profbob - Posted - 05/03/2012:  05:25:21

My wife and I will be at a cabin in mountains for a while and she does not want me to bring the banjo for practicing.

Is there a quiet way to practice (special picks, for example, nylon strings?)?

Tripwire - Posted - 05/03/2012:  05:29:25

Build yourself a gas can banjo, my wife really appreciates mine

OldTimeGal - Posted - 05/03/2012:  05:42:18

An equitable solution might be to supply hearing protectors - I've always thought that while one person has a right to have silence, another has a right to make musical sound. So I went to the hardware store and bought myself a pair of shop hearing protectors (Peltor brand works really well), so now when my next door neighbor is practicing on his instrument and I want peace and quiet, I just slip them on my head and noise be gone. An opportunity to play the banjo out in nature sounds grand.

kb2dhg - Posted - 05/03/2012:  05:49:21

I know, I have the same problem. I practice every time i am alone thats it...
I live, unfortunately in the City.. All I hear around me is that dam crap rap music... So I take me Banjo out on the balcony, and play as loud as I can!

WalterVA - Posted - 05/03/2012:  06:09:08

There are several threads about muting the banjo, from stuffing a towel in the rim to purchasing a banjo mute.  I use a Mike's Banjo Mute, and it works great.  I use it when my wife goes to bed, and she doesn't hear anything--at least she says she doesn't hear anything.

Since you'll be in the mountains, you always have the option of taking the banjo outside and adding your playing to the music that has rung through the mountains for years.

Happy pickin'.

Walter

casinojack - Posted - 05/03/2012:  06:24:46

Mike's Banjo Mute - GREAT

big bird - Posted - 05/03/2012:  06:25:56

A mute works well but works even better and will really quiet your banjo is to stuff a terry towel in the resanator between the head and the rim rod's

Big Bird

bkdraft - Posted - 05/03/2012:  06:40:00

Get the Mike's Mute, works great!

DeanT - Posted - 05/03/2012:  07:09:28

My old Telecaster is strung with 5 strings and tuned like a banjo. I even spiked the 5th string, so it plays identical to my banjo. It has provided hundreds of hours of quiet practice.

Premsore - Posted - 05/03/2012:  07:27:33

Duh, yeah go out and buy a Telecaster. I travel a lot and take my 5 string with me and staying in hotels requires some semblance of quiet. I bought Mike's banjo mute about a year ago and it does the trick. No distortion in sound, actually makes you a little more agressive in your playing.
Or you can buy a Telecaster, or maybe even a les Paul.

liverlipsyyz - Posted - 05/03/2012:  07:34:52

i agree about mike's banjo mute. mikesbanjomute.com/ it is a marriage saver! i put it on and play when my wife and 5 year old go to bed and they don't hear a thing. it's fantastic!

Premsore - Posted - 05/03/2012:  08:01:24

Hey, you'll be in a cabin IN THE MOUNTAINS! I grew up in the mountains of Western NC, and believe me that you playing a banjo at a cabin will not bother anybody other than the little lady. The black bears there enjoy banjo music. If you go hiking and see a load of poop on the trail with banjo strings and tuners in it, you know it's black bear poop.

Stoned_Mojo - Posted - 05/03/2012:  09:53:47

What about just walking 300 ft or so away and playing in them great outdoors? Sounds like the easiest solution.

DeanT - Posted - 05/03/2012:  10:46:41

quote:

---

Originally posted by Premsore

Duh, yeah go out and buy a Telecaster. I travel a lot and take my 5 string with me and staying in hotels requires some semblance of quiet. I bought Mike's banjo mute about a year ago and it does the trick. No distortion in sound, actually makes you a little more agressive in your playing.

Or you can buy a Telecaster, or maybe even a les Paul.

---

Laugh and make all the jokes you want. It works for me, and it works well. I prefer it to all the mutes and clothes pins, and foam, and towels, and rags and other attempts at not waking up my wife or driving her insane. Not only that, I can use earphones and the potential becomes unlimited. Knowing what know now, had I not played guitar, and not owned my Telecaster, I would still find a cheap electric guitar and convert it for absolute quiet practice. Or possibly take it one step further and get a Tranjo.

