Hi Folks,
I was playing a friends banjo the other night and found that it had amazing low end but the high end got lost pretty quickly while in play.
I've built a number of banjo's myself, and tho i've been aware of the 'hope' for a balanced tone, i've never really understood where to put my hope into direct action.. Some seem well balanced and others seem to melt slightly when moving up on the high end.
What are some of the factors to creating a strong low and high end?
Thanks!
On my banjos, head tension, bridge weight, and down pressure on the bridge are the three things that influence the high end and low end the most. Type of tailpiece has some effect. I have used Presto and Kershner tailpieces and prefer the sound of the Presto. The type of strings also affect the tone. Head tension and bridge pressure are the two things that can be easily adjusted for balancing the tone. Anything else requires a change of parts. Some banjos are more responsive to changes that others.
Thanks for your reply Dave!
I've always fiddled with head tension, various bridge weights, down pressure, as ways to obtain an overall desired tone of a banjo, but somehow hadn't connected that with the particulars of balancing High/Low ends, which now seems obvious! (If that makes sense.. I'm suffering some sort of sleepy winter brain funk lately)
So it sounds like I just need to tune in further and keep experimenting in those areas with each new build..
Thanks for pointing the way!
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