I received a request for advice..any suggestions?

[thereallyniceman]

I received and email from Johannes, Sweden requesting  some advice:

"Banjo help!

Hello there, i watched your video on setting up the banjo. Thank you very much for that, very good video. :)

I still have a problem, i bought my very first banjo the other day. The head seems to be tight and good and the bridge looks to be in the right position. The problem is the first and second strings, when i press down on any but the first 3 frets on the strings, they dont sound, just make a muted and buzzing sound. If i put the banjo in another angle, i can get sounds from maybe the first 5 frets, but no more.. The action looks good aswell. I dont know what's making the first strings like that. Any tips?"

Comments and suggestions from group members would be appreciated.

Ian

[Jody Stecher]

Either the bridge is low, the frets are high (all it takes is one high fret and all the frets lower down the neck {closer to the nut, further from the head} will be inoperative) the neck is warped convexly, the bridge is in the wrong place (too far back), the strings are damaged, the neck is set at the wrong angle,  or some other direct physical condition or a combination of these factors is probably causing the problem.   A person needn't know anything about banjos to discover the cause. I would look first for a high fret. Ask the Swedish banjoist if the very highest frets (the ones near where the neck meets the hoop) respond clearly. If they do, then a high fret is the likely culprit. 

[thereallyniceman]

Thank you Jody,

My thoughts were a neck with a backwards bend too, but the fact it is only 1st and second strings are affected may point to a twist in the neck too. I suggest looking down the neck from the peghead to see if the neck does have a twist (by seeing if the top of the frets are parallel). Also a straight edge all the way along the frets could show the backwards bend if that is the cause.

Ian

[marc dalmasso]

better to post pictures to see the pb on the Bj

[Johannes karlsson]

Hello and thanks for the help, i think i have found the problem, the neck is pushing out on the right side (side where the first strings are), making the action to low on that side. If i press down on the neck where it's attached to the body (if you look on the 3rd pic), i can get the strings to sound good on all frets.

[Mike Moss]

Hi Johannes,

I assume your banjo has a single lag bolt/co-ordinator rod? If so, you can loosen it ever so slightly, align the neck properly, and then tighten it again.