 | jswkingsfield says:
12/25/2015 2:58:55 PM
I would just try changing one string at a time, and see what happens, since strings are relatively inexpensive. On my FIL, I got an awful ringing if the strings were too light -- 11 was too light for my banjo's B string, and 20 too light for the 4th string. On the other hand, every one of my banjos seems to be finicky in at least one set-up respect, so it's a matter of dialing in per the banjo's personality.
Oh, and before you do anything else, you might want to check the head tension. When a banjo is new, a couple of weeks is enough for the new head to stretch and go a little slack.
|
 | stanger says:
12/25/2015 11:20:43 PM
I've played quite a few Pruchas. He seems to prefer an 11/16 over 5/8 on his original models, but uses a 5/8 on his versions of the old American standard banjos he makes.
He always builds to have a very similar action for any bridge height he chooses. His action may be a bit high for a player with a very light string attack, but I've never needed any major adjustment to to the 2 I own. One is set up for playing bluegrass, and is a tad bit lower than the other, an openback, that's set up for playing as much clawhammer as 3-finger.
I always use medium gauges, but recently discovered that some signature sets of mediums are different than others. I call them the 'Southern Boy' mediums, as they're all the preferred gauges of guys like Sonny Osbourne, J.D. Crowe, and other southerners. These sets are typically heavy on the 1st and 2nd strings, and lighter on the 3rd and 4th strings than typical non-signature sets.
This makes the overall feel about the same to me, but the 4th string can buzz when my naturally heavy attack gets a little too heavy.
The things I've learned about the Pruchas is they are very responsive to small changes in head tension, down pressure from an adjustable bridge, and the differences of the heads themselves. Prucha himself said he liked the Renaissance heads on his banjos over the standard Remos a few years back, but he's constantly changing some of his preferences, and as far as I know, he's still using a standard Remo on his own banjo.
They do all seem to have a narrow sweet spot when it comes to head tension. His top-tension banjos all seem to prefer a tighter Remo head, and his standard pot models all seem to prefer a looser Ren head. I've tinkered a lot with the tension on both of mine lately, because I've been experimenting with different gauges that the ones I've used for decades, and with every string change, I really don't know what to expect. Sometimes the sweet spot remains intact, and other times, it goes away, but a small tweak in head tension one way or the other, usually brings it back.
When the head tension is right on, whoo-boy. But if a string over-rings, I've found that sometimes, cranking or lifting the tailpiece does a better job than messing with the head.
I've also noticed a Prucha is a bit more susceptible to seasonal changes than some other brands, and will stay funky until it's re-aligned itself. When mine are this way, I usually force a bit of looseness in the head by pushing it hard with my thumbs, making the head stretch a little bit against its will. It doesn't always work.
Another thing I pay attention to are the bridge feet. They have to be completely on the head or the sound gets funky. Since all of his bridges have a back-slant sanded on the feet, a bridge that's too vertical will leave one edge of the feet up and off the head a tiny bit. This usually doesn't make much of a difference on other banjos, but it does on Pruchas.
|
 | GoldSprkl says:
1/15/2016 6:05:45 PM
I think its a personal preference thing but I had the opportunity to talk with Jarda at length while he spent 30 minutes setting up my banjo at IBMA last year. I play a Spirit, Alison Brown with a Massif walnut resonator. The Pruchas come shipped with 11/16 bridge and GHS Cryogenic strings. The action was way too high for me as I have left hand problems. I switched to a new generation Snuffy Smith compensated and love it! Jarda wasn't too happy I switched. I put Elixer mediums on both my banjos and swap out the WAY TOO FAT .016 for a GHS .014 and I have the exact sound I am looking for.
Stranger makes some excellent points above about Pruchas being susceptible to seasonal changes (which we don't have in San Diego) and for this reason, Jarda said that it needs to be tweeked every 6 months, especially head tuning! If you ever get a chance to go to IBMA, Merlefest or Wintergrass...do yourself a favor and sit and jaw with Jarda as long as you can...A WEALTH of knowledge!
|
