I have a resonator banjo that I’d like to make a little more plucky.
I’m thinking a Renaissance head, but in white.
Does such a thing exist?
Perhaps try a new REMO white suede.
You can also get a fatter sound by using a heavier bridge; loosening the head a little bit might also give you what you want. And of course the old standard trick of stuffing a rag or sponge between the coordinator rod and the head makes for a quieter fatter sound. I use a wood mute on my bridge when I'm looking for a fat sound. See attached photos.
In full-tilt bluegrass mode my banjo can peel the paint off walls, but with these quick adjustments I can accompany singing, play Celtic music, blues, old-time tunes, and anything that doesn't benefit from lots of bright banjo timbre. Also, to get a "softer" sound sometimes I commit the blasphemy of playing without picks!
The nice thing about all these approaches is that they are easily reversible and adjustable, at no significant expense, and a hell of a lot easier than switching heads.
Renaissance can be stained. I find that using the Banjo Bolster greatly improves the overall tone of the seven banjos I've used it on. My usual approach is to use two bolsters to filter the sound throughout the entire rim circumference.
Deering Skintone head. I’m surprised we don’t hear more about them. My favorite head of all times.
Edited by - Dean T on 01/11/2025 19:58:46
I have painted my renaissance heads for years.
Just tape up the edges...and spray a thin layer of white paint on the underside....
(I generally do one pass...let it dry...then do one more pass)
It looks good to me. I liked the result better than the Suede option...
(Note: I have also tried other colors and have had interesting results)
They're all thin mylar:
White suede .010"
Skin Tone .010"
Renaissance .008"
The drawbacks to the 11" SkinTone head is the $58.50 price w/ shipping from Deering and the lack of a 12" size. The odd surface pattern is ok and can be modified with fine steel wool if you dare. Mine eventually turned out well but for a moment I thought I had ruined it. Painting the back side of another Skin Tone ruined it. I'd be happy to sell my failed banjo head experiments which might save somebody a lot of time and money.
Jason Romero likes thin goatskin heads and paints the back side of Renaissance heads with different colors of shellac. You can see the result on his website. I've tried it but it's not easy to get the same artistic effect.
Here is a Hangout quote from 2021. I've omitted the author's name but he can identify himself if he wishes.
"Take this with a large grain of salt, for what it's worth, as a single data point.
I mounted a white suede head on a 12" open back banjo with wood rim. I was hoping, because it is slightly thicker than a renaissance, that it would possibly be more "hide" like than plasticy. That is, with more depth and body. While at the same time, also hoping it would be more lively than a fiberskyn. In my dreams it would be just the ticket between a renaissance and a fiberskyn.
In actual use it didn't turn out as I hoped. I found the suede head to be loud and brash, less musical than either a renaissance or fiberskyn.
I disliked it a lot. After a couple months I took it off and remounted a goat skin and all was right with the world again.
I also disliked how it looked. That was unexpected. It just seemed too bright, too glary and white.
Anyway, as I've described it relative to a 12" open back, the suede may actually be a perfect setup on an 11" resonator. It's not a huge investment to try."
I've tried the Renaissance and Skin Tone on a half dozen banjos and they all sound good on the right banjo. The Skin Tone ended up on a lively Riley Baugus all apple wood 11"; the Renaissance ended up on a mellow 11" Enoch Dobson and 11" Tradesman/Dobson conversion. My 20's TuBaPhone has had a skin head for 60 years; nothing else sounds right on it.
What has been surprisingly helpful in terms of tone has been walnut bridges placed with any necessary compensation with the help of an iPhone tuner app called LunaTuna and, of course, Rickard Cyclone tuners. Then again this success may be due to age related high frequency hearing loss - the ultimate cure for unwanted overtones.
Ditto for a light pass or two of white spray paint on the underside of a Ren head. But I do it for aesthetics -- I haven't found that it affects the tone. I can imagine an experiment where you add more passes of paint on the back of the head, say two passes at time, and then test to see if the added mass gives you a tone that you prefer. If not, add some more. That's a lot of tightening and untightening of the hooks, but if changing the bridge and string gauges and stuffing don't do it...
My experience say a heavier bridge. I have a banjo with a sprayed ren. head, and I like it, and a Tubaphone copy with a Deering Skintone. I like that too. On the alu-ring it reads Remo. So Remo makes them for Deering, and I too don´t know why they they are not widely used. It sounds good, but maybe it was a little expensive. The best solution I have had (loudest and fullest tone) was with a very tight Fiberskyn and quite a heavy homemade bridge. I highly recomend everybody to exreriment with making bridges with different weight, hardness, and thickness. It is not rocket science, and they do not have to look fancy in the start, and you may stumble over a solution better than you could have it with one you have bought. Try it (and let ud hear) :) Steen
Thanks for the kind advice.
I think someone used the word “harsh”. It better describes what I’m trying to change.
I wanted this banjo to be loud and resonant, but I overshot the mark.
A heavier bridge is an easy start.
Edited by - Quickstep192 on 01/13/2025 17:46:10
Here are some suppliers of heavier walnut bridges:
Dotson on eBay ebay.com/itm/145491822114
Mulheron at Balsam Banjoworks balsambanjoworks.com/product/m...o-bridge/
Slim Jim at slimjimbanjos.co.uk/accessories
"I think someone used the word “harsh”. It better describes what I’m trying to change."
I have had success with these two changes for getting rid of harshness and keeping the banjo goodness.
- a small piece of thin felt between the tension hoop and the tailpiece (quick, easy and cheap)
- black/white suede head sweetens up a heavy bronze tonering (quite different than an amber/Renaissance)