Edited by - DeanT on 05/03/2012 10:47:42

Premsore - Posted - 05/03/2012:  12:02:27

Good point. Since I've never played guitar, I would have a lot to learn using this technique. Where do you place your right ring finger and pinky? Can you put a snuffy bridge on the telecaster? 5/8" crowe spacing?
It's lighter than a banjo, I'm sure, so that would be a plus too when you're traveling. This could be a new trend. Thank you for opening my myopic eyes on this.

5 finger ninja - Posted - 05/03/2012:  14:29:21

get one wooden clothes pin and clamp it on the top end of the bridge  so its not in the way of picking. Its works fantastic and costs about ten cents. I bought a whole bag of banjo mutes for 5 bucks from family dollar lol.

Edited by - 5 finger ninja on 05/03/2012 14:36:12

DeanT - Posted - 05/03/2012:  14:46:10

quote:

---

Originally posted by Premsore

Good point. Since I've never played guitar, I would have a lot to learn using this technique. Where do you place your right ring finger and pinky? Can you put a snuffy bridge on the telecaster? 5/8" crowe spacing?

It's lighter than a banjo, I'm sure, so that would be a plus too when you're traveling. This could be a new trend. Thank you for opening my myopic eyes on this.

---

The spacing ends up being pretty close to standard, and the height is like playing a 1/2" tall bridge. Very low. It really makes you clean up your accuracy, and teaches you not to hit the instrument with your picks. Your plant fingers end up somewhere on the pick-guard, no problem. It only takes a few minutes to get used to it, and when you get back to your banjo, it's actually easier to play (I use Crowe spacing too). And you know, looking at my Tele hanging on the wall... if it were say, a pawn shop beater Squire or something... I don't see any reason someone couldn't remove the factory bridges, and string it up with an actual banjo bridge. 

ambpicker - Posted - 05/03/2012:  14:55:42

I have the same situation. I started a thread about this topic about a month or so ago.
I decided to purchase from Elderly a 5 string electric guitar looking banjo. I think it's called a banjoblaster or something.
It came in red sunburst, looks like a Fender guitar.
It plays great. Since I don't have to worry about the volume, it has actually helped me to develop a more aggresive manner of playing.
I don't even plug it in to an amp, hell you can play it as is, and it has sufficient volume to be it's own instrument.
The first day I got it, I went to a neighbor's house who is a pro guitar player / singer, he plays at bars and such. That was fun. He had no idea I played any musical instrument. We plugged it in to these giant amps and speakers and such, it was cool !!!

archtop717 - Posted - 05/03/2012:  15:47:18

Go out side.  If she still complains, get a new wife.

thetexan - Posted - 05/03/2012:  16:06:54

The answer is clear.  Tell her the banjo doesn't want you to bring your wife, but if she must come she has to sit on the porch at least one hour each day.  The first thing in solving the problem of playing quitely is to test for Husband Weenie Syndrome (HWS).  This is a very common malady among banjo players (please see my blog entitles 'Overcoming Obstacles').

No seriously.  I would rent two cabins, one for you and your partner for life, and the other one for your wife.

No really seriously.  Reconsider the whole threesome thing and leave one at home.  She will understand.

No really, really seriously.  You are the man of the house, the hunter/gatherer, the future Grand Ole Opry star in training that will bring home the big bluegrass bucks!  Establish some rules! Be a man.....not a wimpering, 'yes dear', 'whatever you say, dear' banjo wannabe baby like the rest of us!

We are all looking up to you.  You have the opportunity to be a real role model for the rest of us....for all of our sakes....and future of all male banjo players everywhere.  That's a big responsibility.

tex

Jim Yates - Posted - 05/03/2012:  16:09:03

banjohangout.org/topic/219109

banjohangout.org/topic/228835

Edited by - Jim Yates on 05/03/2012 16:10:45

jchipps_1 - Posted - 05/03/2012:  19:13:43

Mikes Banjo Mute.

You'll really like it and your wife will love it.

teletodd - Posted - 05/04/2012:  05:47:56

Re: Telecaster conversion: What guage strings? What do the loop ends attach to or do you somehow make them ball end strings? Wonder if a Stratocaster might be more fun with a whammy bar. Query the point; Scruggs-Van Halen style!

