Have you checked head tension, changed the strings, made sure the bridge is set correctly, and then played it to see what it needs as far as a setup is concerned? It might not necessarily need a heavy duty setup unless there is something about it that makes it difficult to play, (high action, neck bowed,) etc.

Bobby

Too bad to pay all that shipping and time for head,strings and maybe a bridge.

I bought a '79 gf85 out of a Heritage Auction from Dallas.
It was my first time doing an on-line auction and bought it for $600.It had been played very little.Frets looked brand new.
Someone offered me 1200 and I couldn't say no at the time.One of my only banjo regrets.

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Originally posted by BobbyE

Have you checked head tension, changed the strings, made sure the bridge is set correctly, and then played it to see what it needs as far as a setup is concerned? It might not necessarily need a heavy duty setup unless there is something about it that makes it difficult to play, (high action, neck bowed,) etc.

Bobby

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I have changed the strings but nothing else and checked the bridge.  Seems ok.   Will need to research head tension.   What about the neck adjustments?  

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Originally posted by steve davis

I bought a '79 gf85 out of a Heritage Auction from Dallas.
It was my first time doing an on-line auction and bought it for $600.It had been played very little.Frets looked brand new.
Someone offered me 1200 and I couldn't say no at the time.One of my only banjo regrets.

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If that's the banjo I played at your place in 2012, it had the best feeling neck I've ever played. A profile that was memorably different from any I've ever handled.

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Originally posted by mrjim

I was gifted a GF-85 2004 # 7 build that year. Has been sitting for 20 years and needs a good setup person to go through it. I live in Iowa but willing to ship to get the best work done. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

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Hey Jim, 

We (Banjo Warehouse) would be happy to do it for you. My wife Tara is our technician. Here is an example of her work: https://youtu.be/HY0mVOMdZYc?si=7zu77UtdO300o04U

Charlie Cushman is also very good outside of Nashville: https://www.facebook.com/CushmanBanjoSetUp/

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Originally posted by mrjim

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Originally posted by BobbyE

Have you checked head tension, changed the strings, made sure the bridge is set correctly, and then played it to see what it needs as far as a setup is concerned? It might not necessarily need a heavy duty setup unless there is something about it that makes it difficult to play, (high action, neck bowed,) etc.

Bobby

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I have changed the strings but nothing else and checked the bridge.  Seems ok.   Will need to research head tension.   What about the neck adjustments?  

 

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If the string height and neck bow are alright with you as they are, you have no reason to touch the truss rod.

If you need lower string height, use a slightly shorter bridge instead of using the neck truss rod and/or the pot coordinator rods 

I also recommend learning to do it yourself if you're interested. A good setup doesn't always last; heads stretch, wood swells/contracts, and tonal preferences can change (sometimes daily :) ).

By the time you ship it both ways that's a pretty good chunk of change. But no sweat if that's the way you want to do it!

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Originally posted by mrjim
I have changed the strings but nothing else and checked the bridge.  Seems ok.   Will need to research head tension.   What about the neck adjustments?  

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Bridge comes after neck, I believe.

Most of what's involved in banjo setup is DIY with not much skill involved. Mainly caution. I think the best order of set-up checks and adjustments is:

1- Confirm neck-to-pot connection is both secure and the coordinator rods are in "neutral" (meaning tight at the neck end and snug enough for stability at the tail end, applying no pressure to distort the rim or affect action) [maybe this one can come later, but I like knowing the neck is well-attached at the outset]

2- Adjust truss rod to make the neck dead flat (check with straight edge). Play up and down the neck to find buzzes and test with a fret rocker to locate high frets.

3- If there are high frets, you'll have to deal with those. Might be a job for a luthier. Fret work is beyond my ability to describe or do. 

4 - Check action at the nut. Another job for someone else if anything needs fixing, so we'll move on . . .

5 - Change strings

6- Reintroduce relief into the neck (measured at 7th fret) if need. For example, if there's buzz in the low frets. Truss rod is not for adjusting action further up the neck. There is no one right relief.  .012-.015 is maybe an average. But if your banjo behaves well with lower relief or requires higher relief (even more than .020) then that's what it needs.

7- Adjust head. If you can't hear a head tap note or don't have a DrumDial to set equal tension all around, just trust your ear for a crisp tone that sounds good to you when you hit the head with some kind of stick. When my hearing was more reliable, I liked an "A" note. Most people seem to like G#. I also used to try to get the exposed amount of tension hoop above the head as even as possible. Measuring at three opposing points was sufficient. These days, I like the sound when the head reads 91 on DrumDial. 

8- Adjust tailpiece.

9- Measure and adjust action at 12th or 22nd fret. Most people measure at 12. I prefer to measure at 22 because that tells me the highest action anywhere. Seems more meaningful. Not going to get into the co-rod do-and-don't argument. I you believe in not using the co-rods to set action, then your choices seem to be: (1) accept the action you get with the rods at neutral, (2) shim the neck at one of the lag bolt locations to get the action you want, (3) have the heel re-cut or wood added to it to permanently change the neck angle. I believe a small number of banjo owners lower action by shaving the rim where the lower part of the heel hits.

10- Set bridge for correct intonation. Plenty of info on how to do this. I do this last because adjustments to the head, relief, and action can all affect intonation. The one thing I'll add is the reminder to re-tune every time you move the bridge during this process. Even if only very little.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  

Or use Stelling's Set-up System, which has fewer steps to accomplish the same thing. Note the very high relief Stelling recommended for their banjos: .028 inch, +/- .006, which means .022 to .034!  I don't think I've ever read anyone say they like like relief as high as .03 inch. But Stelling is saying that may be called for on their banjos. So there you have it.

