Setup Page 5

Guide to Banjo Setup

Installing a new head

I often take this opportunity to completely disassemble my banjo so I can check the way the pieces fit as well as cleaning all of the metal parts with a good metal cleaner. My banjo is a recent model Gibson so I don't worry much about making it not look “original”. If I had a 1937 original Gibson flathead I probably wouldn't do anything that might remove or change the look of the metal parts.

I use a modified ¼ inch nut driver to tighten the brackets. I also use this tool to adjust the truss rod which I will cover later. I had to grind the outside of part that goes over the nut down in order to get it to fit in the grove where the truss rod nut is. This isn't necessary for tightening brackets. I recently discovered that most screw drivers that use separate inserts for different size and type of screws use a standard ¼ inch hole to hold the screw bit and can be used as a ¼ inch nut driver. They don't need to be modifies to use for the truss rod.

Here is how I change a head. First take off the strings, bridge, tailpiece, and stretcher band. When the head is off I always check the fit of the neck and the tightness of the rim rods. The neck should be snug to the rim, but not tightened so tight that the wood in the rim is compressed. The bolts on coordinator rods at the bottom of the banjo should be hand-tightened so that they are not pulling on the rim (more later on this).

Next we put the new head on. Set the new head onto the top of the tone ring and push down evenly as far as it wants to go. Put the stretcher band over the top lining up the cut where it meets the fingerboard so it is centered. I've found that getting the brackets on and attaching the nuts can be a bit tricky. Sometimes it's hard to get the head down far enough to get the nut on the bottom of the bracket. I start with a few brackets evenly spaced around the rim and then tightening these a little bit to give myself more room to put the rest of the brackets on. Don't do any real tightening until all brackets are attached. Be sure that the stretcher band is even all the way around, that the neck cut is lined up, and that the brackets are perpendicular to the head.

Now we start tightening. There are many theories about how to tighten a head. To me this more of an art than a science. I start by evening up the tension on all the brackets without tightening very much. I start on one side of the neck and just go around in order. I continually check to see if the stretcher band looks even all the way around. You could use a small ruler to check this, but I think eyeballing it works OK.

When the head is still very loose I tighten each bracket until there is some noticeable tension all the way around. I then check to see if the strecher band is still level. At this point it's still easy to correct any irregularities. Then I start really tightening the head.

I usually never tighten more than a quarter turn each time around. Mostly I try to feel the resistance going up as I turn the bracket wrench (see the side bar about wrenches). Usually this means tightening about a 1/8 th turn or less. As I tighten each bracket the next one will be a little looser. I try to tighen it to same pressure as the one before it. Keep checking if stretcher band is level. If one side or end seems higher tighten the brackets there until you have them the same height. Check this repeatedly while you are tightening the head. Tighten until it seems firm to the touch when you push down. We will fine-tune it later.