Mandolin-banjo John Farris for an instrument with 8 strings. The Farris banjolin was offered in soprano, alto, tenor, and bass models. However, he "converted it to a four-string instrument," maintaining the mandolin and violin scale length and tuning (GDAE). Banjo hybrids normally take their names from the Banjo- prefix, and then the second half of the other instrument's name, such as banjocello, banjo guitar, and banjolele which implies the banjolin is a sort of mandolin/banjo hybrid. In the advertisement, Farris did not mention where the name came from, but did say that it was "fingered like the violin." Banjolins should not
Mandolin instruments. The mandolin and guitar were played in both classical music and pop music. Although used in popular music, both instruments were also taught in the Saigon National Conservatory (now the Conservatory of Ho Chi Minh City). However, the mandolin has disappeared from the conservatory where it had been taught, apparently dropped from the curriculum. Instead of Guitar-Mandolin department, the school lists Guitar-Accordion. Though probably never a dominant instrument, the mandolin was learned by enough people to have a presence among the settlers who left Vietnam for the United States, and who continued to play mandolins in their new home.