canderso - Posted - 10/27/2009:  15:49:48

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So I want to build am open back banjo as my first banjo project. I have a very nice piece of maple to use for the rim and the neck. I plan on using something like a fiberskyn head. I am looking for an old time "dirty" sound.

Do I achieve this with or without a tonering?

Is there a sound difference between using a rosewood vs ebony for the finger board?

Any major things to keep in mind?

Thanks in advance.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 10/27/2009:  15:57:24

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IMO (and others disagree) the fingerboard makes no difference in sound. Avoid a tone ring for the sound you want. Get a real skin head. Choose either 11" or 12" for your rim diameter. Use a no-knot tailpiece. Others will have more. Stay tuned, and remember, what I say, and any others say about sound, is opinion, though often soundly based.

Bill

Helix - Posted - 10/27/2009:  16:42:20

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Bill is quite correct, you can build different types of rims and tonering combinations.
I'm glad to confer with you without a sales drama.

My Rennaisance heads, Elite Ambers, will play the notes the fiberskyn plays, but not vice versus. I think the Fiberskyns are deliberate filters to maintain bass and treble. I frail up on the neck, I can produce the sound I want to hear. But the Rens give more color and depth, more options.

http://www.helixbanjos.com
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Edited by - Helix on 10/27/2009 16:47:48

rudy - Posted - 10/28/2009:  05:28:24

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quote:

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Do I achieve this with or without a tonering?
Is there a sound difference between using a rosewood vs ebony for the finger board?
Any major things to keep in mind?

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Without. No. Yes.

Advance welcome to the wonderful world of playing what you've built with your own hands. Search is your friend in this case. There's a lot of information to be gleaned from older posts.

Visit my website for assorted banjo construction information:
http://www.bluestemstrings.com/page...onTips1.html

canderso - Posted - 10/28/2009:  19:27:01

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Thanks for the link. That is some very useful information with some very nice, clear photos.

As i still have a lot of reading to do on this site and re-reading of the books that i own, one immediate question comes to mind.

On an openback banjo, without a tone ring, does the head just get pulled down over top of the wood rim? Is there anything on top of the wood rim between the rim and the head material?

Thanks.

rudy - Posted - 10/28/2009:  19:55:28

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quote:

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On an openback banjo, without a tone ring, does the head just get pulled down over top of the wood rim? Is there anything on top of the wood rim between the rim and the head material?

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Yes, the head pulls down over the top of the rim. The outside edge usually is rounded slightly to reduce the stress introduced on the head. Most builders opt to cap the top of the rim with another (usually harder) wood such as ebony, cocobolo, wenge, etc. to form an integral wood tone ring, although it can be formed from the rim itself. The geometry is all the same, you're just substituting wood for where a different type of tone ring would be positioned.


Visit my website for assorted banjo construction information:
http://www.bluestemstrings.com/page...onTips1.html

Couchie - Posted - 10/28/2009:  19:57:29

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Bill Ricard is a good person to talk to about open back banjos. He has a lot of parts and works with a lot of builders.

Don.

O=='=(::}

http://www.doncouchie.com

canderso - Posted - 10/31/2009:  10:34:29

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Is there a standard rim height suggested for an open back banjo? What about wall thickness for the rim?

Are real skin heads sold like the fiberskyn and mylar ones, i.e. low crown, medium crown, and high crown? What would you use for a wood rim without a metal tone ring?

Thanks.

Helix - Posted - 10/31/2009:  17:04:27

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2-3/4" to 3" measured from the top inside of the head.

Well, 3/4" thick for most bluegrass. Old Time can get to 1/2", nice ones, too, that changes the size of the acoustic chamber, the 'pot', and therefore shifts the music towards bass and treble,

My opinion is that fiberskyn takes it further, a nice tubby sound, Ancient.
also that grain direction makes a big difference in how the banjo sounds,

You can buy nice skin heads from Gold Tone, Stewmac and some others, local tanners in your area should be sought out just to get some commerce going. If I was going on to Woodchuck heaven, heck yes, I'd like to be a banjo for a few more years.

If woody, then a nice 1/4" wooden lip about 3/8" thick at the top of the rim and 1/4 rounded to accept the head nicely and slightly decrease the diameter of the vibrating head. Thus an archtop woody is possible. Think gente curves, waves.

Cheers.
http://www.helixbanjos.com
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Edited by - Helix on 10/31/2009 17:06:35