Railroad spikes for a Seeger long neck?

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Long Neck Banjo

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... for those of us who prefer the tuning and singing differences the LN provides. All questions & help welcome!

273 Members, Created 1/30/2011 -

Administrators: TonyS (owner) , Gary Blanchard , pastorharry , vega long neck

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From Herringboned on 9/28/2018 4:01:03 AM

My recently acquired Seeger had a spike at the 7th and 9th frets. But the 9th fret spike is taller than the fret so the 7th fret spike didn't work. The string didn't clear the 9th fret spike when engaged in the 7th. So I removed the 7th fret spike, and now there's just the 9th. I've got some more spikes on the way, in order to have spikes of equal height on the 7th and 9th. But the frets are very flat (as Vega did them), and I can't see how I'd get a spike in lower than the frets and still slip a string under it.

Has anyone else spiked a Seeger? In fact, just having the one 9th fret spike is fine enough, and akin to what Seeger himself did. But Having an 7th as well, if possible, might make for less string fatigue in retuning.

Thanks,

5 Comments
	tucsonsean says: 9/28/2018 9:06:25 AM Sliding 5th string capos are, IMHO, the best option for any long neck banjo. Spikes at the 5th and 7th fret are great if you're going to play in Emaj. or F#maj. A sliding capo will let you tune the 5th string to E and utilize the advantages of having those three extra frets.
	CraigRison says: 9/28/2018 11:47:26 AM I put an old B string under it and tap it down with a flat tipped punch while I have the banjo on the floor/bench and a solid block of pine (soft wood) under that area of the neck - and usually a light tap on the punch with a hammer/plastic mallet/smooth rock that weighs a pound or two - then if the B string is tight I pull it out & put a drop of super glue & wick it away with a rag and make sure it doesn't dry in the gap by pushing a piece of an old high E string under it and wiggle it a round some then leave it alone for about 5 minutes, then pull it out. Then if still buzzin I put on thick magnifiers and use a diamond file (from an inexpensive Harbor Freight set) on it - and maybe take of about .020 or it may get too thin & crack. Getting them right is often a balancing act.. also youtbe has good videos about this subject youtube.com/results?search_que...jo+spikes
	Herringboned says: 9/28/2018 1:43:43 PM I did a Google search for Pete Seeger banjos. Almost without exception, the photos I found had just one spike four frets up from the 5th peg. I called this the 9th fret in my earlier post, but of course its the 12th fret for a long neck. Duh!
	CraigRison says: 9/29/2018 12:30:03 AM I put an old B string under it and tap it down with a flat tipped punch while I have the banjo on the floor/bench and a solid block of pine (soft wood) under that area of the neck - and usually a light tap on the punch with a hammer/plastic mallet/smooth rock that weighs a pound or two - then if the B string is tight I pull it out & put a drop of super glue & wick it away with a rag and make sure it doesn't dry in the gap by pushing a piece of an old high E string under it and wiggle it a round some then leave it alone for about 5 minutes, then pull it out. Then if still buzzin I put on thick magnifiers and use a diamond file (from an inexpensive Harbor Freight set) on it - and maybe take of about .020 or it may get too thin & crack. Getting them right is often a balancing act.. also youtbe has good videos about this subject youtube.com/results?search_que...jo+spikes
	cheatinheart says: 10/24/2018 4:26:59 PM I have spikes on some of my banjos and if you dont plan on playing other songs in different keys they are great. But with a long neck its so versatile you can and will play all over neck . in my opinion tucsonsean is right. you can pick them up on ebay for about 20.00. once you get used to it you wont go back. that and a capo will put you in total control.
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