bublnsqueak - Posted - 11/20/2009:  12:52:28

I have a Countryman Pro openback. It is my first upgrade and I am very interested to learn about setup. It has planetary tuners and a tone ring, so I think the quality is reasonable. I have tightened the rennaisance head and put on a slightly better bridge.

If I pluck a single string the sound seems to go on for a long time. If I damp that string some sound continues for the same period of time. I can only assume the other strings are vibrating. Or is this the tone ring?

There seems to be two issues here, both of which would seem to compromise the definition of the individual notes:
The long sustain and the lack of insulation between strings.

Is this what those stepped bridges are for?
Or is it about stuffing socks against the head?

I'm not sure whether prolonged sustain is a good thing. I don't like it much. I like other aspects of the sound.

Anyhoo - could someone give me a clue on how to control sustain?

Thanks in advance
Confused!
Paul

Helix - Posted - 11/20/2009:  16:46:25

In the old days, the makers all went looking for sustain to be heard from the stage. they had skin heads and humidity, instrument cases became good luggage.

So different tone rings came into use, they didn't have the technology that we have, and I still think they did pretty good. But if you gain sustain, you seem to lose mid-range and bass. And the weight became prohibitive. Let's use our noggins.

Now you are noticing what many people find. So there is some tradeoff, you have a good banjo, look for a nicer bridge. Make some bridges, they're really cool to make.

The 'stepped' bridges sound like compensated bridges, they work, Hatfield's got a great one.

Sustain can be controlled by loosening the tailpiece, loosening the head:

Snap = attack
Crackle = Sustain
Pop = decay.

Now you can see how which tone ring and what kind of rim actually do make a great difference. Good luck, does this help?

bublnsqueak - Posted - 11/21/2009:  00:47:54

Very helpful thanks.

I may have bought something designed to sustain?

It has a 'no knot' tailpiece.

I will experiment.

Thanks for your input
Paul

diarmaid - Posted - 11/21/2009:  12:56:07

Paul, you could try a thinner bridge (or thinning down the bridge you have) and a tailpiece like a kershner that can be adjusted to give more downwards pressure on the strings should help reduce the sustain, you could stick some masking or insulating tape on the inside of the skin this would help to reduce the sustain, if youre ever over in Ilford, i could try to help you with it.

Ol Lefty - Posted - 11/21/2009:  16:58:18

Funny-one of my favorite things about a banjo is "church-bell-like" sustain. Did none of you learn the old folk tune"Ring, ring the banjo;I love that good old song!Come along my true love, oh where you been so long????" The chiming sustained overtones you are trashing(in the sense of "disposing of") are music to my ears.

What I assume, is that the preference of which you speak is "old-time" construction and style-though with my first open back from the 60"s,(that's the 1960's, you smart alecks!!) frailing still brought out the bells. My Fults Parallel 34 graft gave my banjo the crisp attack and allowed those sustained overtones-yet, they do not overwhelm the successive notes picked-when I snap, or squeeze, pinch or rake it is like those beautiful churchbells.(As a guitarist, I think of 6 strings as pianos and 12 strings as pipe organs[sorry for the metaphors and similes])

OR-perhaps you are speaking of the dreaded "wolftone"-I've had to chase a few of those down and kill them in guitars I have built. VERY Ol'Lefty