Mandolin-banjo common in stores. Morgan Monroe has recently made three models, the MM-MB1 Mandolin Banjo the MM-MB2 Mandolin Banjo, and the Banjolin DLX (8 strings). The Morgan Monroe banjos look like traditional mandolin-banjos and have wooden resonators. The Cumbus model has a spun aluminum resonator. Prices currently range from around US $150 to US $700. In Italy, Musikalia manufactures three models of Mandolin Banjo, always with wooden resonator (mahogany, padouk or maple root wood veneered), animal skin, but gives an alternative between simple or double aluminium ring. Most instruction books concentrate on either the mandolin or the banjo. Mandolinists need more
Mandolin mandolins. Morishige Takei (1890–1949), a member of the court of Emperor Hirohito, established a mandolin orchestra in the Italian style before World War II. He was able to maintain his mandolin-guitar orchestra until 1943, in spite of the National Mobilization Law of 1938 that allowed the government to assert control of music, and ban western music and instruments, including the electric guitar, banjo and ukulele. He was also a major composer, with 114 compositions for mandolin. Another composer, Jiro Nakano (1902–2000), arranged many of the Italian works for regular orchestras or winds composed before World War II as new repertoires