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Shimdog - Posted - 02/11/2009: 11:04:32
Once Steve Huber finished setting up my banjo, it sounds great. Steve and I debated for a day the merits of putting on a new head. The current head looks pretty warn and it is a old high crown Remo. However, hearing it after Steve's set up, it was decided to leave it alone for now. Still there was this lingering question about what it might sound like with a new medium crown head.
I would love others' opinions on the merits of keeping an old head versus a new one in terms of sound. And the same question about medium vs. high crown heads.
Or is it as simple as, "if ain't broke, dont fix it"?
Thanks,
Paul
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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Helix - Posted - 02/11/2009: 11:14:42
I saw you paddle by. A customer sent me an older head recently I think just for transport, but when I put things back together, I liked that it pulled up right away, I played it in some, it sounded great. He retightened it upon arrival.
Gotta tell you people even talk about patching heads with superglue, leaving the holes, rotating the worn spots, washing them, and THAT'S their own craniums not the banjo heads.
so put your left hand on your head, now your right hand, come on man,
Now: Hold on to your old head as long as you can, served you well so far hasn't it?
Cheers
(_)====''===::} Leave the music in a better place than you found it.
Banjov1 - Posted - 02/11/2009: 20:35:26
I hate to add to the confusion, but what's do the terms high crown and medium crown refer to?
Tony
1four5 - Posted - 02/11/2009: 20:41:28
What about the merits of a different head for a different sound? Say a thicker 5-Star, or clear, or black?
The reason i say that is because i've tried them on my Calico. Then I put the original back on... and didn't like it as much as i remembered... put the 5-star back on and YEAH baby... that's what I like!
Crown height is the distance from the stretcher band to the top of the head. Picture:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardwar...html#details
Dean
Edited by - 1four5 on 02/11/2009 20:44:11
riffram - Posted - 02/11/2009: 20:53:14
New heads can sound great immediately if the banjo is set up right--and the head is tuned the the right tension/pitch for the set up. So, while I think old, worn ones can look cool, no reason not to try different looks--or to see how different heads change the sound, since the right set up with a new head will sound great.
TN_Picker - Posted - 02/12/2009: 04:17:40
If it sounds good to you then leave it be! 
“Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help, help! I''m being repressed!”
wayne-1 - Posted - 02/12/2009: 05:56:12
what tennessee picker said!
Galatians 6 vs 9-10" Let us not be weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Therefore, as we have oppurtunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
carteru93 - Posted - 02/16/2009: 14:59:46
Hey, a guy who owns a prewar flathead -75 can't be wrong!
quote:
Originally posted by silvioferretti
This was the crux of my very lazy Sunday, yesterday: to change or not to change? the head on Old Funky, I mean. It's been there since 1992, and it's worn. That is the banjo I played at our first US tour and IBMA showcase, in 1995, also the only one I had during some very critical years in my life, about 10 years ago. The one I used to record some songs that I really like as far as sound. My 5-string companion. Same head, setup, everything. So it has a special meaning for me. Yet the 4th string is starting to sound a little weaker than usual (it's the epitome of banginess, usually), and the outside strings are sounding a little less full than usual (they usually sound like mooring cables, in the words of the FHF). So maybe I should change the head... However, when I got Old Funky it had a head that had been there for about 15 years, it was worn a lot worse then the one it has now, and to me it sounded a lot better than it did after I changed it to a new StewMac Remo. Sooo... I don't see that head replacement happening any time soon. 
"Just once I would like to hear you scream in pain" "Play some rap music..." Bruce Willis on The Last Boy Scout.
Silvio Ferretti http://www.scorpionmusic.com
___________________________________________________ Carter Blaylock Bear Tracks Banjo the "Growler"You can''t fix stupid!
steve davis - Posted - 02/16/2009: 15:09:16
I put on heads that are around 20 years old and used enough to have 3 inch wear spots.
They sound terrific.
7ball
stanger - Posted - 02/17/2009: 16:29:18
As the mylar plastic used for banjo heads ages, it loses most of its stretchability. Mylar is a very stable material, old or new, and if an old head isn't tinkered with, they can last for decades. The loss of stretch is the reason why old heads tend to split when tightened past what they've become set to.
I've found the sound very gradually becomes more brittle and edgy, but it changes so slowly a player's ear just gets used to it. When an old head breaks, the player often wants a new head to reproduce the tone he's become familiar with, but only time can give provide it. Using an old head, especially if it's re-tightened to the tension it was at for years, provides that old familiar tone.
Some players change their heads a lot. I believe Earl changes them yearly, and I know John Hickman changes heads every 6 months- he told me so. Hickman is real particular about his heads, too- he buys a dozen at a time, and tries them all out, one after the other, until he finds one he likes best, then takes the rest back to where he bought them. He said he hated the brittle tone.
If I'm happy with what I'm getting, I just leave things alone. Some of my banjos have very old heads, and some have heads a year or two old. Right now, I have 2 with Renaissance heads, and I'm letting them age, just to hear the differences.
regards,
Stanger
The pen is mightier than the pigs.
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