I picked up a relic a few years ago. It has no markings from any manufacturer and has a pie plate resonator. It plays great and has a wonderful feel... much better than many more expensive tb's I've played. But now, I'm having problems with the tuners slipping. For a while, I could tighten the screw in the back of the tuner and it seemed to help. It's gotten to the point that if I tighten it further, it won't move at all. If I back it off slightly, it doesn't hold the string in tune. Do tension tuners go bad?
I've been given a few suggestions:
1. Put a thin flat washer on the backside as the wood could be distressed.
2. Use geared tuners, but would the weight be an issue?
3. Use guitar tuners. I just don't like the look. Though this is a relic, I like it's look and think guitar tuners would look odd, although it would probably play fine.
You can get geared tuners that stick out the back, in the same plane as the ones you have now, if you think that's important. The weight won't be a significant change. I had similar ones to yours on my 5-string, and they ended up impossible, even though I stripped them, greased and sanded them to remove rust, and re-fitted. So I put on ordinairy right angle worm-and-gear tuners, so 'Er Indoors could take it to the local banjo class. Did I ruin it ? Don't know, but a similar one, unmodified, just sold on ebay for £157 ! But to me an unplayable instrument is a waste, and that's my final word.
If you like your banjo and plan to keep it, I would absolutely have geared banjo tuners installed. If you're not handy, have it done as the replacements may not fit properly into the existing holes. I did this on an old Weymann 140 and my quality of life really increased.
Yeah, I concur on the idea of geared tuners. I can't stand friction tuners for that very reason, they're either impossible to move, or slip under the tension.
I have personally put new tuners on several vintage banjos. If you're doing it yourself, my suggestion is to carefully use a reamer (*not* a drill!) to enlarge the holes to fit the new tuners. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of doing it yourself, just about any luthier should be willing to do the work for you...
I have heard horror stories about the cheap Asian geared tuners, but I've gotten several sets on eBay for about $30, and have used them on a couple of banjos, and had them last for years without any problems.
Bob Smakula has the excellent Gotoh tuners for sale in the US for not much more than the price Reverend quoted:
www.smakula.com
Often the problem with old friction tuners is that the celluloid buttons have shrunk and are binding on the metal shaft. This prevents you from tightening the screw sufficiently even if there is some more thread available. The fix (thanks, Wyatt Fawley) is to carefully file for more clearance between the hole in the button and the shaft. You could do this with tiny needle files inside the button hole but it is easier to file a little on the 4 faces of the tuner shaft, which is brass in the ones I've seen. Use a 6" Nicholson mill file with sharp fine teeth, keep the faces flat and square to one another, and don't take too much off at once. It's easier to do than to describe if you are handy with tools and just takes a few minutes.
A very handy and inexpensive tool for reaming the tuner holes without damaging the headstock is the Sears 10-inch bastard cut round file. it is tapered and the maximum diameter works perfectly for most geared tuners I have installed. Several required a little extra reaming with the same tool.
Tenor banjo tuners slipping
Tenor banjo tuners slipping
I picked up a relic a few years ago. It has no markings from any manufacturer and has a pie plate resonator. It plays great and has a wonderful feel... much better than many more expensive tb's I've played. But now, I'm having problems with the tuners slipping. For a while, I could tighten the screw in the back of the tuner and it seemed to help. It's gotten to the point that if I tighten it further, it won't move at all. If I back it off slightly, it doesn't hold the string in tune. Do tension tuners go bad?
I've been given a few suggestions:
1. Put a thin flat washer on the backside as the wood could be distressed.
2. Use geared tuners, but would the weight be an issue?
3. Use guitar tuners. I just don't like the look. Though this is a relic, I like it's look and think guitar tuners would look odd, although it would probably play fine.
Please let me know your thoughts!
Thanks!
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by ElaineP
Re: Tenor banjo tuners slipping
You can get geared tuners that stick out the back, in the same plane as the ones you have now, if you think that's important. The weight won't be a significant change. I had similar ones to yours on my 5-string, and they ended up impossible, even though I stripped them, greased and sanded them to remove rust, and re-fitted. So I put on ordinairy right angle worm-and-gear tuners, so 'Er Indoors could take it to the local banjo class. Did I ruin it ? Don't know, but a similar one, unmodified, just sold on ebay for £157 ! But to me an unplayable instrument is a waste, and that's my final word.
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Tenor banjo tuners slipping
If you like your banjo and plan to keep it, I would absolutely have geared banjo tuners installed. If you're not handy, have it done as the replacements may not fit properly into the existing holes. I did this on an old Weymann 140 and my quality of life really increased.
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by Steve L
Re: Tenor banjo tuners slipping
Yeah, I concur on the idea of geared tuners. I can't stand friction tuners for that very reason, they're either impossible to move, or slip under the tension.
I have personally put new tuners on several vintage banjos. If you're doing it yourself, my suggestion is to carefully use a reamer (*not* a drill!) to enlarge the holes to fit the new tuners. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of doing it yourself, just about any luthier should be willing to do the work for you...
I have heard horror stories about the cheap Asian geared tuners, but I've gotten several sets on eBay for about $30, and have used them on a couple of banjos, and had them last for years without any problems.
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by Reverend
Re: Tenor banjo tuners slipping
Bob Smakula has the excellent Gotoh tuners for sale in the US for not much more than the price Reverend quoted:
www.smakula.com
Often the problem with old friction tuners is that the celluloid buttons have shrunk and are binding on the metal shaft. This prevents you from tightening the screw sufficiently even if there is some more thread available. The fix (thanks, Wyatt Fawley) is to carefully file for more clearance between the hole in the button and the shaft. You could do this with tiny needle files inside the button hole but it is easier to file a little on the 4 faces of the tuner shaft, which is brass in the ones I've seen. Use a 6" Nicholson mill file with sharp fine teeth, keep the faces flat and square to one another, and don't take too much off at once. It's easier to do than to describe if you are handy with tools and just takes a few minutes.
# Posted on February 8th 2009 by Paul Groff
Re: Tenor banjo tuners slipping
A very handy and inexpensive tool for reaming the tuner holes without damaging the headstock is the Sears 10-inch bastard cut round file. it is tapered and the maximum diameter works perfectly for most geared tuners I have installed. Several required a little extra reaming with the same tool.
# Posted on February 9th 2009 by bjbutler
Re: Tenor banjo tuners slipping
But you can't fit that bastard file in the hole for the 5th string tuner, which is my next job !
# Posted on February 10th 2009 by Guernsey Pete