DeanT - Posted - 05/04/2012:  07:37:25

>Re: Telecaster conversion: What gauge strings?<

Normal set of electric guitar strings. Use the first four. For the 5th string, use a single high E string. Usually a .09 or .010. There really isn’t any “conversion” involved. Just string with 5 strings, tune like a banjo and play. You can tune the 5th string full length up to the high G, but if you fret it, it differs from a real banjo. I did this for awhile, and it was fun... but I started getting used to it, and actually made some performance mistakes because of it. So, I simply spiked the 5th string at the 5th fret, and now it plays identical to my banjo.

OldFox - Posted - 05/04/2012:  07:41:54

I have Mike's Mute, and it's good, but since I tightened the head of my RB-250 it's still too loud for my wife who has very sensitive hearing, among other problems, which prevent her from enjoying anything that I enjoy, even though she enjoyed music in the past, and loved to sing.  I have been playing w/o picks, but now starting to use them again.  When the weather warms up a bit I may move to the shed - for practice that is. 

OldFox - Posted - 05/04/2012:  07:42:53

Love the idea of an electric guitar too.  Must look around. 

teletodd - Posted - 05/04/2012:  10:57:46

RE Telecaster conversion, how did you spike the 5th string? I'd like to avoid a spike hole in the neck. I might try one of those bic pen cap spikes. Theres a video on you tube on how to make them.

OldFox - Posted - 05/04/2012:  12:04:02

Try This: youtube.com/watch?v=b8JhPOdeD4k  Only takes a minute to make and is free.  Worth a try!

5 finger ninja - Posted - 05/04/2012:  12:21:27

aligator clip on the tele string...it works! far as i can it dont have to be a tele either im sure a strat would be fine lol

Edited by - 5 finger ninja on 05/04/2012 12:23:21

DeanT - Posted - 05/04/2012:  12:55:32

I used a spike. Compared to some of the other soul on my Tele, the microscopic hole, if the spike is ever removed, would go unnoticed.

Some other notes on the Tele. If you weave some yarn/paper/plastic/experiment... into the strings just in front of the bridges to kill some sustain, you can plug it in and get pretty darn close to an electric banjo sound. Also, if your into local open mic and jams, take your 5 string tele to say a blues jam, and try some of your Scruggs stuff :) you wanna talk about fun. And one more thing, going with 5 strings on a Tele is definitely nothing new. One of the most famous rock guitar players, and some of the most famous rock songs in history were played on a Tele, with 5 strings, tuned open G (the only difference being a low G as opposed to a high G).

teletodd - Posted - 05/04/2012:  16:23:05

My tele has a glossy maple neck and fretboard, it might chip.

Klondike Waldo - Posted - 05/04/2012:  17:26:56

Back to The original Question:

ProfBob, you can use the spring-loaded type clothespins on the bridge to mute the banjo even if you use a compensated bridge. Quick, easy, cheap and immediately reversable.

profbob - Posted - 05/07/2012:  11:27:46

Just got Mike's Mute in the mail, slapped in on and love it.

I even think my playing is a little better without the "loud noise" to distract me while practicing speeding up the tempo.

Even though my wife doesn't mind my playing without it in the house, I think I'll leave it on for a while to really see if it improves my practicing.

OldTimeGal - Posted - 05/07/2012:  13:59:14

I live in an apartment building, unfortunately, and am worried about neighbors complaining, so thought I'd better add a mute.  I just put this one together this afternoon using a piece of rosewood - not sure if it's the right way to do it, but the banjo is definitely quieter.

Handmade Mute - Front

Handmade Mute - Back

banjonoise - Posted - 05/08/2012:  20:18:08

Electric guitar conversion is a good bet.... Im using one untill I can drive nine hours in june to get my banjo!!!

somarmd - Posted - 05/14/2012:  14:56:50

quote:

---

Originally posted by casinojack

Mike's Banjo Mute - GREAT

---

Just bought one of Mike's Banjo Mute's.....have to say it is great!   I can practice whenever I want and not feel guilty...:)

richla - Posted - 05/15/2012:  07:21:20

I wanted to offer my strong support of the guitar conversion idea. I started here a bit over two years ago and didn't know if I'd really stay with a banjo (that question was quickly answered) and put up a post about my idea, not realizing that a lot of people beat me to it, I converted a Japanese copy of a strat, a guitar I have had for 30 years, to banjo tuning, throwing away the top string and replacing the 5th string with a high E string.
I have never spiked the first string, but it seems to work great for me.
Leave it unplugged and it's a nice quiet "banjo", and while I have since then bought a banjo, I love my conversion. Of course, I love strats. Now I love banjos, too!

phb - Posted - 05/15/2012:  07:59:38

quote:

---

Originally posted by richla

I converted a Japanese copy of a strat, a guitar I have had for 30 years, to banjo tuning, throwing away the top string and replacing the 5th string with a high E string.

