My tweaks and tricks are playing bluegrass and country after changing strings every two months or less. Its a small step but a big satisfying sound of fresh strings.

You want your banjo to sound like not-a-banjo?

Listen to Wade Ward and others of his era that played resonator banjos.

There isn’t (or wasn't) a ‘singular designated banjo sound’. The basis is cultural sensibility; surround yourself with, and absorb, the music and dance in all its variety until it becomes second nature. And then let that inform as you develop your sound.

You can't express what isn't first within you. Spend the time and what you absorb comes out. That just is the natural order.

Stephan,

I'd try a couple of your simple tweaks first. ...

Reduce the head tension a little at a time.

Install a heavier bridge.

Those steps should increase the plunk with minimal effort.

You'll still be left with plenty other things to try. 

Happy Plunkin' !

On my bottlecap banjo I wrapped bubblewrap around the single coordinator rod, positioned underneath the head where the bridge touches to make it quieter and less bright. I've thought about getting a banjo bolster but haven't felt the need to change my setup other than that and lowering the tailpiece to increase the attack. I usually use medium strings because it also increases the attack more and has heavier tension than light strings.

If you’ve got a Deering Truetone tailpiece, you can raise it up, off the tension hoop, to remove some of the bluegrass sparkle. I also recently put a white suede head on my Sierra, and the pluck is more powerful, and the sparkle and shrill is reduced. I’m hunting for a sound more percussive, and compatible with country gospel and hymns, without blasting my friends out. Heavier strings can also strengthen the pluck, while reducing the shrill sparkle and sustain.

Many old timer players in the US already use an open back banjo but to make their sound even MORE plunky, they roll up a cloth hand towel and tuck it up inside the pot between the dowel stick (or coordinator rod) and the head, near the neck attachment to the pot. Or a piece of soft furniture foam, or a cotton sock, or whatever you can find that is conformable to the space under the banjo head.

The only other thing I can think of is replacement of your "bluegrass" tailpiece, with a minimalist tailpiece like the so-called "No Knot". This too will help eliminate "bluegrass brightness". And a repro No Knot is cheap, so it doesn't cost much to try it.

Have fun experimenting!

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Originally posted by Bart Veerman

You want your banjo to sound like not-a-banjo?

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First, please excuse my English and my maybe sometimes 'clumsy' way to express... ;-) 

A banjo should always sound like one! 

But certain adjustments in tone, like smoother Attack, faster decay, more or less sustain etc., are possible to achieve, for example by changing the bridge, lowering the downforce of the tailpiece... 
The banjo sound gets a slightly different impression. 

To control the impacts on sound by certain 'hardware changes' to ones banjo seemed to me like a rewarding topic, because this is often (maybe especially for less experienced players) a field of trial and error. 

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Originally posted by Dean T

If you’ve got a Deering Truetone tailpiece, you can raise it up, off the tension hoop, to remove some of the bluegrass sparkle. I also recently put a white suede head on my Sierra, and the pluck is more powerful, and the sparkle and shrill is reduced. I’m hunting for a sound more percussive, and compatible with country gospel and hymns, without blasting my friends out. Heavier strings can also strengthen the pluck, while reducing the shrill sparkle and sustain.

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Thanks a lot for your input! This is what I was aiming at... Do you have a recommendation for certain strings? I use D'addario medium gauge at the moment but now would try heavier ones. 

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Originally posted by The Old Timer

Many old timer players in the US already use an open back banjo but to make their sound even MORE plunky, they roll up a cloth hand towel and tuck it up inside the pot between the dowel stick (or coordinator rod) and the head, near the neck attachment to the pot. Or a piece of soft furniture foam, or a cotton sock, or whatever you can find that is conformable to the space under the banjo head.

The only other thing I can think of is replacement of your "bluegrass" tailpiece, with a minimalist tailpiece like the so-called "No Knot". This too will help eliminate "bluegrass brightness". And a repro No Knot is cheap, so it doesn't cost much to try it.

Have fun experimenting!

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Thanks for your answer! The tailpiece seems to be another important part; not only the downforce, but also the construction of the tailpiece. Did I get it right? 
I've already built myself a wooden tailpiece for Nylgut-strings, but this should also work for loop-ends... I'll try! 

I expect it's of no help to anyone, but my tricks and tweaks are primarily rooted in ignorance is bliss and leave well-enough alone.  

[.... or, maybe ^^ just another way of saying I can contribute by serving as a bad example??  ]

.... and now back to regular programming. 

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Originally posted by ELBEBanjos

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Originally posted by Dean T

If you’ve got a Deering Truetone tailpiece, you can raise it up, off the tension hoop, to remove some of the bluegrass sparkle. I also recently put a white suede head on my Sierra, and the pluck is more powerful, and the sparkle and shrill is reduced. I’m hunting for a sound more percussive, and compatible with country gospel and hymns, without blasting my friends out. Heavier strings can also strengthen the pluck, while reducing the shrill sparkle and sustain.

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Thanks a lot for your input! This is what I was aiming at... Do you have a recommendation for certain strings? I use D'addario medium gauge at the moment but now would try heavier ones. 

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I was using GHS 190 lights 10-11-12-20-10, but tried GHS 180 mediums which are 11-13-16-24-10  and lost some shrill, and gained some good pluck. It's tempting me to go just a bit heavier

When I'm in the mood for a change in tone, I slap a mute (a Gold Tone in my case) on the bridge. Depending on the banjo and where it's sitting on the bridge, it can get an almost fuzzed-out electric feel, which sounds pretty great for a bluesy groove. Raising it up a bit milds out the sound, makes it suitable for playing late night without disturbing the wife, but still gives it enough sustain.

The easiest way for us to understand the kind of sound/tone you want your banjo to sound like is to look around on Youtube, find a video of a banjo being played with the sound/tone you want and post the link to it here.

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Originally posted by Mickhammer

When I'm in the mood for a change in tone, I slap a mute (a Gold Tone in my case) on the bridge. Depending on the banjo and where it's sitting on the bridge, it can get an almost fuzzed-out electric feel, which sounds pretty great for a bluesy groove. Raising it up a bit milds out the sound, makes it suitable for playing late night without disturbing the wife, but still gives it enough sustain.

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This is an interesting idea definitely worth trying! :-)