I have a friend who is an audiophile and collects many guitars and other is instruments. In his studio upstairs, his walls are covered with guitars, bass guitars both electric and acoustic. They all hang on padded hooks by the neck. The guitar and bass necks are very stout compared to my chuck lee banjo which has a very slender neck. I’ve also seen at guitar and music shops, banjos stored hanging by their neck. Does it hurt a banjo or strain it to hang it by the neck with a u-shaped hook? I have a wooden stand with padding I made I the wood shop that suppprts it by the base and leans the neck in a cradle.
I was just curious if it harms it over time.
My inexpert answer is "no." I guess it's not a consensus, but IIRC, whenever this comes up many report that they've done it for y-e-a-r-s without any discernible negative effect. Heck, maybe the force [akin to "traction" in a hospital/medical setting?] helps to pull the neck straight. 
The only damage I've seen from wall hangers, & (stands), is mostly from the padding material interacting with the neck finish.
In the Deering showroom all the display banjos are hanging by the necks.
I always thought it was okay for open backs, but not resonators with metal tone rings. No?
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Originally posted by Mad HornetI always thought it was okay for open backs, but not resonators with metal tone rings. No?
Yes it seems like a lot of weight to put on the heel to rim connection and over time on the whole neck itself. It would be great to get a definitive answer. Meanwhile I keep my RK-80 in a case but would like to hang it.
Compared to the string compression forces, squeezing the banjo together, the weight of the banjo is negligible. While hanging, the banjo’s weight counteracts the string forces, and there is actually less stress on the neck while hanging, than while in the case.
Do an image search for Elderly's and Deering's factory showcase. They hang tens of thousands of dollars worth of banjos on the wall. I've been hanging guitars for over 40 years, and banjos for over 20, and have never had any issues.
Edited by - Dean T on 03/22/2025 23:17:14
I have just spoken to a luthier about this issue.
He said that hanging it up is not a problem as long as it is not on an outside wall, as the temperature differences there would be too great.
That sounded logical to me, but since I only have outside walls, my treasures are in the case, but my cheaper players hang on the wall most of the time, but not in winter.
No problems so far. I hope it stays that way.
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The main concern is to make sure the cradle you are using doesn't put any pressure or weight on the tuners. Some companies like String Swing make cradles that are sized for banjo to avoid this.
One alternative is a floor stand. That is a lot more dangerous for the instrument. I do have about 20 on stands in my shop but I am the only one there. And as you all know, I move like a dancer.
The neck of a string instrument with the strings under tension is very much like a pre-stressed concrete beam. The tension force in the strings applies a compressive force on the neck so that the strings are effectively carrying the weight of the instrument. Below is a link to a web page with a reasonably good explanation of pre-stressed structures.
Edited by - RB3 on 03/23/2025 06:57:26
As stated, the weight won’t hurt. Hanging does expose to dust, and fireplace soot or pellet stove soot is corrosive.
I have also noticed that on banjos that have been stored out and hanging, there is extra tarnish on the shoulders of the rim (either side of the neck). There is also signs of humidity collection inside of the rim at the bottom where that can collect on humid days.
If you use a stand, make sure you have a good banjo repair person on speed dial, you will eventually need them to glue the peghead back on. Even if you don’t have pets or kids around, your banjo will eventually tump over. Just reaching for it wrong, one mistake and “pop goes the peghead”.
Hard cases are the best storage.
Loud noise in the middle of the night. Looked into living room. Telecaster on the floor. Nasty chip out of body, but no real damage. (As some of you know, Telecasters are up there with Shure SM-57s when it comes to robustness.)
YMMV.
I’ve been hanging my Tele’s for 40 years. The headstock is notorious for slipping through the hanger, if you don’t either squeeze the prongs closer, and/or rotate the hanger to match the un level headstock shape. Never a problem with banjos, however, as someone already mentioned, if you have rear facing planetary tuners, make sure you buy a string swing labeled for a banjo! The hanger is properly shaped to clear the tuners.
Edited by - Dean T on 03/23/2025 08:17:28
I've just woken from a nap and thought it said "banjoist hanging by neck from wall". It kind of worried me cos I'm not very good.
