Hey I figured I might as well post this up while someone else asked about banjos. Just got my first banjo a week or so ago. It's nothing special, I wanted to try the banjo out first to make sure it's something I want to put more money into. I play a pretty nice Washburn mandolin so I figured a tenor banjo with Irish tuning would be the same pretty much.
What would anyone out there recommend doing to spruce it up a bit? I'll most likely be buying something much better quality in January so I'm not willing to redo the whole thing as it would just be a waste of money. The pegs seem pretty solid and stays in tune. The bridge on the other hand doesnt seem all that great, I had to make one of the notches bigger to accommodate the G string. It's an all wood design. One piece for most of it with a different wood piece traversing the top.
Maybe your banjo is a long scale designed to be tuned like a viola with much thinner strings. A bridge is relatively cheap, but you can also just do what you did. The long scale banjo is not recommended for Irish music. You need the neck to be short enough to play fiddle tunes.
If you are willing to spend a little, try putting a clear head on it (I know this will probably end up opening a debate itself about which head suits trad best). This is just my two cents, I have had two banjos and hesitated about a clear head on each - when I bit the bullet and just changed the head, on both of them, the tone improved no end.
Clear heads are much brighter and produce, IMHO, a clearer tone.
"You need the neck to be short enough to play fiddle tunes on"
This is not true.
Many players are happy playing ITM on standard scale banjo. It is a well established ITM instrument The short scale suits players already familiar with fiddle and/or mandolin.
Make sure the head is tight so the bridge doesn't sag, use a wound A string. Nickle strings last longer and sound brighter. Replace the bridge if its no good. You can thin it down with sandpaper if its too dull sounding. Make sure the tailpiece is fairly close to the head.
irish tenor banjo setup
irish tenor banjo setup
Hey I figured I might as well post this up while someone else asked about banjos. Just got my first banjo a week or so ago. It's nothing special, I wanted to try the banjo out first to make sure it's something I want to put more money into. I play a pretty nice Washburn mandolin so I figured a tenor banjo with Irish tuning would be the same pretty much.
What would anyone out there recommend doing to spruce it up a bit? I'll most likely be buying something much better quality in January so I'm not willing to redo the whole thing as it would just be a waste of money. The pegs seem pretty solid and stays in tune. The bridge on the other hand doesnt seem all that great, I had to make one of the notches bigger to accommodate the G string. It's an all wood design. One piece for most of it with a different wood piece traversing the top.
Anyhow any advice would be great.
# Posted on November 23rd 2009 by mimicabin
Re: irish tenor banjo setup
Check out my site at http://www.mikekeyes.com I have a whole section on setup there.
Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
# Posted on November 24th 2009 by mikeyes
Re: irish tenor banjo setup
Maybe your banjo is a long scale designed to be tuned like a viola with much thinner strings. A bridge is relatively cheap, but you can also just do what you did. The long scale banjo is not recommended for Irish music. You need the neck to be short enough to play fiddle tunes.
# Posted on November 24th 2009 by Earl Cameron
Re: irish tenor banjo setup
If you are willing to spend a little, try putting a clear head on it (I know this will probably end up opening a debate itself about which head suits trad best). This is just my two cents, I have had two banjos and hesitated about a clear head on each - when I bit the bullet and just changed the head, on both of them, the tone improved no end.
Clear heads are much brighter and produce, IMHO, a clearer tone.
As I said, just my opinion
# Posted on November 24th 2009 by camwebby
Re: irish tenor banjo setup
"You need the neck to be short enough to play fiddle tunes on"
This is not true.
Many players are happy playing ITM on standard scale banjo. It is a well established ITM instrument The short scale suits players already familiar with fiddle and/or mandolin.
# Posted on November 24th 2009 by Eòsaph
Re: irish tenor banjo setup
Certainly, there is no universal agreement amongst (Irish) tenor banjo players regarding the best scale length.
Short scale (17-fret) is slightly easier to play (especially when jumping up to high "B" etc.
Correspondingly, long scale (19-fret) is slightly more difficult to play.
However, the longer scale length (and thus longer strings) of a 19-fret instrument is considered by many to produce a superior tone.
# Posted on November 24th 2009 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: irish tenor banjo setup
Make sure the head is tight so the bridge doesn't sag, use a wound A string. Nickle strings last longer and sound brighter. Replace the bridge if its no good. You can thin it down with sandpaper if its too dull sounding. Make sure the tailpiece is fairly close to the head.
# Posted on November 24th 2009 by FergalOH