Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/399350
Bruce Berry Banjos - Posted - 09/12/2024: 10:03:44
I'm posting this in OT-Other, because we can assume most Bluegrass folks idealize pre-war Gibson specs.
So for the open-back crowd, I'd like to take a little survey.
Of course there are different ways of achieving the same goal, and like anything, pro's and con's to each approach.
I don't really believe one way is superior to another, and I value the merits of each.
So I like to build banjos with all of these characteristics.
But I'm curious to know what your 'perfect banjo' looks like.
I don't want to get lost in the minutiae of things which might be changeable in future i.e. head, bridge, tailpiece, etc.
So I'll keep it to these four categories:
1. 11" or 12" pot?
2. Steam-bent or block rim?
3. Perchpole or coordinator rods?
4. 25.5 or 26.25 scale length?
Thanks for participating..
dbrooks - Posted - 09/12/2024: 10:20:33
1. 11" pot
2. Steam-bent rim
3. Perchpole
4. 25.5 scale length
David
jacot23 - Posted - 09/12/2024: 10:49:18
quote:
Originally posted by dbrooks
1. 11" pot
2. Steam-bent rim
3. Perchpole
4. 25.5 scale length
David
DITTO!
#5 - 1-3/8" nut width...
Silver_Falls - Posted - 09/12/2024: 11:46:40
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. yes
Joel Hooks - Posted - 09/12/2024: 13:14:15
1. 11" or 12" pot? Both, it depends on my mood, overall I seem to play 12" more.
2. Steam-bent or block rim? Nickel rim with wood lining, also called "spun" or "clad" rims.
3. Perchpole or coordinator rods? Dowel Stick (I'm in the US).
4. 25.5 or 26.25 scale length? For 11" 26.5 is pretty much the minimum, 27 being ideal. For 12" 27.5 minimum
Bill Rogers - Posted - 09/12/2024: 13:19:59
11
Steambent
Dowelstick
26.5”
Add:
Bracket band
Electric (Whyte Laydie) tone ring
DH#52 - Posted - 09/12/2024: 13:20:05
What David Brooks (above) said.
Steve
banjered - Posted - 09/12/2024: 14:32:03
I prefer the 12" rim but you had best do both.
I dislike any rim thicker than 3/8" so is that only possible with stem bent?
I prefer the dowel.
These days 25.5" scale.
Another thing very important to me is building the neck wide enough at the fifth fret such that the strings are not crammed together. Some makers, even some famous ones, would build the neck too narrow. Once you put a capo on the second fret for old time keys A, A#, and D it becomes difficult to not accidentally mute the fifth string on tunes. banjered
TheLastWord - Posted - 09/12/2024: 14:36:51
11"
Block or steam bent and like 1/2" rims or thinner.
Dowel
25.5 scale or shorter.
Bruce Berry Banjos - Posted - 09/12/2024: 14:59:42
Thanks to everyone for their valuable input.
Y'all can call it a dowel if you want, that's fine.
But technically a dowel is cylindrical.
So even though I'm from the US, I call mine perchpoles.
(I kinda like the birdcage implication anyway) ;)
mike gregory - Posted - 09/12/2024: 15:12:12
Which do I prefer??
Looking at banjos is rather like looking at a ballroom full of beautifully be-gowned women.
I admire them all, and simply regret that I may only gaze from afar.
Bruce Berry Banjos - Posted - 09/12/2024: 15:48:45
quote:
Originally posted by mike gregory
Which do I prefer??
Looking at banjos is rather like looking at a ballroom full of beautifully be-gowned women.
I admire them all, and simply regret that I may only gaze from afar.
Well said, Mike!
I can't agree more!
Lew H - Posted - 09/14/2024: 12:13:05
I don't have a perfect banjo. I like a lot of different timbres they produce. I have banjos with pots ranging from 10 1/2 inches to 11 13/16. inches I like the bass-ier sound of the larger pot and and I also like the treble sound of the smaller pot.
I do like the shorter scale and co-rod (s). The shorter scale enables me to stretch my fingers across more frets, and makes my shoulder hurt less. I thing co-rods make for a tighter and more stable joint of the neck to the pot. It's better technology.
You didn't ask about neck width, but I like a wide neck. Partly because my fingers are arthritic and have bone spurs. A wide neck is easier for me to play on. My favorite neck is 1 3/8 inches at the I have to pick for a while on my old Kay (1 inch nut) or the similar Paramount conversion before I am able to fret just the one string that I want. That ability disappears in a few hours.
R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 09/18/2024: 04:45:58
Sticking to the options you've allowed:
1. 12"
2. Steambent
3. Perchpole
4. 25.5
raybob - Posted - 09/19/2024: 22:22:05
1. 11”
2. Steam bent
3. Dowel stick
4. 25.5 (or shorter)
Dean T - Posted - 09/19/2024: 22:34:13
I don’t have personal preferences. I just try banjos, if I like them they stay, if I don’t they go. Of the 14 banjos I’ve owned, only one has stuck, that I can’t put down and won’t let go. It’s my beloved low budget mass produced Deering Americana. Which has:
12” rim
Steam bent
Co-rod
26 1/4” scale
Lwadams4 - Posted - 09/20/2024: 04:40:39
1. 11” pot
2. Steam-bent rim
3. Perchpole
4. 25.5 scale length
5. 1-3/8” nut width
ceemonster - Posted - 10/03/2024: 16:52:12
1. 12-inch pot for Brass hoop and "Woody" OBs, case-by-case for full tone-ring OBs
2. Steam-bent or block rim? Both:
---Steam-bent so long as proper 2-ply or BG 3-ply, not multi-ply
---Block is case-by-case. Can be great.
3. Perchpole or coordinator rods?
---Both. But starting to think co-rods are smarter and perchpole/dowelstick is just silly oldtime "PC", as well as a PITA
4. 25.5 or 26.25 scale length?
---Prefer 25.5 for comfortable fret reach and bassy warmth. Love my 25.5" Ramseys and Chuck Lees.
---But also love my 26.25" Bart Reiters because the necks and nuts are sooooo comfortable.
Edited by - ceemonster on 10/03/2024 16:53:51
hbick2 - Posted - 10/05/2024: 05:14:37
1. 10 3/4" rim
2. Full-spun or half-spun rim with regular Electric tone ring or inverted Electric tone ring
3. Dowel stick
4. 26-26.25" scale
I've owned a number of Fairbanks banjos and a few Vega banjos. I always seem to like the 10 3/4" rims better than the 11" or larger ones. The sound is much clearer and there are less overtones. I prefer the taller Special Electric tone rings or the inverted Electric tone rings usually found on Imperial Electric banjos before 1900 or so. Here are examples of both:
