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quote:
Originally posted by Bart VeermanYou young know-it-alls, I bet you use one of them electrical string tuner thingies too
Love that picture Bart..
;0)
I find that i have the most consistant head tension..
If i do not use the hooks n nuts....... :0/
Edited by - STUD figmo Al on 10/22/2024 06:23:14
6" ruler with dime.
2" mark at bridge.
quote:
Originally posted by steve davisWhen you find something that works for you stay with it.
that should be tatooed in reverse on my forehead so I see that sentence every time I look in a mirror.
I lucked out and found a drum dial on Marketplace for $20. After I set the the head up with a 10" strait edge and a quarter I tried the dial. I found it set at 91,92 over the whole head. I backed the tight side about a 1/4 turn but it did not ease it up. This Banjo is less than a year old so I think it will settle in a bit more.
quote:
Originally posted by banjoT1Drum Dial, measures head tension by some magical 'units'
I don't believe this is correct. The numbers on the dial don't represent any units of measure I'm aware of. It's my understanding the numbers on DrumDial are an index of deflection relative to zero -- the calibration setting of a DrumDial on a rigid surface such as glass. When the DrumDial is put on anything else, it reports that surface's resistance to (or deflection under) the spring-loaded pin in the base. So as the head gets tighter, it deflects under the pin less, and the reading goes higher.
I could be wrong.
quote:
Originally posted by banjoT1this Drum Dial thing really only helps the user to 'rough in' one's head tension within a range of something somewhere on the head. But, truth be known, from the 'rough in' point the finer tweaking adjustments and hearing assessments are necessary to release the optimal sound that a specific banjo is 'capable' of producing.
Not so. And in some ways this in reverse of actual.
Sure, a DrumDial can be used to rough in a head tightness that still needs to be tweaked to what your ear likes (and then checked and fine-tuned with DrumDial).
But you can start without DrumDial and rough in a head as you always do (by sound, look, or feel) THEN use the DrumDial to tweak that. You do this by measuring the head all around to discover what reading the DrumDial gives you. Since you're not likely to have tightened the head the same everywhere, you can then use the DrumDial to help you adjust the head to be equally tight everywhere. Maybe you choose the most common number among the different ones you achieved. If you don't like the sound of the number you've tightened to, then tighten or loosen to an adjacent number or half-number. But the same everywhere.
When you have the sound you like, you'll have something you never had before: an accurate and repeatable measure of that tightness. If the banjo later on starts sounding off, you can use the DrumDial to see if it's lost tension anywhere. It probably has. And the next time you change a head, you can use the DrumDial to go right to the reading that produces the sound you like.
This last point is especially important. Note that I haven't mentioned any specific number. That's because the purpose of DrumDial is not to help you tighten your head to a setting others like. Its purpose is to put an objective number to the tightness you like.
I echo the praise for the drum dial, but for a slightly different reason. You are tightening the entire circumference of a Nechville’s head evenly with every turn of the wrenches. So if I get uneven readings on a Nechville Heli-Mount banjo I know that the head was bad to start with. I use bad heads for autographs. Even head tensioning makes up maybe 80% of difference between a good banjo and a superb banjo. I shoot for 91.5 all around the perimeter. I also stock and sell Drum Dials and would love to help with your next banjo. My number for call or text is 612-275-6602.
quote:
Originally posted by nechvilleSo if I get uneven readings on a Nechville Heli-Mount banjo I know that the head was bad to start with.
Notwithstanding your advertising claim that "the Heli-Mount system produces even tension throughout the banjo head", don't the drum dial readings on your Heli-Mount system always fall off starting about 2/3's of the way down towards the tailpiece?
Edited by - gcpicken on 11/23/2024 14:58:38
Also, since we are talking about drum dials, you may want to take a look at the "Nashville Pocket Dial". Same principles, but I find it easier to use.
nashvillebanjos.com/pocket-dial/
Does anyone here know if the Drum Dial and the Nashville Banjo Co. Pocket-Dial are functionally congruent? If you take a reading with the Drum Dial, will you get the same reading with the Pocket-Dial?
quote:
Originally posted by banjoT1So, misters Lorenzo the Magnificent and Dean T. (and the like), upon re-reading your posts I have come to lean on your side. In fact, I think there should be a law that every new banjo should be sold with additional standard equipment - sorta like when buying a car - you also get a jack and spare tire. So, every new banjo should come with extra Drum Dial, Banjo Bolster, bridge mute, brass knuckles, and puppy thumbs.
Interesting list, especially including the brass knuckles. I suppose those would be included in ward off any banjo jokes that might come one's way. For me, the drum dial could be optional. The Banjo Bolster however, is an absolute essential. I own ten of them and couldn't contemplate life without them.
quote:
Originally posted by Bart VeermanYou young know-it-alls, I bet you use one of them electrical string tuner thingies too
Great idea Bart......... slide banjo.
quote:
Originally posted by reubenstumpquote:
Originally posted by banjoT1So, misters Lorenzo the Magnificent and Dean T. (and the like), upon re-reading your posts I have come to lean on your side. In fact, I think there should be a law that every new banjo should be sold with additional standard equipment - sorta like when buying a car - you also get a jack and spare tire. So, every new banjo should come with extra Drum Dial, Banjo Bolster, bridge mute, brass knuckles, and puppy thumbs.
Snark noted.
So Lo, you are now using a Snark as well to tune?
quote:
Originally posted by RB3Does anyone here know if the Drum Dial and the Nashville Banjo Co. Pocket-Dial are functionally congruent? If you take a reading with the Drum Dial, will you get the same reading with the Pocket-Dial?
I have both. Very close.
4 1/2 years huh ?
Can I borrow it ?
I might try a drum dial one of these days but they seem rather expensive.
for the last 50 years I've been pressing hard with my thumb about an inch from the rim. 
It's a tactile experience.
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