dan
some mighty fine celtoid manalin pickin can be found hereabouts.
Oh Dan, don’t get me wrong. The mandolin is cetainly a very versatile accompaniment instrument, and one of the easiest to play chords on. I think it has more to do with the ITM tradition than the mandolin itself. For some reason we usually hear the mandolin playing melody in ITM (like a fiddle), but seldom hear it chopping chords as it does in most other folk forms. I suppose that will change as well in time.
Oh I can understand not being able to hear the mandolin chopping chords in ITM, it is crude, barbaric behaviour, best left to bluegrass players. When I accompany on mandolin is it usually very sparse, I think I picked up a lot of my mandolin accompaniment from the way I accompany myself on mountain dulcimer. There’s a lot to be said for sparse accompaniment for songs, specially when you have a good singer, like the one I occasionally play with.
Anyway, another thing you should remember when choosing the instrument, they can all be tuned to GDAE. So does it really matter? 
Dan
Edit:
RH, that is some very fine mandolin playing, and by the sounds of it, some very nice mandolin’s being played.
If you want to:
then get a banjo. 
The major issue with a mando playing melody is volume–it’s quieter than most of the competition, so will get lost in the din. If you’re a novice, that is likely to make you more welcome than the other options.
OTOH, being so similar to a fiddle means that every likely tune fits easily under your fingers.
~~
If you pick tenor banjo, people will hate you less at the beginning if its actually a tenor guitar whenever playing in company.
I’m a mando and tenor banjo abuser. I’d go mando every time - to the extent that my banjo now hibernates in a backroom…
banjos at sessions are ten a penny. Mandolins far scarcer. Too many banjos is too loud and can ruin it for all other instruments (except, maybe, for the too many melodeons on the other side of the room).
And mandolins are sooooo light and portable.
And they are the coolest instruments in the world.
I like your avatar alurker.
-brett
Maybe this is the best of both worlds but more likely it’s the worst.
A great “specialty” instrument, IMO. Use it on 1 out of 50 tunes, and it might add some color. Jerry Garcia (on some recording or other) commented to David Grisman at the end of a tune, “That is a truly obnoxious instrument!”. Mercifully, the good ones have mostly been retrofitted with 5-string necks by now. 
And that’s saying a lot. In Grisman’s hands it would be played about as well as it possibly could be played.
For anyone who has never had the pleasure of hearing a banjo-mandolin, just capo a tenor at the twelfth fret and plunk away. It’s not only loud but piercing. I try to find something beautiful in every musical instrument, but I can’t imagine the banjo-mandolin being a welcome addition anywhere.
Gold Tone still manufactures these and its cousin the banjo-ukulele. the banjo-uke is actually kind of nice.
Most definitely the worst of both worlds. I played one for 5 years and I’m still recovering along with all my long-suffering bandmates. It’s like the offspring resulting from a menage-a-trois involving a mandolin, a banjo and a machine gun with the majority of the genes being inherited from the latter.
Good instrument for busking solo, tho. Cuts through the noise, and people stop to notice it.
The latter is a mixed blessing; no one who hasn’t themselves busked understands that talking to you stops you from earning for as long as it takes, so they should pay for the privilege of their question.
Musicians who have busked, however, tip liked waitress out on a spree and get it right away.
Ah, the busker’s nightmare: the talkative music enthusiast who chats endlessly and walks away without dropping, thinking you have gotten as much from the interaction as they have. 
I busked for about 12 months in total. With the right location with the right acoustics I reckon a good banjo can punch through 100-200 meters away without a PA depending on background noise. You would do well to achieve that with a loud PA on guitar+vocals and with a PA you have to worry about power, weight, retailers and the police.
Why thank you. 
It’s all down to missy, who converted me to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
I now count myself amongst its millions, if not thousands, of devout worshippers. 