mr roper - Posted - 03/11/2011:  06:00:28

Hello everyone, this is my first my first post. I recently put together the open back kit from Saga. It turned out well and is a very playable nice sounding banjo. The only problem I had was that the neck bolts were mislocated so I had to elongate the rim holes to get a proper setup.

HARDROCK KID - Posted - 03/11/2011:  08:20:45

quote:

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Originally posted by mr roper

Hello everyone, this is my first my first post. I recently put together the open back kit from Saga. It turned out well and is a very playable nice sounding banjo. The only problem I had was that the neck bolts were mislocated so I had to elongate the rim holes to get a proper setup.

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Thats a problem with a lot of the production banjos up to and including Recording King and some of the other imports. In order to keep the costs of manufacturing down the tolerances are a lot looser. Doesn't necessarily mean a person can't get a good sounding or playable banjo because the components aren't good, just costs more in getting the perfect fit that American builders try to achieve, ie, Huber, Stelling, Hatfield,etc.........

mr roper - Posted - 03/11/2011:  11:11:08

For $175 there's no way this thing could compare to an American banjo or a quality import. It was a good way to learn the parts and assembly. Even the figuring out how to get the neck to the right height showed me a lot. I learned about setup ( head adjusting, bridge placement, fret leveling,and nut slots etc.) and ended up with a working banjo to learn on.

gmo - Posted - 03/11/2011:  11:14:00

That, apparently, is a common problem with the Saga kit necks . I know the ones I have used were that way, but aside from that, generally, I feel the necks are pretty good, especially for the price !! Elongating the holes isn't in and of itself a bad thing, just doesn't look too professional and you wouldn't want to see that on a "good" custom made banjo, but it works. Have fun with your banjo.
George

dubtom - Posted - 03/11/2011:  16:50:35

Had the same problem on my Saga kit, elongated the wholes in the rim to fit,seemed easier to me than refitting the lugs. Never heard of it being a problem with Recording kings though.

mr roper - Posted - 04/01/2011:  20:34:39

My Saga open back kit is fully done. I changed out the ugly buttons and inappropriate tension nuts that came with the kit.

stringringer - Posted - 04/02/2011:  08:34:17

I have one of those very kits on order right now and hope to be receiving it any day. Hope mine turns out half as nice as yours looks. Did you have any issues with the tailpiece and bracket it mounts on? I have not recieved the kit yet, but have heard that the fit up on the tailpiece is kind of tricky.

mr roper - Posted - 04/02/2011:  08:59:26

Saga must have corrected the tailpiece problems that were described on the Save the Banjos site. The notch is already there and the coordinator rod nut looks thinner, allowing clearance for the adjuster so no problem there. I did have to rat tail file the holes in the rim to get good neck alignment. I think it was probably the neck bolts that were wrong rather than the rim holes but elongating the holes was easier than trying to move the bolts in the neck heel. I also had interference where the head ring was hitting the neck slot so there was no clearance to tighten down the head. None of these problems were unsolvable and the kit was probably more interesting this way than if everything had just bolted together. Just make sure you trial fit and check alignment early!

stringringer - Posted - 04/04/2011:  05:31:16

Thanks for the input, I am looking forward to tackling this kit. What do you think about the head that comes with it?

mr roper - Posted - 04/04/2011:  08:05:33

I'm not an experienced player so I don't know much about comparing heads. All I can say is that the banjo sounds great with the Remo Weatherking head that comes with the kit.

stringringer - Posted - 04/23/2011:  09:19:15

I have just about finished building my ok-2 kit. I have a lot of tweeking left  to do, the action is way too high and I am having problems with the tuners slipping. It kind of funny, but the one thing I wanted to get away from on entry level banjos were the guitat style tuners, now I am seriously considering putting some on this banjo. Once I get everything adjusted, I think I am going to like final results of this saga kit.

Edited by - stringringer on 04/23/2011 09:20:57

gmo - Posted - 04/23/2011:  12:15:42

Stringringer, on those Saga tuners, yeah, they are pretty bad to slip. I have found that by placing felt or leather washers between the knobs and the tuners and tightening the screws works pretty good. I have made felt washers from small (3/8" +/-) diameter felt stick-on pads (cut holes big enough to slip over tuner shaft). Guitar tuners for sure are more accurate and stay put , but they don't do much for the appearance of the banjo. I prefer planets if I can get them to hold reasonably well, and this mod to the Sagas seems to do the trick. Good luck . George

mr roper - Posted - 04/23/2011:  12:19:00

My action came out at  just under 3/32 at the 19th fret.  All I did was lower the nut slots a little. If the neck angle looks ok you might try filing the rim holes to raise the neck or shimming the heel if you need more angle ( unless the experts on the hangout think otherwise). My tuners hold very well. Try tightening the screws at the buttons a little and make sure that the strings are not binding at the nut slots.

mr roper - Posted - 04/23/2011:  14:16:49

See the current topic "lower action of strings" for ideas about raising the neck.

stringringer - Posted - 04/27/2011:  08:59:33

Thanks for the input. I have managed to tighten the tuners enough to where they are now holding ok. The lugs were placed in the wrong postition in the heel of the neck  and had to be relocated, they did not even match the spacing between the holes on the rim. Is seems like the string height is settling in a little on its own. I think I am going to file the nut slots down a little since the strings seem to be high there.