On hide skins and banjo setup goals

[Thomaston]

I sent off a check today to a guy that pre-mounts and stretches skin heads for banjos. I hope to have it installed on my tenor banjo this time next week. This particular guy uses goat skin, but calf skin is also a popular choice.

I feel like there's a couple of different schools of thought on how to approach set-up on a tenor banjo for ITM. Many, if not most, tend to go for what I've heard called the "machine gun" effect, which (to simplify things) is a nice tight plastic/mylar head with a resonator. Then there's people like me, that like a more subdued banjo sound. I've been using a Renaissance head and playing without the resonator for a long while. Rather than the crisp, dominating sound that many associate with a tenor, I aim more for a plunky tone. This is just my opinion, but I feel this approach meshes better with other instruments in a session, and helps to reduce the negative opinion many people develop about the banjo.

I know there are some that share my approach (Ptarmigan is one if I'm not mistaken). Any others out there?

Full disclosure: after playing saxophone in high school, I first re-kindled my love of playing music in my mid-20s when I bought a 5-string banjo. After 6 months of using finger picks and trying to do Scruggs-style stuff, I discovered old time/clawhammer playing and never looked back. I removed the resonator, got a plunkier head, and did the clawhammer thing until a little thing called a tin whistle distracted me and got me interested in Irish music. I guess that juxtaposition between bluegrass and old-time tonality goals has carried over into my tenor banjo views.

I started this thread just to brag a bit about this goat skin I'm excited to try out soon, but as I wrote, it evolved more into a thread about different banjo styles and setup goals for playing ITM. Might as well continue in that vein... What say you, fellow banjo players?

Oh yeah, no financial interest with the following links, but here's a couple of places that one can get premounted skin heads, or the materials to do it yourself. The first link, John Balch, is the guy I'm getting my goatskin head from. The second link has various types of calf skin options.

http://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/h ... ce=message

http://www.banjoseen.us/Store/index.html

[Tim2723]

I for one look forward to your report once it's on the banjo and going strong. Personally, I never had the patience for natural skins. Too much work for me. But I do share (I think) your preference for tone. I go for a subdued 'chunk' rather than a 'plunk'. I'm not a fan of the machine gun percussive thing. Of course, it's all personal preference isn't it? I use a very heavy Fiberskyn head, not too tight, and a sharp break angle on the tailpiece. I also use a fairly thin pick to keep the energy under control.

BTW, do you (or the others here) know where I could find an 8" Fiberskyn head for my banjolele? Do they make those?

[Feadoggie]

Then there's people like me, that like a more subdued banjo sound. I've been using a Renaissance head and playing without the resonator for a long while. Rather than the crisp, dominating sound that many associate with a tenor, I aim more for a plunky tone. This is just my opinion, but I feel this approach meshes better with other instruments in a session, and helps to reduce the negative opinion many people develop about the banjo.

That sounds like a decent enough philosophy to me. And I am also interested in how this turns out for you. I have an S.S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred sitting here that needs a new head and I've been ignoring it a little too long. Thanks for the link. So do let us know how this head sounds to you.

BTW, do you (or the others here) know where I could find an 8" Fiberskyn head for my banjolele? Do they make those?

I think the Fiberskyn heads start at 10". There is a Weatherking head in 8" AFAIK. That's the only one I know of but there may others.

Feadoggie

[Tim2723]

Thanks for that. I've only found 10" fiberskyn heads, and the instrument came with an 8" Weatherking, so I'm sure you're right.

[Thomaston]

I've seen Morgan Monroe banjo ukes with 8" fiberskyn heads before. I suspect they may have been a special order for Morgan Monroe, though. I never could find the heads for sale individually.

[Padre]

Tim
have you seen these websites?
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/GT8P.htm
http://www.smakula.com/BanjoHeads.html

Thomaston
does the guy of yours do something special to the leather?
cause the skin will catch humidity even from your sweat and will loose.
the guys in the golden era either used gibson tone rings on springs
or had a 2 lightbulbs installed inside the banjo pot and they were plugged while playing
so they'd give heat and the head would stay stretched.
I'd be very carefull if I was you with setting up the banjo with natural skin.
it's goin' to be a pain in behind.
if you want to read about proper banjo set up you can check out banjohangout.com
or go directly and get a copy of Roger Siminoff book how to set up best sounding banjo.
BTW I had a banjo with natural head, and I got rid of it as soon as I could.

[Tim2723]

Thanks Padre, I'll check those out. I wouldn't want to discourage Thomaston or dampen his enthusiasm, but you've cited the reasons that I haven't the patience for natural skin heads and think they're a lot of work. I don't even use a goatskin bodhran anymore. I've gone all synthetic.

[Thomaston]

Thanks, I am aware of the potential headache this will cause. With humidity being the way it is here, I'm HOPING it will as simple as making occasional adjustments with seasonal changes. If it becomes a problem that requires daily adjustments, I may go back to synthetic. I've read of people weather treating their heads, also, without it causing much of a difference in tone. I'll be sure to update the thread with pros and cons as I continue with this.

[Thomaston]

Well, I don't know if it was where I was sitting tonight at the session, but I had a &$%#@ of a time hearing myself. We were playing in a corner and I had a flute to my left and a fiddle to my right. As much as I want my sound to blend rather than dominate, I really feel like I would have blended better with a resonator. I'm still looking forward to trying out the goat skin, but I may have to re-think the open back vs. resonator argument...

[Padre]

well, Ralph Stanley played clawhammer with the resonator on
so why not

[Thomaston]

The maker was kind enough to send me a picture of the head, which is going in the mail tomorrow.



He also mentioned that he weather-treats each head, so hopefully that will help to minimize fluctuations.

[JTC111]

I sent off a check today to a guy that pre-mounts and stretches skin heads for banjos.

I have a Bill Miller skin head on one of my banjos. They're very nice. And if you want to get real "plunky," get some nylon strings. You might also look at swapping out your bridge to one made of a single piece of wood rather than the two-wood combos that are common today (if that's what's on your instrument).

[Thomaston]

I do have a bridge on the way, but it's got an ebony cap. I want to see if a 2-footed bridge is really than a 3-footed, which is all I've ever used.
Until recently I used a Farquhar bridge that has some type of ivory-like inserts at the string slots. It sounds great, but it has string spacing that is a little wider than normal, which I don't like.

[JTC111]

I do have a bridge on the way, but it's got an ebony cap. I want to see if a 2-footed bridge is really than a 3-footed, which is all I've ever used.

From the information I was able to gather about a year ago, two-footed and no cap is the way to go. I haven't found one though. I'm curious to hear what you think of the bridge you're waiting on.

[Thomaston]

No head yet, but I got my strings and bridge today. The bridge is just a standard Grover:
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/name ... -G3058.htm

JTC, Elderly has the 2-footed un-capped Grovers if you're still interested. See the first 2 listed here:
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/cats/BPBG.html

It'll be difficult for me to give the bridge an honest review since it'll be on a different head.