Almost finally, here's my favorite section of my favorite video to share on banjo setup. It's a Warren Yates video on bridge location and the part where his friend Donnie Little shows how he sets the bridge about 1/32-inch further back than scale length would suggest (which turns out to be a needed compensation on most banjos) and then how he uses the tail end coordinator rod nuts to fine-tune the banjo's sound. He's making offsetting adjustments at the inside and outside nuts so he's adjusting tightness and vibration transfer without changing string action. This is now part of my set-up routine.

Or really finally: Something else I do in setting bridge location is a tip  from Steve Huber's "Killer Tone" set-up video. Because straight frets are a compromise, setting intonation only by tuning to the 12th fret can leave the higher notes on some banjos sounding off. So after getting the 12th fret sounding as good as possible, Steve tests and sweetens the sound of the 20+21 2nd and 1st string combination. (Plus open5th). It's a high lick used a lot. When he gets that sounding good, the lower frets will technically be off a little. But not so you can hear. I think he says that after getting 20+21 sounding good, the lower frets "take care of themselves." This is another tip I've made part of my setup routine and I've been really happy with my sound ever since.

Ken's words are wise and I won't add to them. I will comment on my GF 85 (2005) . I obtained it a few years ago here (they don't come up very often and I have only seen 2). The voice on it was loud and a but strident. I stripped mine completely down and found that the ring was tight on the rim. I took it to a friend who has a big lathe and got him to recut the rim to make a slip fit for the ring. I put it all back together, set the head tension to 85 and the action to 3/32" at the 12th. I tried a number of bridges (5/8") and settled on a locally made one (NZ). It now has a pleasing voice.

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Originally posted by Old Hickory

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Originally posted by steve davis

I bought a '79 gf85 out of a Heritage Auction from Dallas.
It was my first time doing an on-line auction and bought it for $600.It had been played very little.Frets looked brand new.
Someone offered me 1200 and I couldn't say no at the time.One of my only banjo regrets.

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If that's the banjo I played at your place in 2012, it had the best feeling neck I've ever played. A profile that was memorably different from any I've ever handled.

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That's the one,Ken.

It was like going home again for me.It felt just like the G-11W GS that I had bought new in '76.Also mahogany the 11 had an archtop ring on a multi-ply rim.A couple years later I changed it to Stew Mac 3 ply tube and plate rim and a StewMac no-hole flathead ring.

Stew Mac's reputation for their mahogany banjo necks was excellent.

I also bought a G-12 H&F maple archtop from Heritage Auctions for $550.Very nice condition,but the maple neck was shaped different.Fine neck but didn't "disappear into your hand" like the mahoganies.

There has to be a banjo picker in Iowa that’s close to you that can help set it up so you don’t have to pay a TON of shipping .?! Shipping is crazy expensive these days. Iowa , like East Tennessee has a lot of farm boys that pick the 5 ( well not so much these days ) SAD ! Best of luck !

I just noticed I said "Stewmac's mahogany necks..." and meant to say Gold Star's mahogany necks have a great reputation.
StewMac's mahogany necks are fine,too.

Nice banjo,Jim.
This is a great place to find what you need.

Just another word on learning how to maintain/adjust your own banjo. It isn't complicated work and it is interesting and satisfying to get it just the way you want it.

When someone sets up your banjo this time you will get a model of what good is.Use that to learn what good is for future reference.A few measurements can help later.

You can get deep in the weeds with this stuff and with great results,but the 4 things that can get you 90% there are truss rod at 7th fret .015" inch.

Strings to head measurement at the front edge of the bridge

String heights at the 12th and 22nd frets

Head tension.

A poor man's drum dial is found using a dime and a 6" ruler to measure head tension.When the dime fits the gap between the ruler and head the tension is G#ish which is a great head tension.89-90 on the dial I believe.

Dime/ruler pic

2" mark at the bridge end.

Thanks to everyone for the help! This banjo is very special to me as it was gifted by a good friend who recently passed. I want to put it in pristine condition. Hence I'd send it to the best anywhere to make it right. I've been playing it and really like it but feel it could do a little more. I'm a novice player but can tell this banjo is special. I did adjust the bridge, new string and the harmonics at 12 seem good. the tension hoop to head is not oven around the radius of the head so not sure I want to mess with that.
Again, thanks to everyone for their feedback.

That's exciting,Jim.You'll have a fine banjo for a long time.
I'm a big Gold Star fan.

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Originally posted by mrjim

Thanks to everyone for the help! This banjo is very special to me as it was gifted by a good friend who recently passed. I want to put it in pristine condition. Hence I'd send it to the best anywhere to make it right. I've been playing it and really like it but feel it could do a little more. I'm a novice player but can tell this banjo is special. I did adjust the bridge, new string and the harmonics at 12 seem good. the tension hoop to head is not oven around the radius of the head so not sure I want to mess with that.
Again, thanks to everyone for their feedback.

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The harmonics alone will always be in tune,no matter where the bridge is located.

The 12th fret harmonics must be compared to the 12th fret fretted notes.

Tune the open strings to pitch then fret them at the 12th.If the fretted notes are sharp move the bridge toward the tailpiece until the harmonics and 12th fret fretted notes match (as much as a straight bridge can match the hatmonics.

Harmonics simply match the tunings of the open notes.