How to Get Consistent Banjo Head Tension! 

Good advice - a point of information - Warren Yates also has a video on using the Drum Dial and he explains that it does not measure pounds but measures deflection in thousands of an inch. He shows how to calibrate the instrument using a sheet of glass before use on the banjo

Ive been a drummer and guitarist for 10 years. Got a drumdial 7 years ago to help me with drum tom tuning. Here I am with a banjo 2 years ago and thought changing the head or tuning is a whole other world. Im glad I still got my drumdial for a stringed instrument.

Good information!!! Just got My drum dial and I’m gonna start using it right away !

Thank you very much for your response. I will measure with the bridge on.

Would be interesting to hear a banjo with a poorly tuned head and one that has been tuned to G#

Thanks for sharing the info, ordered one a couple days ago, for drums and banjo, I’m a techie guy and like stuff to be accurate and more importantly repeatable so this seemed like a cheap investment to keep everything tuned up… I’m new to the banjo so guys like you help me get up and running with far less headaches… appreciate it… and don’t let anyone tell you they can do this kind of work by ear or feel… I’ve tested that theory using an arsenal of StuMac tools on my guitars against the best luthiers around me and all of them were way off, I’m so happy I invested in the proper tools to do things myself and know it’s 100% dead on, and I expect this tool will just add to that…

Thanks for the info

I have to crank mine to 93 on my drum dial which is around 'A' or A sharp when i tap tune it, but every banjo is different and depends on the tone your looking for, but yeah, drum dials are really helpfull especialy if you change the head and want to get back to the same tone. Helps get everything even. I would recommend them to anyone. Good investment.

Very helpful video. My banjo sounds terrible. I need to get one of these !

I was playing the Star Spangled Banner on my new 6 String Guitar Banjo w/ a Pick along w/ the Handbell arrangement & singing it in Spanish (El Pendon Estrellado) & I substituted the Cymbal Crashes w/ Tapping on the Banjo head. I tried substituting that w/ tapping the bridge of my Cello w/ the Handle of my Bow but it's not really good for the bridge cause it would collapse. The Banjo does a better job at handling that cause it's a strong plastic drumhead.

I think you just answered the question I asked in the last video I watched of yours .

Looks like I'm gonna have to get one. :)

You might want to use what I do , I use a torque wrench to tighten the head on my banjo, I find 8 in. Lbs. Gives me the tone I prefer.

I use it it great tool

i use my drum dial regularly it's more important to have even tension than have the head tuned to g or g# by ear

It seems to me that the "edge gauge" (2:45) is vitally important for consistent measurements. Imagine removing the strings for full access to the stretched head across its entire span. If you could set the dial drum right at the edge, .010" away from the tone ring, intuition tells you that the drum dial will deflect 0.000". But as you slide the drum dial towards the center of the head, the drum dial will surely show increasing deflection, reaching its peak deflection at the center of the head. Continuing on to the other side of the head, as you now approach the tone ring on the other side, the reading rises back up towards 0.000". The engineer in me wants to plot the deflection across the diameter of the head with distance from each side on the horizontal axis, and deflection (drum dial) on the vertical axis. It will NOT be a straight line; it will no doubt be a parabola of some sort. Thus, for consistent measurements, it becomes very important to locate the drum dial some consistent distance from the tension hoop! That is where the edge gauge comes in to play. It forces you to place the drum dial the exact same distance from the tension hoop for all of your measurements. The arm rest alone forces the drum dial to be out about as far as the edge gauge places it, but your one setting at 4:10 shows you have the indicator almost touching the tension hoop. But in your video, I see you using different distances from the tension ring for your readings. I see you and others objecting to a .001" difference across the head, so shouldn't these slight measurement errors matter? For my money, when performing this tensioning operation, I would remove the strings, tailpiece, and armrest before doing the adjustments. Certainly the pressure of the strings down through the bridge will alter the head tension near the tailpiece. Amiright? P.S.: the indicator is heavy not necessarily because that equates to high quality, but because you want the weight of the dial to fully depress the spring-loaded dial pin to flush with the flat bottom without having to press it down manually. Thus, it probably has a heavy circular steel weight inside it to weigh it down.

I just bought one from you guys. As soon as I get it I'll let you know how it went

Thanks Jake…. Now I know I’ve Been Using My Dial Correctly….

As a machinist that uses a dial indicator everyday, I wouldn't call the setting "pounds" If you have it set at zero on a flat surface then a 90 reading means that the head is loose enough for it to givea minus .010 reading. Thats just they way I read it but it doesnt really make any difference on what you call it What ever works for you. Thanks for the video. It was helpful.

I just put low tuned strings, like John Hartford, on my banjo. What head tension do you like for those low strings tuned to D or E? Thankyou.

Columbus bluegrass store laughed at me when I went in there asking if they had these. Made me feel absolutely stupid for wanting one. They were just old timers with an insecure ego though so I tried not to take it too personal.

My banjo head has never had tension adjusted since I purchased it 25 yrs ago. I have noticed some bridge sag. Can I remove the strings “I’m putting on new strings” and tighten the head using the dial with strings off? Thank You

Not trying to be a smarty, I love your videos, but the dial gauge is measuring in .001 thousands of an inch not pounds, each notch is .001 when it says 89 it is moved .011 thousands of an inch, you may have already new this sometimes I say one thing and mean another, love your stuff

Is this just a depth gauge with a spacer block that measures a specific distance? I have a depth gauge just like this without the bottom piece, it would be nice if I didn't have to spend $70 on another one.

What a great gadget! But here's where I'm confused and hope someone might help... how do you simultaneously make sure the tension is even all over, but also tune the head to something specific, say G#?

would it work to just use a torque wrench and just torque each bolt in a star pattern to 'x' in. lbs.?

Which do you think is more important head tap tuned to a G#ish or drum dial reading between 88 to 91

Tensometers RULE

When measuring the tension of the head with DRUMDIAL, is it 89 with the bridge and strings attached? Or should I remove the bridge?

Hi, Nice job! I was wondering, when using the Drum Dial and adjusting the nuts, is it necessary to leave the banjo strung with the bridge in place as you show in you video?

How will it sound if we tune the head lower or higher than G#? What's the difference ?

This is a great channel and I love Banjo Ben but the tap tuning method is totally circumstantial in my opinion an art piloted by drummers and is also based on one persons ear against anothers. Ive found that it is almost impossible to get the power and volume you need without using a drum dial from 92 to 95.

Is there an adjustment for checking your tire pressure on that there thing?

Firm believer here too!

Prince Harry sure is pickin up a mircan southern draawl an alls wat a mean

Please don't say you're measuring pounds of anything. It's measuring how many thousandths of an inch the head is sagging between the edges of the base of the dial. You make it sound like you could tell how much Oprah weighed if she stood on your banjo.