I have never spiked the first string, but it seems to work great for me.

---

There are two options when converting an electric guitar to a silent banjo: you can either leave the slot of the 1st string or of the 6th string empty. I'm not sure which one is the better. Opinions and reasons? I'm not likely to use the left-hand thumb on the 5th string so I guess I would leave the slot of the 6th string empty. Or make a 5+1-string banjo with an added lower G...

McUtsi - Posted - 05/15/2012:  09:04:15

An electric guitar w/  spike on 5th is not a bad idea...it´s not a banjo,but it

does the trick when You´re approaching wit´s end.McUtsi

John Allison - Posted - 05/15/2012:  10:08:16

I use a piece of foam rubber (the type that paint brushes are made of) stuffed between the strings and the head just in front of the bridge. Works great and is cheap. If that is not enough, I will practice without pics.

somarmd - Posted - 05/18/2012:  17:17:31

Well....Not sue if this is a compliment or not? Today my wife was listening to me practice a few tunes with my Mike's Mute on. She said "I could listen to that all day long". She doesn't say that without the mute!

I'll take it as a compliment.......:) ha-ha

MikeHutchison - Posted - 05/20/2012:  11:58:30

There's also the mesh head option, a good one if you have extra banjos lying around.

I have a $40, craigslist special, "Spencer" banjo for practice that I put a mesh head on. You used to be able to buy pre mounted 11" mesh heads but they're no longer available, so you have to make one up. I used plain old vinyl window screen mesh from the hardware store, and bent some #5 copper wire (used for ground wire of houses) into a flesh hoop. Mount as you would a skin head.

It works great. My practice banjo has a resonator, which I leave on for two reasons: 1) so that the banjo sits in my lap the same way as my real banjo, so I don't learn bad habbits from picking at a different angle, and 2) while the head doesn't make any sound, some vibrations make there way down through the rim and are amplified by the resonator, which I guess in this application is techincally acting as a soundboard rather than a resonator. Quiet enough to practice at all hours of the night in a spare room but loud enough I can hear it over the air conditioner, refrigerator, etc. With an open back it's very nearly silent. It sounds approximately like a banjo (but, then this cheap thing only sounded approximately like a banjo even with a real head on it).

The neck on my practice banjo is thicker than the one on my real banjo, so I'm watching craigslist for something more similar that I can swap it out with. Partly because of that, I try to do my serious technique work on the real banjo and stick to just learning new material on the practice axe, which works out pretty well because it's learning new stuff that is the most objectionable for innocent bystanders. Honestly I wouldn't want to have to hear it either.

None of this was my idea by the way...
banjohangout.org/archive/217865

Hankon5 - Posted - 05/20/2012:  23:38:32

When the wife gives me that stare coming downstairs where I am pickin' up a storm, I pull the reso off and stuff it with a small towell and put a mute on the bridge for extra strengh sound proffing. It stops the sound cold!!! Sounds like a commercial!!!!  If that don't work--tell her you need a brand new banjo lijke an ESS or a stelling which are much quieter!!!!! She may bite --who knows!

Edited by - Hankon5 on 05/20/2012 23:40:35

stanger - Posted - 05/21/2012:  01:04:27

Ear plugs for everyone.

regards,

stanger

Flipperman - Posted - 05/21/2012:  15:27:22

Are you kidding me? A cabin in the mountains is the best place to play a banjo! Let that banjo ring and echo off the mountain, the way God intended.

:)

Fultoncreek - Posted - 05/21/2012:  21:39:10

My wife can't sleep if there's any noise at all happening (like the breathing of a small bird in an adjoining county), and I usually don't get a chance to pick until relatively late in the evening. Bad combination. So I got an open-back banjo with a Mike's mute, and I stuffed a handkerchief between the rod and the head--right under the bridge. But at times that was still too loud. (I'm not kidding.) The final answer came when we got a white noise machine and put it beside the bed. That white noise machine, along with the mute and the handkerchief, did the trick.