i recently picked up a full scale tenor, and comparing sounds to say barney mckennas and other banjoists banjos, it sounds alot more bassy and low than theirs. i havent had it professionally set up mostly cause i would like to figure out how to do so myself.
Im an experienced musician with guitar 5string banjo and mandolin and have set up said instruments myself, so i figured it wouldent be too much of a task to set up my tenor myself. just wondering if anyone has any advice on gaining a more treble sound than the hollow bass sound my tenor is producing now.
thanks
thom.
its a cheap beginners one as far as i can tell.
brand name is songbird cant really find much info on google or anything, bought on a whim really cause i wanted to play reels on banjo but 5 string reels just didnt apeal to me. so i bought this to see if tenor would suit me rather than pay alot of cash for something i wouldent use.
not sure about tone ring, the head isnt plastic.
i have tightened the skin, and the tailpiece should be fine. im a bit weary of tightening the skin anymore so than it already is cause its pretty tight, almost as tight as my 5string . thanks for the help though guys
A cheap banjo isn't going to sound like an expensive one, no matter what you do, of course. But the two biggest things that will make the sound of any banjo brighter are:
* Head material (Try a plastic head... maybe frosted, or inner frosted)
* Head Tension (tighter = brighter)
To a lesser degree, as has been mentioned, the tailpiece, string gauge, string material, bridge, break angle over the bridge, and resonator can all affect the sound - surprisingly much in many cases.
Maybe the biggest thing that will affect the sound of a banjo is the tone ring. Everything ranging from a plain bevel on the top of the wood rim to a complex, floating metal contraption will be a large determining factor of the sound. But changing a tone ring isn't necessarily an easy thing. If you can look under the head and see some sort of metal ring that he head is suspended across, then you have a reasonable chance of getting a decent sound out of the banjo by putting a plastic head under a fair amount of tension on it.
question about irish tenor banjo
question about irish tenor banjo
i recently picked up a full scale tenor, and comparing sounds to say barney mckennas and other banjoists banjos, it sounds alot more bassy and low than theirs. i havent had it professionally set up mostly cause i would like to figure out how to do so myself.
Im an experienced musician with guitar 5string banjo and mandolin and have set up said instruments myself, so i figured it wouldent be too much of a task to set up my tenor myself. just wondering if anyone has any advice on gaining a more treble sound than the hollow bass sound my tenor is producing now.
thanks
thom.
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by thom corcoran
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
what make and model of banjo is it and what kind of a tone ring and head is on it ?.
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by Red Robin
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
http://www.mikekeyes.com-a.googlepages.com/tune-upyourbanjo
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by Red Robin
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
There's tons of things that will change the sound, as you probably already know.
Try a clear head, I put one on mine and it brightened it up and improved the sound no end!
Maybe some lighter strings too, a different bridge even - just experiment til you get the sound you're looking for.
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by camwebby
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
its a cheap beginners one as far as i can tell.
brand name is songbird cant really find much info on google or anything, bought on a whim really cause i wanted to play reels on banjo but 5 string reels just didnt apeal to me. so i bought this to see if tenor would suit me rather than pay alot of cash for something i wouldent use.
not sure about tone ring, the head isnt plastic.
# Posted on October 15th 2009 by thom corcoran
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
Tighten up the skin...
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
Make sure the tailpiece pushed the strings close to the head.
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by CDNMoose
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
i have tightened the skin, and the tailpiece should be fine. im a bit weary of tightening the skin anymore so than it already is cause its pretty tight, almost as tight as my 5string . thanks for the help though guys
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by thom corcoran
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
Different bridge.
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by the wicked hacker
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
I have found that snuffy smith bridges can make even the cheapest banjos sound much better.
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
A cheap banjo isn't going to sound like an expensive one, no matter what you do, of course. But the two biggest things that will make the sound of any banjo brighter are:
* Head material (Try a plastic head... maybe frosted, or inner frosted)
* Head Tension (tighter = brighter)
To a lesser degree, as has been mentioned, the tailpiece, string gauge, string material, bridge, break angle over the bridge, and resonator can all affect the sound - surprisingly much in many cases.
Maybe the biggest thing that will affect the sound of a banjo is the tone ring. Everything ranging from a plain bevel on the top of the wood rim to a complex, floating metal contraption will be a large determining factor of the sound. But changing a tone ring isn't necessarily an easy thing. If you can look under the head and see some sort of metal ring that he head is suspended across, then you have a reasonable chance of getting a decent sound out of the banjo by putting a plastic head under a fair amount of tension on it.
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by Reverend
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
Irish tenors have their own banjo?
# Posted on October 16th 2009 by Bob himself
Re: question about irish tenor banjo
For a truly bright cutting tone buy the Clareen Elite which is on ebay right now.
# Posted on October 17th 2009 by Newty