Jessie posted in my Concertina thread that she was getting an Autoharp soon which led me to do a search to the maker’s (Orthey) site which led to this link about the Stoneman Family:
Which is quite interesting. If you scroll down a bit there is a picture of them and one of the boys is seated behind a huge banjo. Does anybody know anything about those or how it sounds?
23 kids 
Nah, that’s a bodhran disguised as a banjo! 
MarkB
Sort of like a lawyer wearing a shark costume? 
Notice that that great big banjo seems to have led Jim to the string bass.
I’m sure everyone remembers Roni on Hee-Haw, with her hair in curlers and her front teeth blacked out–the housewife from Hell.
Scotty became one of the all-time hot fiddle players and played some great stuff with the Kentucky Colonels. He could completely keep up with Clarence White.
I respectfully request that you immediately cease making any and all malicious and unflattering comments against sharks. Thank you. 
Attorneys, on the other hand, are fair game!
Will O’Ban
I remember a lot of them real well. I have played a little in a back lot session with Jimmy and Scot. I don’t remember that banjo though. When I knew him Jimmy played string bass. There used to be a country music contest near Mannassas, VA in the 50s and 60s time period. Scot won top fiddler and the stonemans top band every year. A group I was friends with came in second to them one year. I hate to think that was over 40 years ago.
Ron
That’s a BMD(*)
Actually, probably some kind of bass banjo. Check out this one:
http://www.xstrange.com/bassbanjo.htm
Scary.
(*)Banjo of Mass Destruction
once upon a time, string instrumrnt makers made corresponding equivilants of the violin family. mandolin, mandola, mandocello, mandobass. and some oddball pairings such as banjolins, banjo-ukes (which were the soprano voice of a banjo quartet) cool stuff.
Mandocellos are some of the coolest sounding things out there. I know an excellent Jazz duet who play soprano sax and mandocello mostly (sometimes with Bass and drums as a quartet). Very very good, and a great sound. Geoff Goodman and Chris Hirson. (Great people, too.)
http://www.jazzrecords.com/musicians/g_g_disc.htm
Their first one, Before & After is my favorite.
Are there soundclips anywhere?
Tom
There are a couple on the page I linked, of the Human Lives CD. I knew them back in Munich ten years ago, don’t know what their most recent stuff is like, but I don’t doubt it’s good. Amazing musicians.
Thanks, Tom
Blast! Our company’s IT/Decency Police group is working overtime, I see. They’ve filtered this site and won’t let me access it. I guess this means those mandocello they’re showing are nude???
Hirson / Goodman’s second CD is called “Nudism.” Aren’t you glad you are protected from modern jazz by your company?
They still do…
In Hobgoblin in London I’ve seen many weird and wonderful variations on the plucked string & fretted fingerboard pattern. I’m probably oversimplifying, but once you can play one fretted string instrument, you’re halfway towards playing any others. It’s only a question of the tuning and the fret spacing that makes it different.
I’ve also seen sites offering all the variations between fiddle & double bass, and even a soprano fiddle!
It’sa Bassjo…
here’s a Bass Banjo for ya http://www.xstrange.com/bassbanjo.htm
and they are still made… http://www.goldtone.com/products/details.asp?subarea=specialtybanjos&subarea2=BB-400
So, how come no one makes a fretted fiddle for the tonally challenged, like me?
Is it just too hard to bend the fretwire?
There are some. Here’s one (not the one i was looking for):
http://www.jordanmusic.com/v6fret.htm
g
Here’s the one i was thinking of:
http://www.woodviolins.com/
These are beauties. I have a friend who has one, and the gal from GrooveLily plays one… they are nice! Great electric sound… if you care for that sort of thing…