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Bart Reiter Banjos

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349 Members, Created 1/28/2011 -

Administrators: jbalch (owner)

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From ulrike on 11/20/2011 6:28:50 PM

Quick question> I have a White Lady Banjo, and the head is showing some serious signs of wear, like a little tear here and a blister there. When I change the head, is it a good idea to go for a skin head instead of plastic? Does it make the sound more plunky? Generally, what are the pros and cons? All my other banjos have skin heads, but I have always liked the sound of my Bart Reiter banjo. Thanks for you input. Ulrike

3 Comments
	pastorharry says: 11/20/2011 6:39:33 PM Well, if your other banjos have skin heads you understand the plus and minus of toneality versus maintenence, so you pretty much answered your own question on that one. Also, if your banjo sounded the way you liked it with it's current,(plastic?),head,I'd try to duplicate that tone you like with a similar new head. Mylar heads tend to be very uniform in both strength and tone, whereas skin seems to be all over the place.One thing you might consider, is getting a new plastic head for back up, but try the skin first, as it seems you are curious how it would do on your banjo. Remember, all the original Whyte Laydies had skin heads.....confused yet?? ;^)
	jbalch says: 11/20/2011 7:01:42 PM Does your banjo now have a Fiberskyn head? My 1994 Reiter Grand Concert originally came with a Fiberskyn head. I played it set-up that way for at least ten years. My Carry On John CD was recorded with the original head installed. My ~HOT~ Biscuit Jam cd was recorded with fiberskyn heads too. I think my banjos sounded really good set up that way...and they were totally stable and dependable. Nothing wrong with that at all.... But in the past few years, I've developed a real fondness for natural hide heads. I now have them on all my open backs (but one). Personally, I think the hide heads sound better than fiberskyn or any other mylar that I've used. I don't think my banjos sound "plunky" per se. But they have a rich tone that is just not present in plastic. Like Harry says, these tone rings were developed to enhance the tone of banjos set with skin heads and even gut strings. It stands to reason that they would sound good set that way today. best wishes. Also...check out the Hide Heads group: banjohangout.org/group/hideheads
	ulrike says: 11/30/2011 6:59:39 PM Thank you very much for your advice. For now I'll probably nurse the old head as long as possible and then change to a natural hide (just to see what it sounds like on that banjo). But I'll get a mylar back-up, to follow your advice, pastorharry. Thanks again, both of you. Ulrike
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