GhostChile - Posted - 10/14/2011:  12:48:48

Oh boy what an idiot am I!  I was watching a video by Geoff Houghwald(i cant spell). On making sure my banjo is set up properly. he talked about measuring distance from nut below tuners to middle of 12th fret wire. It was 13 11/16ths. when i measured from 12th fret to inside of bridge, it was 14.5 inches! And that is the way it was setup when i bought it! So I started to fix that. Went to loosen the strings a bit and pow busted the 1st string! so only backup set i had was medium martin vegas. found out the ones that were on it were either light or ultra light. not good for fat fingers. so now i cant believe the difference an inch in the bridge makes! tuned it up and the strings r so much easier to push down! also the strings r exactly 2 penny widths above 14th fret and 1 penny width above 4th fret.

Is there anything else i need to check? i know imy 5th peg is not geared, will b replacing that in a few months. any advice or comments appreciated.

Oh my banjo is a J Reynolds JR400 5 string 18 bracket!  thx, eddie

pipefitter61 - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:08:01

Welcome to the wonderful world of tinkering with banjos! LOL.... There are all kinds of things to adjust, (or not) such as truss rods, coordinator rods, tailpieces, and so on. If in doubt, ask here on the forum before you do something that might cause a problem. Most of the folks here are very helpful. There are however a few smart%$#@% on here too that can mislead you. As far as you're being an idiot. I would venture that you certainly are not. You found a problem, and you addressed it. From now on, you'll know exactly what to do, or not to do...Good luck with it bud..

Edited by - pipefitter61 on 10/14/2011 13:10:07

Fathand - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:08:39

medium martin vegas are my favourite

You may want to check your measurement again, most banjos have a scale length in the 26 1/4" range so the distance from nut to 12fret would be closer to 13 1/16", Even if you had a 27" scale the distance would only be 13 1/2".  Make sure you measure from the middle of the 12th Fret to the fretboard side of the nut. Do not measure to the middle of the nut. And if you banjo is one of those that has a zero fret, measure to that from the 12th.

GhostChile - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:15:37

Fathand, i measured at least ten times and it is 13 11/16ths" from fretboard side of nut to middle of 12th fret.

pipefitter61, this is my first ever banjo so i m trying to take it slow and do it rite. i have to wait until i get to a good BANJO shop and have them make sure. My mom bought from one of those all inclusive music stores. I have a 4 year warranty from headstock to tailpiece, but dont trust them to set it up or do anything sinc e this is the way i bought it!

just gotta remember which wat the tuners go! i saved the old strings. the broke one is first string. same diameter as 5th, so if that one breaks i can use it.

Jacob Moore - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:29:11

your not an idiot, but once you learn how to tweak things from practice, its realy not that tricky.

the bridge placement sure helps and if your gonna be playing up the neck at all, you want to make sure it's close to perfect. the easiest way i've found is if you have a clip on tuner, fret your string at the 12th fret and then do the chime at the 12th. If the chime is flat move you bridge towards the tail piece. If it's sharp you move the bridge the other way.

practice makes perfect

GhostChile - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:35:11

I m 98% sure i got it rite. i can definitely hear the difference in volume and clarity. no buzzing so i gonna practice later. gotta get those new strings stretched so they stay in tune!

Jacob Moore - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:39:32

that's truly good news :)

SaggyBottom - Posted - 10/14/2011:  13:58:51

Gee- I wish my idiot moments were as harmless.

Tinfoot - Posted - 10/14/2011:  15:10:05

eheheh - I have very often seen it mentioned that one of the very first thing quite a few people do with a "factory setup" banjo is to replace the strings... and a Snark SN-2 tuner will go along way with fretting at the 12th to ensure proper bridge placement.  The hardest part I seem to have is simply remembering that "flat = move towards tailpiece."   :P



Guess next easy step would be to check head tension - push down around the head and judge how much it gives way. If it seems to give quite a bit, tighten up 1/4 turn (no, I personally don't bother with the "cross-hatching" tightening pattern, just around in a counter-clockwise fashion)... when I did this for the first time on my original banjo - WOWOWOWOW what a difference!

Edited by - Tinfoot on 10/14/2011 15:11:47

GhostChile - Posted - 10/14/2011:  19:11:23

Ok thx to all! When that string broke it cut my hand in two places.

I do have a snark sn-2 tuner and I absolutely love it!
I will chek the head tension too tonite! It doesn't seem to have a lot of volume but I think that's cuz I m such a newb!

Tinfoot - Posted - 10/14/2011:  19:37:40

When I popped a string for the first time (was my 5th string, was actually down tuning it to loosen like you were), it slapped right up into my face. ehehe Glad I wear glasses. O-O

Anyhoo, when it comes to resonator banjos, its quite common for the player not to hear the actual full volume of what is being projected out. When you take off your resonator to tighten the head (if it needs tightening), try playing it a bit without the resonator (leaving the pot slightly angled out so its not completely muffled by the chest/belly). Should give you a clearer idea of the overall volume and "quality" as subjective that is (I usually play open back myself but have a Davison resonator banjo that I use on occasion).

blockader - Posted - 10/14/2011:  20:23:58

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tinfoot

The hardest part I seem to have is simply remembering that "flat = move towards tailpiece."   :P

---

Don't remember it that way lol, cause its backwards! if the note is flat at the 12th fret you need to shorten the string, that is, move the bridge towards the neck.

-justin

Edited by - blockader on 10/14/2011 20:24:36

steve davis - Posted - 10/14/2011:  20:33:43

The chime will always be the same as the open string.
It's how the fretted note compares to the always correct chime.

If the fretted 12th fret note is sharp to the 12th fret chime,move the bridge toward the tailpiece.
If the fretted 12th fret note is flat to the 12th fret chime,move the bridge toward the neck.

Tinfoot - Posted - 10/14/2011:  20:41:46

-head explodes-  lulz ... I r baboon.

You know how often I tried finding that critical point of info via search here on BHO but never could get the search string right?  And end up just fidgeting with the bridge El Lotto style till I get the 12th to hit on....

Gonna have to write that down on something and keep it handy till I get it ingrained....

Let's see... something catchy... like "flat necks look at sharp tails"...

Edited by - Tinfoot on 10/14/2011 20:43:41

Jacob Moore - Posted - 10/14/2011:  21:48:03

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve davis

The chime will always be the same as the open string.
It's how the fretted note compares to the always correct chime.

If the fretted 12th fret note is sharp to the 12th fret chime,move the bridge toward the tailpiece.
If the fretted 12th fret note is flat to the 12th fret chime,move the bridge toward the neck.

---

mcate - Posted - 10/15/2011:  11:12:39

As a newbie also with my first banjo when I did my first string change I took the whole thing

apart to see what made it tick and to learn about adjustments. Got it all back together, read a lot

about head tension, tailpiece adjustments, coordinator rods, and truss rods, ( plus many years

of guitar playing) and my banjo sounds great. BTW, broken strings are all part of playing, I've gotten

stuck in my hand, fingers, and arms when breaking an E or G guitar string while playing on stage. Just

keep your tetanus shot current.

GhostChile - Posted - 10/15/2011:  18:45:09

Hey all! Just chekd head tension and was loose. I was afraid of damaging it so I just went 1/4 turn in 1/16 increments. What a difference in sound! It is clear and no head or string buzz now! Chekd bridge again and is perfect! Thx to all and next year gonna enroll in academy of bluegrass! Very reasonable prices. Thx again n happy pikin n grinnin!