Why do banjos have a dot at the 10th fret? - Slide and Alternate tunings https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:25:58 +0000 wpForo 60 Re: Why do banjos have a dot at the 10th fret? https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-385341 Sun, 07 Sep 2014 01:03:59 +0000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki#mediaviewer/File:Bouzouki_tetrachordo.jpg

The bouzouki evolved from the baglama, which often have evenly spaced dots. It's just that the frets are unevenly spaced...
http://www.saz-hamburg.de/media/catalog/product/cache/9/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/g/i/gitar-baglama-beyaz_1.jpg]]> Slide and Alternate tunings Alien https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-385341 Re: Why do banjos have a dot at the 10th fret? https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-379608 Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:03:22 +0000 Slide and Alternate tunings s1120 https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-379608 Re: Why do banjos have a dot at the 10th fret? https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-379601 Sat, 24 Nov 2012 06:13:50 +0000 Slide and Alternate tunings tinsmith https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-379601 Why do banjos have a dot at the 10th fret? https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-43581 Sat, 24 Nov 2012 05:20:14 +0000
Here's my working theory:
  • There are natural harmonics at frets 12, 7, & 5, so marking those is a good starting point.
  • Guitars have a dot at the 9th fret because it looks nice. There is a node there as well, so it all makes sense.
  • Banjos have a dot at the 10th fret because it looks... ugly. A banjo neck is pretty ugly to start with, this gives it a little extra disability just for show.
    • Another idea I had was that the 9th fret dot slowly migrated to a different spot, like the eye of a flounder. But that connection only makes sense after a couple beers.]]>     Slide and Alternate tunings Alien https://guitarnoise.forum/slide-and-alternate-tunings/why-do-banjos-have-a-dot-at-the-10th-fret/#post-43581