BlowingRockNC - Posted - 03/13/2015:  06:22:55

One of my banjos has a hide head. It's an A-Scale. Anyway, it plays perfectly when I'm at home, always holding proper tuning. When I go out to jams, particularly in bar/restaurants (not exactly quality places), I have a devil of a time keeping it in tune for the first hour or two. My question is: Would the difference in humidity levels between my house and the jams be capable of loosening the hide to account for this? It would have to keep loosening in order to account for it taking a couple of hours to settle down. I assume this is the problem, but I thought I would ask. Thanks.

beegee - Posted - 03/13/2015:  06:42:00

Probably. You could take a hair dryer with you and slightly warm it and see if it stays in tune better.

Crusty - Posted - 03/13/2015:  07:11:26

Mine change tone with temperature changes (morning to afternoon for instance).  I add a little tailpiece down force to get the sparkle back.

I also notice that when I first start playing in the morning the heads change the tuning once they've loosened up.  Happens in the first 15 minutes of playing though and then it gets stable.

BlowingRockNC - Posted - 03/13/2015:  08:07:42

Thanks for the comments. I thought this might be the issue.

jbalch - Posted - 03/13/2015:  10:41:53

Bill:

If I take my banjos (with natural hide heads) out to play a gig or festival, I let them acclimate to the new environment as long as possible before adjusting.  But if the head feels loose, the sound seems flat or dull, the action is too low (bridge deflecting too much), or I have head-related tuning problems.  I don't hesitate to  "tweak" the head tension in VERY small increments.  Often it requires no more than 1/32 turn on each nut.  Usually that small adjustment restores the sound and stability. To me - it is no more hassle than tuning the banjo strings.

Also, I think the reaction to changing environments may diminish over time.  Extreme changes will likely always have an impact on natural hide (like going from a air conditioned house to a tent in a rainstorm).  But as a good hide head ages I think it becomes fully stretched and more stable in all situations.  This maturation can take a long time (months or years).  But I have had some very old hide heads that virtually never need attention at all.

Best wishes!

banjoracle - Posted - 03/13/2015:  12:02:07

If you are not attached to the idea of a hide head it may be more practical to swap it out with a synthetic head. I like the Remo Renaissance heads as an approximation of a hide head.

Jeff

OK-4 - Posted - 03/13/2015:  12:05:55

Consider also that your banjo may be acclimating to a sudden change in *temperature* rather than humidity. It may not be an issue with the hide head.

Edited by - OK-4 on 03/13/2015 12:07:13