Turning down the volume on a MB-250

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Epiphone Banjo Pickers

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Where Epiphone players can come and talk about strings, setup and other tweaks to get the best tone/sound from their banjo

72 Members, Created 11/26/2011 -

Administrators: MightyMOBanjo (owner)

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From onlinedrifter on 5/10/2012 10:53:39 PM

Hi, I'm new to the Group, the Banjo Hangout as well as the banjo.

I bought the MB-250 to learn frailing and have found that my banjo is very loud. I was thinking about stuffing a towl under the head to try to quieten it down a bit. Is this the way to go or should I use foam?

I don't want to get a mute yet because I don't think the banjo is set up properly yet. I bought it new from a shop that doesn't know banjos and set up by the salesman who is a guitar player.

Any help in this matter will be much appreciated. Thank you.

5 Comments
	Vapor says: 5/10/2012 11:12:21 PM I would raise the tip of the tailpiece to about 3/16s of an inch from the head to 1/4 inch. This will reduce the volume a little if it is close to the head now. There are a lot of adjustments one can make, this is a very simple place to start.
	TheGil says: 5/11/2012 1:07:08 AM Welcome to the world of tone ring banjos! I imagine with your frailing style that baby is really loud. I've had to back off my volume considerably which has the side benefit making the rolls smoother. I've heard of the towel muting method but that takes away from the full benefit of the sound. Have you tried slicing a bit off a kitchen sponge and stuffing it under the strings behind the bridge? This will mute the sound considerably. But again, you may just have to lighten up your playing style which is a challange.
onlinedrifter says: 5/11/2012 6:18:48 AM Thanks for the replies. It's 11:07pm here in Australia at the moment so too late to do anything tonight but I'll try those methods tomorrow. I haven't actually started frailing yet, just playing around getting the feel of the banjo. Vapor, The tip of the tailpiece is fairly high now. I know I need to find a luthier or some-one to set the banjo up properly as I know very little about it.
	LGriff6250 says: 7/8/2012 7:33:48 AM I find you can significantly lower banjo volume by attaching a clothespin to either side of the bridge. Seems to affect sustain as well, which you may or may not like. I have a Korean Epi, probably made in the late 60s. No model or serial number.
onlinedrifter says: 7/9/2012 6:46:14 AM I ended up stuffing 2 towels in the banjo. One under the head and one in the resonator. It now has the same volume as a guitar or maybe slightly louder. It's still too loud to play at night but it will have to do until I buy an open back banjo.
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