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Jan 7, 2025 - 5:43:05 PM

Mutski

USA

8 posts since 4/24/2024

I am in coastal Alaska, and just bought a used Hopkins Woodie from inland Pennsylvania, a big climate change. The first night I played it, it sounded great, but the second day, the open first string had an annoying buzz, but no buzz when fretted. I couldn't see where. I tried new strings (Deering 10-11-13-21-10) with no change. The truss rod was neutral - no tension turning either direction. I tightened it a whole turn without fixing the buzz. I could tell with a feeler gauge that the strings were rising, but I was afraid to tighten it further.

So I put it back to neutral and adjusted the coordinator rod, raising the strings from 0.116" off the 22nd fret to 0.125".The buzz but better, but didn't disappear, and I didn't like the high strings. Meanwhile, Dave Hopkins told me he always leaves the coordinator rod neutral to avoid distorting the rim, and fixes buzzing with the truss rod. So I set the coordinator rod back to neutral, got a Drum Dial and tightened the head from a starting point of 88-90 to a consistent 90 all around. With the resonator off, I noticed the coordinator rod connections to the neck were loose. I tightened them, and found the open fifth string buzzed instead of the first.

So, I loosened both coordinator rods at the rim and neck and tried gently twisting the neck. After much trial and error, I found a neutral spot where neither string had an glaring buzz and the fretboard seemed level compared to the drum. But now the open first string is sometimes sharp and steely and stands out from all the others. It's especially steely when plucked about 2/3 of the distance from the bridge and to the neck. It's less steely if I pluck closer to the neck or the bridge, and I don't hear it if I play close to the bridge where all the strings are bright.

I've only been learning banjo since March, mostly on a Goodtime Classic, and now I've tinkered so much with the Hopkins that I'm not sure what I'm hearing. Is the steely sharp sound normal? Should I replace the #10 string with a #11 to tame it? Or do I still have a setup problem to fix?

Jan 8, 2025 - 4:42:13 AM

220 posts since 7/14/2017

The truss rod sets the relief (forward bow) in the neck. I suspect it needs adjusting.

To find out, measure the relief. Capo at fret 1, hold a string down over the heel, and measure under a fret half way between those two. You want to see something like .008 inches (8 thousandths) as a starting point. If you have too little relief, slacken off the truss rod 1/8 turn (anti-clockwise) and re-measure. Too much, 1/8 turn clockwise.

Once the relief is about right, see if the buzz has gone. My suspicion is that it will have. If so, you can then tweak the relief until it feels most comfortable to play (probably between .004 and .012). Once you find the sweet spot, measure it!

The wood of the neck moves with changes in the climate and over the seasons, so the neutral position tells you nothing about whether the truss rod is set right for the current climate. Measure and adjust, do it again if things change and the banjo doesn't play right.

Jan 8, 2025 - 2:29:56 PM

2613 posts since 2/9/2007

Get your neck relief right. Get your co-rods set so they've got the neck tight on the pot, but are neutral (neither pushing nor pulling) on their tail ends. That should put your action within a couple mm (at the 12th fret) of where you want it. If it isn't, you probably need to shim or trim the heel to adjust the neck angle. I like to avoid warping the pot, which is what the co-rods do when you use them to adjust the action.

Now, about that buzz. If it's only there on the open string, it has to be happening either on the 1st fret or the nut itself.
Possibilities:
- the slot in the nut is cut a bit too low.
- either the shape of the nut slot, or a bit of dirt in the slot, is holding the string away from the fingerboard-side end of the slot, where it should be making firm contact.
- the first-string end of the fret has lifted out of its slot.
- the first fret is too tall (easy mistake to make when leveling and recrowning)

None of those is going to be easily (if at all) visible. Something needs to be moved to correct the buzz, but probably not much more than a thousandth of an inch.

Jan 9, 2025 - 12:31:36 PM

Mutski

USA

8 posts since 4/24/2024

Thanks for your replies! I think my original mistake was turning the truss rod too far. I was moving 1/4 turn at a time. I had just about decided to ship it to Morgan Music in Missouri, but decided to give the truss rod one more try. I set it back to neutral and went in much smaller increments in both directions. I found a spot just slightly tighter than neutral where I don't hear the buzz unless I really pluck the first string hard far from the bridge. It's no longer annoying to play. :-) If I capo the 1st fret and press down on the 22nd fret, the 1st and 5th strings sit 0.010" above the 12th fret. The coordinator rods are now back to neutral, putting no pressure on the rim. With no frets depressed, the strings are now back at about 0.116" above the 22nd fret. I might tweak the truss rod a smidgeon later to get rid of that last ghost of a buzz when I hit the string hard, but now that it's not enough to annoy, I just want to play!

Qualifier - I've learned not to trust any adjustment I make unless it's still sounds good a week later. But for the last couple of days, it seems like I'm about there.

Again, thanks for the help!

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