Getting the best out of your Banjo
Banjo Setup – what happens?
A banjo will only give the best sound when all the parts – pot, neck, nut, head, bridge, strings, tailpiece – are all adjusted to work perfectly together.
It only needs one of these to be maladjusted to lose the bright projection which your banjo should have.
As a banjo is carried round, played, maybe dropped, fine adjustments get lost. This can happen slowly so you think your instrument sounds the same – but it doesn’t.
A setup from BanjoDoctor will restore your banjo to its best performance. Sometimes we can even exceed the performance it had when new.
What’s included?
Setup usually includes removing any resonator and cleaning up inside the pot, cleaning frets, neck, head and strings, torquing the head to its proper tightness, lubricating tuners (where possible), readjusting the tailpiece angle, repositioning the bridge.
It also includes many checks, for neck angle and straightness, playing action, fret levels and wear, nut and bridge height and slots and string wear.
We will recommend remedial action where this will materially affect the playability or sound of the banjo. Of course you can ask us to do other work if you wish (see Repair and Restoration)
NB Old strings can break during a setup. If this happens, we will replace them at the cost price to us.
Complete Renovation Services
We can take your tired old ‘jo and make it like new (or better) by:
- Fitting a new head – there are various types available for most banjos to suit just you. Please ask.
- Fret dressing – to level and polish the frets and stop fret buzzes.
- Fret replacement – from one or two to the whole neck. It’s all possible!
- Recutting or replacing the nut or the bridge to achieve good playability.
- Changing the tailpiece. This can make a surprising difference. All you have to do is choose the one you want!
- A complete dismantle and reassembly. This is a daunting task for the novice, but it can reset the banjo to showroom condition or even better.
- Restringing with strings of your choice, or ones which we advise for your instrument – please ask.
Repairing your beloved Instrument
What a heartache! Your lovely instrument isn’t as lovely as it was!
Thankfully, there’s a ‘But’ – and here it is:
BUT –
From a little ding to a major breakage, there is (almost) always something which can be done to give you back a playable instrument, often as good as it was before.
And if you are grieving over a total write-off, fret not(!) we can probably find a good home for the parts. So at least you’ll have something to spend on the next one!
Each repair job is quoted on its own merits.
No job is too small – or too big!
Banjo Questions?
Contact Us