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Rollingwolf - Posted - 10/12/2009: 08:27:32
I'm having a set up issue with the third string on my new custom banjo with FF rim and Crowe ring.
It sounds good when I pick softly, but if I dig in it sounds weak, tinny and percussive, especial fretted or capoed on the 2nd fret. It just sounds dead.
It didn't do this at first, just as it's settled.
The other strings ring and sound great.
I've played with head tension a little and changed stings, both things work for a day or so, but once the banjo settles the issue comes back. The head is currently at G#ish should I try more tension, or less?
I'm wondering if it could be the tailpiece. I have a presto style tailpiece, where the 3rd string is set back, so I wonder if a straight tailpiece like a Kreshner would be better.
Or should I try a different bridge? I'm using a 5/8th Stelling compensated bridge.
Any other suggestions?
Experienced set up folks please chime in.
Thanks,
Matthew
www.frankenpinemusic.com
country frank - Posted - 10/12/2009: 08:36:09
I wouldn't have thought the presto was yielding up so much trouble IMVHO, I use them on several banjos and have always found them to be pretty reliable. HHmmm, if the third starts to weaken after a day or so of settling in [after the head has been tensioned] then perhaps the head is still stretching. What head you using on there and how new is it?
Proud Union Man
Regards from London.
Edited by - country frank on 10/12/2009 08:36:48
Banjov1 - Posted - 10/12/2009: 08:57:29
I've had problems where my strings, primarily the 2nd and 3rd tend to go dead on me a few months after having it worked on by our local banjo pro, Mike Munford.
Your issue may be different, but the last two times he tweaked my banjo to significantly brighten these two strings, I think the primary update he made was to file the nut with a very small file. I'm not sure if he's opening the groove up or making it tighter. But it did wonders for me both times.
Tony
flake - Posted - 10/12/2009: 09:17:26
My first thought is slots....first the nut, then the bridge. I'd make sure they're clean and properly shaped. Plus, it's got to be the proper width and depth for the gauge you're using. If your third string is getting pinched and/or buried in the slot, that'll kill the tone real quick.
mike
You can't ride home on a bowl of goat. I've always said that.
Rollingwolf - Posted - 10/12/2009: 11:42:47
I wonder if it's the slot in the bridge, since I did notice that the slots are kind of wide and V shaped.
I doubt if it's the nut slot since it's worse when capoed.
I have some other bridges around, I'll try one.
www.frankenpinemusic.com
ac5aa - Posted - 10/12/2009: 13:01:06
I concur with the last few posts - bridge and nut are the first places to look.
Duane C.
Sullivan Greenbrier, Gibson RB-250
Alex Z - Posted - 10/12/2009: 13:42:30
quote:
I've played with head tension a little and changed stings, both things work for a day or so, but once the banjo settles the issue comes back.
A. So, this means the problem may have actually been solved by a combination of adjusting head tension and changing strings. -- This is useful information, as it eliminates everything else as the potential cause of the problem. -- Thus, the question is: what happens during the "settling" that causes the problem to either (a) return or (b) be perceived to return (i.e., you get used to the new sound, yet still want more out of the third string). -- As country frank notes, the head could still be stretching. A new head is going to stretch a bit every day for a while, then every few days. Might take a couple of months before it will go for a week with absolutely no change in tension. If the banjo tone on the 3rd string is very sensitive to head tension, then every little bit of stretch will affect the sound in a way you don't like. B. The other thing that could be happening is that the change in head tension and brightness of a new string disguise the problem. Then when the brightness wears off, the problem can be heard again. C. Stelling bridge slots are filed differently from other bridges -- a wide V, as you say. Occasionally, a slot may have a rough part or a secondary groove that affects the seating of the string. -- Trying a different bridge is a good idea, as it would either point to or eliminate the bridge as the source of the problem. Let us know what the solution is, when you find it.  Alex Z
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