More Tweaking, When Will It Stop?

Warning! This post is another one of those technical ones, where I talk about improving the sound of my banjo.

I'm one of those that like to tinker and experiment - I like to know why things work the way they work! And when I get into something new, I don't want to know just a little bit about the topic, I like to get into it deep. Such is the case with my banjo. It's not enough to just try to learn how to play it; I've got to know why and how it makes the sounds it does.

When I hear a great sounding banjo on a CD, I want to know how much of that great sound is from the banjo itself, how much is because of studio work and how much is from the talent that's playing it. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know that I recently had a chance to hear a Huber Lexington banjo up close; in fact, I got to try one out. That's when I learned just how good some of these banjos really sound.

This thirst for knowledge leads me into my experimentation phase. So, here I am again, tinkering with my banjo, looking for that elusive "perfect sound." At the very least, I want to get the best sound possible from it.

Just three days ago, I posted an entry titled "Banjo Head Audio Spectrum Analysis." In that post, I stated there were two prominent notes where my banjo head seemed to be resonant - F# and A#. I also came to the conclusion that, because the A# note was slightly louder, according to the audio spectrum display, the head must be tuned to an A# note, and therefore needed to be loosened because I want a G or G# note.

Experimenting tonight has revealed the two resonant notes (F# and A#) are only present when the resonator is installed. With the resonantor off the banjo, only the F# note is present. This leads to the question, should I tune the head with the resonator on or off the banjo? You might think with the resonator on, since that will be the final configuration when playing the banjo. However, since the resonator needs to be removed in order to tighten the brackets on the tension hoop, and since Steve Huber tunes with the resonator removed, I decided to tune with the resonator off. This means only the cavity made from the pot assembly and the head covering the pot, is involved in tuning. The extra air space provided by the resonator is now out of the picture.

I remember worrying when I installed the new head, about over-tightening, and possibly tearing the head. I have already tightened this head several times, so I'm wondering just how much further I can go without ripping it. As it turns out, the head must have stretched some over the last few weeks, because I found all of the bracket nuts securing the tension hoop to be on the loose side - not sloppy, ready to fall off loose, but certainly looser than I left them the last time I made an adjustment. Having tightened the head several times already, discovering the loose nuts surprised me. It's not like it should have been obvious - the head itself was not sagging.

I have tightened the head once more. At this point, the head is tuned somewhere between a G and G# note; probably closer to a G# note. It sounds pretty good to my ear. I'm using Ron Stewart's Huber Lancaster on his A Bluegrass Banjo Professional DVD from Acutab, to compare the tone of my banjo, which by the way, is a Deering Deluxe.

At this point, I am very happy with the sound of my banjo. I think it's the best its ever been, exhibiting lots of brightness and lots of volume. I may very well be at the point where I'm getting the best sound possible from this banjo!