Hello all!
I had the honor of getting to play my banjo in our church's worship service a couple Sunday's back. Our normal church service band has drums, keys, electric & acoustic guitars, violin/fiddle, and lots of singers. The congregation is large. We did a smattering of Fanny Crosby Hymns, which is why they requested banjo (and some mandolin), which gave it some fun "bluegrassy" or "folky" flavor. We had a lot of fun with it, and I was able to come up with arrangements that fit the songs and instrumentation nicely so as to blend with the band. Many people commented how good it sounded and how joyful it was... so hoping to get to do more.
My banjo setup consisted of the following:
Hatfield Banjo with DPA 4099 Core mic plugged into my Line 6 Helix. The Helix has a mic input with phantom power, so it worked really well. I was able to create patches for both banjo and mandolin that maintained acoustic integrity, but also allowed me to add a little compression, EQ, and reverb as I wanted. This worked extremely well!
My biggest challenge was tuning. I've not found a clip on tuner that works well with my banjo. I've tried head stock clip on Snarks. I've tried the special Snark adapter for the resonator that clips under the hook posts, etc., but none of them work well all the time.
When I'm at home just practicing at my house, they work ok. But when I'm in any kind of noisy environment, it becomes challenging. At the church service, I couldn't pluck strings loudly in-between songs to check tuning as it's too disturbing. During songs there was too much stage noise to use the Helix built in tuner, especially with the DPA mic... again too much residual noise.
I'm on the hunt for a tuner solution that would "hear" the vibrations from the bridge and reflect them in a visual tuner device, such as a floor pedal tuner. I'd love to have a clip on tuner that has an input for an external device, such as a contact pickup.
I have a KNA BP-1 Portable Piezo Banjo Pickup that I'm thinking about using just for tuning purposes. It contacts the bridge and plugs directly into either the Helix or a tuner pedal (for any time I don't use the Helix... maybe a walk-up gig where I can't really use my setup... and just use whatever mic is on the stage.)
Does anyone know of a clip on tuner that has a 1/8" jack that would accept the input from the KNA pickup? Or any other thoughts/suggestions on how you tune in noisy environments or environments where you have to make minimal noise when plucking a string?
Thank you for reading my lengthy post.
Steve
Edited by - Texasbanjo on 09/14/2024 04:35:07
sweetwater.com/store/detail/St...dal-tuner
Works in line with 1/4” jack. Also has a clip on that works. So you have both options . Both work in loud situations.
Hope this is helpful
My favorite tuner (aside from my Peterson Strobe) for carrying around is my old Korg DT-2.
When using on stage it can be plugged in-line with the out chord and placed on the floor or on a mic stand platform.
It's lit dial reads easily from the floor and is immune from room noise.
I really like its 50 cents flat or sharp range.
Used on Ebay for 10-20 bucks.
I bought a spare last week for 9.99 + $4 for performance guarantee.It's very near new looking and works great.
I don't like clip on tuners.Too vague for me.
I like the Boss TU-3. Works great for tuning and you can kick them across the stage and they'll still work.
If you tune at a much lower volume than you'll be performing at, you'll be out of tune at performing volume.
quote:
Originally posted by Dan GellertIf you tune at a much lower volume than you'll be performing at, you'll be out of tune at performing volume.
I am aware. Sometimes it cannot be avoided, so as long as you are aware, you can tune slightly under to compensate for left hand finger pressure and digging in with picks.
Its the noisy environments I think are more of a challenge because you can't hear the banjo as well.
Tuners are a great invention but will never replace your ears.
I've purchased a Peterson StroboStompHD and will try the "sweetened" banjo setting with my bridge contact pickup to see how that does.
