I'm guessing it's a good idea not to dissemble my banjo all that often, but after several years, it does get a little dingy, and it is so much easier to clean when disassembled. What's the consensus on this? Take apart or not? I know it will take a little time to settle back in.
And is there any way to clean (brighten) the inlays on the head and the neck? I have a mint '88 Mastertone and I would like to keep it that way.
9 Comments |
 | Close-shave says:
6/16/2014 2:01:04 AM
According to the Roger H. Siminoff ("How to set up the best sounding Banjo"), once every two years a complete disassembly, polish and set up is required.
Check out his book, a must have.
Arnon
|
 | BobbyE says:
6/16/2014 3:33:00 AM
Not too sure on this one. I read about a lot of incidents where someone has taken banjo apart for some reason and can't get it back to sounding good. Guess you have to go by how confident you can get it back to where it is now if you proceed.
|
 | dpskala says:
6/16/2014 4:26:50 AM
Well, I did disassemble about 3 years ago, right after I bought my instrument. I left the neck as an assembly, and did not take the tone ring off of the rim (it was on there pretty tight, and I didn't see the need to remove it - doesn't help with cleaning). I had no problem getting it back together and sounding good.
|
Charlie B says:
6/16/2014 5:55:41 AM
If it ain't broke it doesn't need fixed - when it does, Geoff does a great (and timely) job.
|
 | Lucas Worthington says:
6/16/2014 6:32:28 AM
Do not disassemble it!! If you want to keep tone quality, the best way to clean it is to use chrome polish and Q tips. granted it will take a wile, but when finished it will look great and keeps the tone you want. I have a 07 Golden Cross and it sounds and looks great, and I have never disassemble it.
|
 | Geoff Stelling says:
6/16/2014 7:59:42 AM
I'm not afraid to disassemble any of my Stelling banjos because I know they will go back together and not have any settling in problems. I don't have that same confidence on Gibson style banjos. But, if a tone ring is stuck on a rim, I leave it alone.
|
| dpskala says:
6/16/2014 9:30:09 AM
Yeah, I would think that tone ring being stuck on rim (and a good sound) is an indicator of a pretty good fit, A good example of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's why I elected to not take mine apart.
|
Tam_Zeb says:
6/19/2014 11:18:11 PM
I am in the camp, if it ain't broke then leave well alone. If it's broke then seek professional council. Cleaning the banjo is not too difficult with some basic tools. Pencil eraser for cleaning residual dirt from the head, Can of air to get in the nooks and crannies, Simichrome metal polish for nickel plate, Gilde Cote for the wood. lemon oil for the fret board, soft cloth, cotton buds, with the resonator off you can clean 99% of the banjo. When it's time to change the head you can reach the remaining 1%. IMHO there is no need to strip down the banjo any further. If you feel the need to tinker buy a bottle top and tinker with that. My Masterflower is for playing not tinkering.
|
 | banjoman56 says:
6/20/2014 2:10:13 PM
Geoff, you answered a question that I've been wondering about and that is......Whether the ring need to fit pretty snug on the Stelling rims or if they were intended to be a slip fit like the Mastertone banjos. Glad you answered that.
|
Post a Comment
|
You must be logged in and a member of this group to post a comment.
|
