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 soundboard and pass over a floating bridge. The bridge is kept in contact with the soundboard by the downward pressure from the strings. The neck is either flat or has a slight radius, and is covered with a fingerboard with frets. The action of the strings on the bridge causes the soundboard to vibrate, producing sound. Like any plucked instrument, mandolin notes decay to silence rather than sound out continuously as with a bowed note on a violin, and mandolin notes decay faster than larger stringed instruments like the guitar. This encourages the use of tremolo (rapid picking of one