Nechville Tenor Banjo

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Nechville Owners Group

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226 Members, Created 1/27/2011 -

Administrators: Jim Pankey (owner) , brettmularkey , nechville

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From budbennett on 5/16/2012 8:39:34 AM

I have one Nechville pot and 2 Nechville necks, one tenor and one 5 string. For a time I would switch between 5 string and tenor (sometimes between sets!) but I ended up buying a B&D Silver Bell and so made the Nechville a 5 string and basically put away my tenor neck thinking I would sell it if enough time passed without me using it.

So.... I have a few jobs coming up this summer that are all outdoor, and when I was figuring which banjos to bring to them I kept thinking about the Nechville. On a whim I swapped out necks and put the tenor neck on the Nechville pot and let me tell you, the sound of that blew me away in comparison to the Silver Bell. I am totally amazed at how great the Nechviile sounds as a tenor banjo. Loud, clear, crisp, lots of bottom end-it's really a fantastic sound.

If anyone is thinking about a Nechville Tenor banjo, I can very highly recommend it! Now if I only had 2 pots I'd be all set!

6 Comments
Rick Oakes says: 6/20/2012 5:52:43 AM I have a Nechville tenor (Saturn) and I have not been able to get the sound to equal my Deering Sierra Tenor, particularly in the low end and in an even tone going up the fretboard. May I ask what head, bridge, and strings you are using? Thank you!
	budbennett says: 6/20/2012 6:15:48 AM sure! i have a black remo head on it- not the shiny one , the velvet one; i use the AMB cryogenic tenor strings: - 2nd String: 11 - 3rd String: 20w - 4th String: 24w - 1st String: 09.5 as for bridge, for a long time i was using a .75 tall bridge that was mesquite with a purple heart top and i really liked it but thought it was lacking in crispness a bit so on a whim i bought a generic Grover 2 footed bridge in whatever size is taller than .5. the difference in sound was amazing and so i've used that cheap new Grover ever since. (i'm guessing it is 5/8?) i keep the head pretty tight too and that makes a big difference. my other tenors are: B&D Silver Bell, B&D Special and a 30s era Slingerland that has been souped up a bit. all of them are different sounding and playing but honestly, for trouble free and consistant playing, i go for the nechville. the tone i get is consistant, warmer than the B&D and certainly more refined than the Slingerland. my advice is to try one of those 2 footed tenor bridges and see how that works, i was really surprised at how much better it sounded after that. what are you using?
	budbennett says: 6/20/2012 6:17:40 AM this is the bridge but mine is 5/8: elderly.com/accessories/items/G3012.htm
Rick Oakes says: 6/20/2012 10:31:33 AM Having tried a bottom-frosted white and shiny black heads I like (currently) the sound from a Renaissance head. Strings are the AMB cryogenic 10, 14, 22w, and 32w (standard tenor jazz set). I was using a Sampson walnut bridge but after your email I put a 2 footed radiused bridge (from Nechville) back on and slightly decreased the head tension. The sound is a bit better. My main criticism would be on string 4. Thank you for your prompt reasponse
	budbennett says: 6/20/2012 11:18:19 AM your 4th is a lot heavier than mine, i'm using a 24 for my fourth. if you try a lighter 4th that might help?
	budbennett says: 6/20/2012 11:38:07 AM your 4th is a lot heavier than mine, i'm using a 24 for my fourth. if you try a lighter 4th that might help?
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