Best type hide for a long neck ...

Premier Sponsors

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our privacy policy which includes details of cookie usage. Hide this notice

Long Neck Banjo

Join This Group

... 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

< Back to Home

From shannonhearne on 11/5/2012 11:48:49 AM

Hello,

I would appreciate some input on your preference for the type of hide head for a long neck banjo. And, perhaps you might explain "why" you prefer one over another.

Currently I am using a Renaissance II head, and its not half bad. But on some of my other banjos, I have changed out the Renaissance for a Balch Goat Skin head, and have been very pleased with result.

The long neck I am considering making the head change on has an 11 inch, 3 ply, 1/2 inch hard rock maple rim made by Mark Hickler, with a tubaphone tone ring and a heavy Kerschner tail piece. (So its loud and could stand to be "softened" a bit.)

In advance "Thanks" for your responses.

-shannon

4 Comments
	wesrichards says: 11/5/2012 12:40:07 PM I'm using a Rogers 3-star on a Paramount body with a Noah Wulfe mahogany neck. I put it on sloppily 50 years ago and it's still fine. But this really is a matter of taste. I lean to the plunky rather than the piercing. Great bass response.
	shannonhearne says: 11/5/2012 2:07:43 PM Hello Wes, Thanks for the info. And "yes", I fully concur that tone is a matter of taste and is very subjective at best. Your observation about "plunky" and "piercing" are on target. Relaxing the head tension, a heavier bridge, a softer touch, .... All of these adjustments and others can change tone. However, I have found choosing the right head is the perhaps the single most critical element of making the entire thing come together the way you want it. Thanks again, -shannon
	finnslr says: 11/7/2012 8:10:28 AM I also have a Rogers 3 Star on my '60 Vega. It gives it a great warm old time sound. Back in the day I wanted the same sound as Dave Guard and he had a calfskin head soooooo.
	shannonhearne says: 11/7/2012 8:55:21 AM Thanks for the info on the Guard head. -shannon
Post a Comment
You must be logged in and a member of this group to post a comment.

	Old Gray Coat Linked by Bluesage 1 month ago: My first attempt at working out this great Tony Rice composition on the open long neck. It lays our pretty well!
	Christ Church Cathedral Linked by Madame Twang 10 months ago
MP3: What Would The Prophets Say? Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago: The religious basis of authority in the Middle East (or anywhere for that matter) is the source of a lot of suffering and is unsustainable. The violence is mostly perpetrated on women and children.
MP3: You'll Never Leave Texas Alive Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago: A sad murder ballad of a sort. Some murderers wear nice clothes and use pens and paper to kill and never see their victims.
MP3: Ten Years On Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago: A lament, written for the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Sadly there are still parents who are irresponsible or foolish, and parents who suffer as a result.
MP3: Shutdown The System Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago: The pursuit of money is alienating, enervating, and exhausting. Here’s a song of resistance to finance capitalism.
MP3: Take The Wheel Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago: A song about mentorship, inspired by my mentor and HIS mentors too, that takes the form of the story of a ship’s mate being “shown the ropes”. The old sea captain may also have been a long-neck player
MP3: The Leatherwing Bat Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago
MP3: Old Rosin The Beau Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago
MP3: Deep Elm Blues Linked by jbakervt 2 years ago