guitdawg - Posted - 09/30/2011:  12:37:10

tune-bot.com/

Don't know about it yet, but it seems like "scratching the head" and torque wrenches for this adjustment could be a thing of the past...

steve davis - Posted - 09/30/2011:  12:40:38

I'll go "John Henry" on any machine with my free tap note.

Fast,accurate and free.

Edited by - steve davis on 09/30/2011 12:42:41

xnavyguy - Posted - 09/30/2011:  13:25:28

That tune bot will probably accurately tune your banjo to a certain note but it will not tell you if the head tension is even.  The most accurate way to measure head tightness on a banjo is to use a drum dial.  That isn't to say that it will tell you an exact note but it will, very accurately, tell you the head tension.  Your job, if you choose to accept it is to set the head tension to where you like the way it sounds irregardless of the method you use to get the tension even.  I use a combination of humming into the banjo back and head taps to get within range.  Once I've done that, I play it to see whether or not it is responsive, focused and clear.

Bumnote - Posted - 09/30/2011:  13:38:23

I was in a workshop class with Gregg Deering of Deering banjos at the weekend.  He said that it had been proved that a drum dial cannot accurately tune the head of the banjo.  They had carried out tests and none of the banjos tested which had been tuned using a drum dial had the same note from it even though the drum dial had tunned them all to the same. He reckoned that the only way to do it was still by ear using the traditional "tap" test.  Thankfully I don't have to do it to my own, but I thought I would share his fews as it was still fresh in my mind.

country frank - Posted - 09/30/2011:  14:03:05

A drum dial.



No question about it.

....coupled with Jerry's post [above], sage advice indeed.

Edited by - country frank on 09/30/2011 14:09:09

uncle.fogey - Posted - 09/30/2011:  14:28:04

All right, I know this isn't going to answer the question, but you have to know what you're after - you have to tighten the head until the banjo sounds the way you like it.  Earl said, referring to skin heads, "we'd tighten them until the broke, then back off".

I can tune the head to some certain pitch if I want to via the piano, but I don't do that any more. The more you rely on measuring devices and digital tuners, the farther you get from really knowing what sounds right or (in the case of digital tuners) is in tune.

The head has to be tight - I look at the head under the bridge, and tighten the head until it doesn't sag much there.  As for even tension, someone talked about a "wrist gauge"- something like that.  You go all around the rim, and you can see if one nut is tighter than the next by feel. 

If I was trying to learn this, I'd look at a banjo I thought sounded good and tap on the head and look at the deflection under the bridge.

You have to learn to trust your instincts and your ear - if it sounds good to you, it's good.  If it doesn't, it's not.  Fool with it, experiment, listen, learn.

I've been playing and building for 45 years and I don't own a drum dial or a digital tuner - never have, never will.

xnavyguy - Posted - 09/30/2011:  15:18:25

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bumnote

I was in a workshop class with Gregg Deering of Deering banjos at the weekend.  He said that it had been proved that a drum dial cannot accurately tune the head of the banjo.  They had carried out tests and none of the banjos tested which had been tuned using a drum dial had the same note from it even though the drum dial had tunned them all to the same. He reckoned that the only way to do it was still by ear using the traditional "tap" test.  Thankfully I don't have to do it to my own, but I thought I would share his fews as it was still fresh in my mind.

---

 I didn't say that a drum dial could be used to "tune" a banjo head.  What I intended to say was that, with a drum dial, you can get the head tension absolutely equal all around the head.  No other method allows you to do that.  Whether or not the tension read by the drum dial is the right tuning is yet another question that can only be answered by using a trained set of ears.

steve davis - Posted - 09/30/2011:  15:38:20

My tension hoop tells me that my head is evenly tensioned.
That,and the feel of each nut in succession when I tighten a head is a powerful combination of two senses (vision and touch) to achieve the goal of eveness.

DeanT - Posted - 09/30/2011:  15:46:54

I'm still totally low tech. Tubby means too loose, and shrill means too tight, and the sweet spot between the two isn't that big. Adjust accordingly and make sure the nuts are evenly tight. Then play. This type of topic is always interesting to me. I could use a torque wrench, and then a drum dial, or even a tune bot or magic mojo dust... and then as soon as I play my banjo, I will know in a few notes if it's loose or tight... and will adjust accordingly. So in reality, the gadgets weren't needed in the first place.