Tension: enough vs. too much

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For all things related to the use of SKIN BANJO HEADS. Calf, goat, possum, hairy, shaved, stained, pre-mounted. You name it.

380 Members, Created 3/28/2011 -

Administrators: jbalch (owner)

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From Stivini61 on 10/23/2011 3:02:13 PM

OK, I'm actually OK with the too much part. If the head splits, the tension was to high. As a first time skin head user I'm wondering of there are any rules of thumb on how tight to pull the head? Can a skin head take as much tension as a mylar head? Measurements of deflection would help most as I don't have any fancy measuring irons for head tension. The rim is 11 11/16 and the skin is a Bill Miller Vellum processed calf skin.

Thanks,

Steve

2 Comments
	carlb says: 10/24/2011 6:27:52 AM Here's my personal approach. I set my banjo head on the most humid, cool day so the strings just don't buzz with my 11/16" bridge. I never tighten the head after that expcept if I find on a humid day the strings start to buzz, then tighten just a bit, again to eliminate string buzz with my 11/16" bridge. In drier conditions, I switch to 5/8" or 1/2" bridges (only takes a minute to change a bridge). Remember with a real skin, tension rises with decreasing humidity and vice versa.
	vintagewells says: 11/7/2011 1:20:19 PM Generally that's the best. I tend to adjust them in the fall and the spring, when the weather dries out. Here in Tucson, the humidity can fluctuate from 3% to 60% in a relatively short time. We had a long humid summer and I was about to adjust them, and it is raining today! And a lousy cold day to boot, although there was a rainbow this morning and snow on the mountains. Lovely! I find that hide heads stretch over time and need a little fine tuning. How tight? Well, that depends on the sound you like. A tight hide head will give you a nice bright sound, while a looser one will give you a plunky sound. and one that is too loose will sound dull and dead. An older head will not sog up as much as a newer head in humidity as it has stretched over time. Of course that is part of the complexities of banjos. with all their little eccentricities, add a head that is temperamental....Well we do the best that we can. There is no absolute answer, but carlb's suggestion is a good one, and we can survive the humid days and pick all we want.
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