How I adjust the head on a Gibson style archtop banjo. Join me for a look at tuning the head by the actual sound of the banjo played, and I'll break out the drum dial for my first time and see what my favorite tension numbers are.
There's plenty of discussion on drum dials with flatheads, but I've always wanted to see someone test the drum dial with an archtop. Thanks a million. I learned a lot.
I was taught to use a combination of drum dial+ear -use the numbers to get you in the ballpark and then adjust until it feels right. I’ve always seen that done on a flat top, however! Was interesting to see that process tested on an arch top-I plan an arch top myself and have always been curious. Great video!
I adjusted the head on my Deering Sierra archtop following your directions. It turned out that I had the head under much more tension than was optimal. I slacked it off to read 90 on the drum dial, and wow, what an improvement. Much more definition, more bass, and, surprisingly, quite a bit louder! Thank you for putting this info up on the Tube.
Another banjo masterpiece Dave! Thanks SO MUCH for all your hard work on my Dad's vintage banjo and for putting me in touch with the new owner...who is VERY happy with it as you know. What a great all around experience this was! Merry Christmas to you and all the "banjophiles" on this channel and around the world! 😃
Great video, I have been looking at the drum dials and I wonder being that they measure deflection of the head, would it be consistent on different types of heads (calfskin mylar etc) and different thicknesses of heads?
I’ve been at 89 on my drum dial for vintage Gibson arch tops for years. This is with using vintage skin heads. I am careful to firmly attach the neck with the tension rods only on the neck side of the shell, only finger tight on opposite side, and use bridge height to adjust action.i have also abandoned the conventional “tailpiece low to the head” in favor of a moderate adjustment that still produces a good break angle of the strings but doesn’t strangle the banjo. Good video. Thanks for sharing.
I was using a drum dial last night to find the sweet spot for head tension. 89 sound tubby with lots bad over tones 90.5 sounds great and 92 has weird sound of horses clopping on cement
For what’s it’s worth I run my arch tops at around 86-88 and my flatheads around 89-90. Also not trying to be a know it all but I never use the rods to adjust any action. I will add a small amount of tension to to the top nut to get some clarity but that’s it. I keep the rods neutral so the pot stays even. That gives you the best tone. I would cut the heel a tad bit to adjust any action or use a taller bridge. Good work on that banjo. You do some nice work!
It's good advice. I try not to if I can and I will change bridge heights but sometimes that's not going to make it either, when the half is too short and the 3/4 is too tall. I do adjust heel cuts on occasion, but it's an inexact science. And the tube and plate banjos, I have nobody who can re-cut those. I had a Huber once that was surprisingly way out of spec. Everything about the banjo was good except that, and how does that change? I sent the neck back to Steve for a re-cut on his jig which he graciously did but. It added a lot to the cost of the repairs. I also had Mark Taylor do one for me but nobody really knows what happened to him. Robin Smith was another resource that is gone. But I am probably going to talk to Eric Sullivan about it when I can't deal with it myself, he's been a lot of help to me and we've got a business relationship now. But again only the one piece flange banjos. I have done some minor adjustments to the heel with a Dremel tool. It worked but I'll tell you I like it to look right and have good surface area in contact at the pot. It makes me really nervous to do it.
@@beyondguitars9631that all makes sense. And all those guys you mention are good resources for sure. I’m actually flying with a new to me tube and plate banjo right now to CA to get the heel trimmed a bit. It’s always scary you are Right and it’s not an exact science. This one’s is a really expensive one though so I want to make sure to do it right. 1928 style 6 checkerboard: My buddy has both jigs in his shop but typically if it’s just a small amount needing cut we will just use the 10” radius sander and only sand the top or bottom part of the heel depending which way it needs to go and only do a small amount for the angle on the other part. If that makes sense. Anyways I watched your whole restoration of that bow tie and I was entertained and learned a thing or two! I appreciate the videos.
Wow I hope that banjo meets your expectations. It sounds like a winner. Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it and I'm always interested in the ways people find to trim or re-shape heels. Does he use a complex sanding drum or some kind of a shaper? Maybe something he made himself? @@goldenbanjo197
@@beyondguitars9631 yes he made it himself. It’s a 11” radius sanding drum for the parts that contact the rim. He has a table that you can adjust the angle of the neck and then push it into the drum. The cut out for the flange part he does by hand or with a Dremel. Everyone does it a little different but his way works very well.
Im a little confused as to what I need to use on my archtop. It currently has a 5star high crown (supposedly) .. a while back i attempted to install a low crown Remo WK. It was a disaster! The 5star went back on like a champ! The Remo came apart at the rim!
Hi enjoyed your video on this.What tension numbers would you expect to see on a flathead? I have done this job by trial and error changing a clear head to a remo frosted for a less bright sound.. Not a lot of people familiar with banjo's here in Australia so you have to figure it out on your own. Not as easy to set up as people might think haha.
Strings on actually relieved tension a bit? How odd… Guess it does make sense that it perhaps lifts or relieves the downward tension the ring has against the head
Either that, or the bridge created a contour of the head that allowed the pin on the drum dial to protrude just a tad more. If the surface was slightly bowl shaped or convex, this would make the reading lower, since 100 is dead flat. Thanks for the comment!
As always, very interesting. I think I'll rethink the head tension on my archtop. You made that Bowtie sing. Kinda wish you had included your process of intonating the bridge tho.
Until you play in a jam w multiple instruments your instrument without a microphone will not have the power, volume needed to cut in a jam unless you go well over 92 to 93. The pros will say the same.