After realizing I have too many banjos in the shop, I got this stand which seems safer than the floor stands that are everywhere. I should probably get another one or two more.
Couple of thoughts...
a) Stating the obvious, but I'd want the hanger firmly mounted to a wall stud.
b) I'm somewhat averse to leaving a banjo (or any wood instrument) out in the open for an extended period of time. Maybe it's not an issue for some, but for me I know our humidity varies drastically throughout the seasons, and I'd rather have some control over that. IMHO this issue is also compounded by forced air HVAC (especially if your instrument is exposed to those air currents).
c) While I use a floor stand for practice sessions, I leave my banjo in its case when not in use. It just feels safer, and I can control the humidity inside the case relatively consistently (40-50%) throughout the seasons.
d) I do understand some folks want to display their instrument collections, and for this use case, wall hangers might make some sense (which is also why I think vendors / music stores hang their instruments in view). However, even then I believe I'd prefer a solution similar to @lazlototh (with a robust base unlikely to tip over, and sturdy construction, and designed so the banjo is well-supported).
e) Floor stands for me represent a significant compromise, as most have been designed for guitars. I'm not sure I've seen anything designed specifically for the geometry and weight of a resonator banjo with a heavy tone ring. (Hmmm...maybe a business opportunity...let's see--very broad base, and a weighted base to help overcome a bluegrass banjo's center of gravity. Might be a good project for me...
)
Edited by - dtgolder on 03/23/2025 10:47:42
I use string swings for all of mine that I keep in various tunings. I've seen too many 'broken neck' posts from banjos being knocked over accidentally. You do you, though. Bonus for string swing is that I always mount to a stud, I can pick up a banjo and pick it without messing around with a case. We keep consistent temps in the house, and humidity is near always consistent. Minor retuning only when I've been bending strings while playing a lot. Betting anyone telling you that they go out of tune on a string swing, they probably have a bigger problem with temperature changes and humidity changes. That being said I keep one banjo in a case as it's for my grandson when he's ready. Out of sight out of mind applies when they're stored in a case. When you sometimes have to think about taking one or more out of a case, it's kind of second nature to not want to deal with that. Another bonus is I want to pick my banjos because they're so accessible to me.
I have 200 or so Instruments hanging on walls in every room of my home and have done so for over 50 years and have never had or seen any noticeable changes what so ever.
( I )===='---<: :}
Your house sounds like the place to be!
This discussion comes up about 3 times per year. Synopsis. Theres the never had a problemers, the Ive had a problemers and theories both ways. Cases work is generally accepted. Then it goes on to show pics of how to hang a banjo and support the base.
Theres also the same type of arguement of humidity and temperature.
IMO do what you want with your own instruments. Gruhn hangs his....
Thanks all! I have a stand for mine but was just curious. As on many forums I should have searched the archives before asking.
Interesting. I was at a conference on large language models and their training and one thing used particularly by the Llama modeling has been forums and the genetic agents have “learned” to say quite sarcastically “this comes up all the time, read what others have posted on it” as an answer to certain questions.
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Originally posted by jsinjinThanks all! I have a stand for mine but was just curious. As on many forums I should have searched the archives before asking.
Interesting. I was at a conference on large language models and their training and one thing used particularly by the Llama modeling has been forums and the genetic agents have “learned” to say quite sarcastically “this comes up all the time, read what others have posted on it” as an answer to certain questions.
When it comes to banjos, guitars and ukuleles, there isn't really that much new to say. If the same subjects don't keep coming up over and over there is nothing to pontificate on and the forum becomes a ghost town with only the occasional visitor curious about all the old stuff, who looks around a little and leaves without comment.
Edited by - BG Banjo on 03/25/2025 06:45:29
If ur going to hang them on the wall make sure the hanger screws go into a stud securely.
Edited by - RDP on 03/26/2025 12:20:07
As has been said, this has been talked about to great length and you can find those discussions in the search bar. On some of those past discussions great builders like Geoff Stelling and Frank Neat said that long term hanging by the neck is bad for a banjo. a banjo neck has a bow to it to prevent buzzing and hanging can hurt the bow. I am speaking about bluegrass resonator banjos.
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