banjo skin

[goldthorpe]

My banjo cracked its skin.

Where can I get a new skin ?

Can I install iy myself ?

Goldthorpe

[SteveK]

You can get banjo heads at Elderly instruments www.elderly.com
You might also be able to get them at Gryphon Instruments in CA. If your head was a genuine skin head and you want to replace it with skin, it's tricky and frustrating if you've never done it before. I believe there are tips on installing skin heads on the web but I don't know where. Mugwumps maybe. If you want to replace your head with a plastic head, fyberskin or a rennaissance head, it's easy as long as you get the proper size and crown heighth. You need to measure the diameter of your current head accurately and also measure the distance from the top of the head to the place where the head fits under the bracket band to get the crown size. Most banjos use a high crown head. If you get a skin head, you just need to get a skin that's big enough.

[wolvy]

Putting a skin head on a banjo is not that difficult. I've done it many times. It helps if you have a skin diameter that is enough larger than the head diameter so you have some material to grab. I've found some nice skin heads in drum stores in 3rd world countries. (but smell them first)

[Lorenzo]

My tenor banjo head had a big tear in it when I inherited it from my uncle, so it sat around for years before I put a new on it. I used the skin off of an old bodhran (the drum had been left in a hot vehicle, and split). But, there was plenty of material left to use on the banjo. It works fine and looks kind of neat too...natural coloring, rather than bleached white.