I know I have an inexpensive banjo, it's an Aria. 

I love the sound of it but when I pick up near the tenth fret and up there are spots where a string will ring and others just sort of plunk no matter how hard i fret it.

It's not just the first string but that string is almost every other fret to the 11 but the 12th rings clear.

It really varies. I'm not experienced player just have fun but would like it to ring out some more.

This also has me stumped when I tune with the tuner, I play most every thing in open G tuning. if I should change the tuning as i have a tenancy to creep it up if just correcting by ear with out the tuner it sounds fine, Ahaa but if I do the fith is always dead till I get it harmonically right with the first.? 

Is the neck bad or would it be worth having a fret job done, it's a rough banjo been self adjusted many times with out the proper tools. But when i tighten the head it souds sweet to me except for the frets than don't ring out. 

I'm 70 and can get by with it I know but when i hear a decent banjo played itmake me growl a little.

Would appreciate and info that might help.

Paul

quote:

---

Originally posted by pstroud1

I know I have an inexpensive banjo, it's an Aria. 

I love the sound of it but when I pick up near the tenth fret and up there are spots where a string will ring and others just sort of plunk no matter how hard i fret it.

It's not just the first string but that string is almost every other fret to the 11 but the 12th rings clear.

It really varies. I'm not experienced player just have fun but would like it to ring out some more.

This also has me stumped when I tune with the tuner, I play most every thing in open G tuning. if I should change the tuning as i have a tenancy to creep it up if just correcting by ear with out the tuner it sounds fine, Ahaa but if I do the fith is always dead till I get it harmonically right with the first.? 

Is the neck bad or would it be worth having a fret job done, it's a rough banjo been self adjusted many times with out the proper tools. But when i tighten the head it souds sweet to me except for the frets than don't ring out. 

I'm 70 and can get by with it I know but when i hear a decent banjo played itmake me growl a little.

Would appreciate and info that might help.

Paul

---

Best guess from your description would be uneven frets.  

Getting them leveled and repeaked would most likely solve your dead notes problem, but it's awfully hard to tell exactly what's going on without seeing the banjo.

~Pete

Paul,

I can't tell you what the problem is....however, I have a few problematic frets up the neck on just certain strings on a Gibson that do exactly the same thing....the fret before/after the problematic fret will ring out... but that one note doesn't....however, the other strings at that same fret will ring out fine. Different wt. strings, different bridges, head tightening, etc...don't seem to resolve it. Hopefully, someone here has some idea.

In regard to your tuning.... have you had the banjo professionally adjusted? It might need to be completely re-set up to get the neck, coordinator rods, tailpiece, bridge, etc..where they need to be for optimal tone and playability on your banjo. Inappropriate neck relief and coordinator rod tension can really mess up your banjo. Find an experienced/professional luthier that specializes in BANJOS take a look at it and reset it up for you so that all the fine-tuning can be done appropriately and without danger of damaging your instrument. That IMHO...would be the best place for you to start.

I would first check to see it it has the right amount of neck relief. If so then it would seem to me that having the frets leveled should solve the problem.

I have similar frets on every banjo I own, including my Stelling.  i suspect it is where the note coincides with one of the inherent resonant frequencies of the tone ring.  I have looked at these using Audacity, and they fall into the 800-1khz range.  These dead spots are more apparent in my Gold Star and cover several frets in a row, vs. a single fret with the Stelling.  Think you have to live with them.

Gerry

I would first check the head tension.
It might have gone a touch loose.

A quarter under a 10" straight edge,right at the bridge with strings in tune, is a good working head tension.

Edited by - steve davis on 02/04/2012 09:43:12

On a guitar, this happens if the fret isn't properly "seated" in the fingerboard, but is sort of "floating" in the fret slot. It can be maddening.

I've not noticed this on any of my banjos however.

1.  Get the banjo set up properly, with the proper tools.  May have to take it to an experienced person.

2.  Live with it after that.  That's as good as it is going to get.  But you may be pleasantly surprised at the improvement from a thorough and good set up, including particularly trying a few different bridges (which can improve the sound greatly for small expense).

I wouldn't get any fret work done on a speculative, "if-come" basis -- hoping somehow that the banjo with magically turn into something it is not.  If there is something with the frets that is shown to be causing bad tone, then get a clear diagnosis first before spending money on fret work.