String height on a fret-less banjo.

[Steve Harrison]

It probably seem as though I'm asking the obvious but I've recently restored a Simpson fret-less banjo and can't decide the correct height for the action. I've no experience of fret-less banjos so have nothing to compare it with. At present the strings are 3/8" above the fret board where it joins the hoop, higher than would be expected for a fretted banjo...many thanks...Steve. 

[Trapdoor2]

My preference is to have the action down as low as it will go and not be buzzy. I have had a couple of fretless banjos but they were set up for stroke-style and thus required a higher action than for fingerstyle...both of them were set at 1/4" (~6.5mm). My Ashborn is currently very high and needs a neck reset...it is nearly 1/2" but as it is usually played only in the 0 to 7th positions, such a high action isn't all that much of a problem.

3/8" (10mm) sounds quite high to me...even for stroke style. I would probably go with 3/16" (5mm)...about half of what you have right now.

[Steve Harrison]

Thanks for that Marc, I'll have to reset the neck, it may need a little surgery to do this...Steve.