Classic-Banjo

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Banjo Tuners

I do have a nice 'Boss' chromatic tuner that I have used to tune my banjo for years, but as I didn't use it very often the tiny 9 volt battery was always flat, which was annoying.

I recently 'Googled' into my Galaxy Tablet, 'Banjo Tuner' and installed a great free APP which works a treat. So no more worries about flat batteries.

You just have to keep up with the times.

Greetings from Ray

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Daniel Bradbury on April 17, 2016 at 12:05

Thank you Ray for your reply.

My question was about the tuning pegs. I have decided to try out friction pegs and re-assess other options next time I have my banjo looked at by a luthier. The neck of my instrument is narrower than most banjos (perhaps intended for a lady player) and is causing me to have occasional, inadvertent string buzzing. I am considering having a new neck made for the instrument, but that is down the road and probably not until we relocate to the UK later this year. In the meanwhile it IS making me use considerable care in right-hand fingering .

I really enjoyed your videos with the zither banjo.

Daniel

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Permalink Reply by Ray Jones on April 17, 2016 at 20:20

Hi Daniel.

I have a banjo with a narrow neck and as you say, probably made for a lady, but as I have relatively small hands I find it great to play. I would check you neck angle, bridge height, and fret levels to remedy the buzzing. Even maybe the strings could be too light. The main thing is to keep enjoying your banjo. Regards

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Bradbury on April 18, 2016 at 19:23

Hi Ray,

The string buzz is not from the frets, but rather from the flesh of my finger holding down adjacent strings when forming some of those fat chords, particularly when I am the least bit lazy with my finger positioning. As I said, on the bright-side I am forced to be precise with my fingering. Thanks so much for your recommendations. I am just trying out different strings and haven't settled on any one just yet. Many years ago I had a top quality vellum head and strung it with real gut strings. It produced the most amazing sound. I hope to achieve something like that this time around. I will keep experimenting.