Martin
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Post by Martin on Feb 6, 2013 16:36:31 GMT
Due (I think) to the low temp/low humidity recently, my banjo has developed a bit of a fret buzz on all strings. Sighting down the neck, it appears to be very straight with no relief, and checking at the 7th fret, this seems to be the case. It does have a truss rod thankfully, but the nut is accessed from the neck end, and due to this being an old time banjo, I need to remove the neck from the pot to access this!! Needless to say I am very nervous about doing this, mostly because I'm unsure if I'll be able to put it back together again properly. The flip side is that I know of NO banjo luthiers or even repair techs anywhere nearby. I'm tempted to give it a go, however  |
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andrewjw
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Post by andrewjw on Feb 6, 2013 17:41:02 GMT
Sounds tricky to me...  Might be worth trying to put it between you and Mrs Martin in the marital bed...  Maybe the extra warmth and humidity will bring it back to rights? |
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Feb 6, 2013 20:46:05 GMT
I'm trying desperately not to let the missus read this over my shoulder in case it gives her any ideas!  |
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davewhite
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Luthier
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Post by davewhite on Feb 7, 2013 8:41:16 GMT
Martin,
I know nothing about banjos but if you are going to try taking the neck off do some Googling first and check out Frank Ford's frets.com. Have you contacted any of the UK specialist banjo shops ? They may be able to talk you through it or have a tech that can. Alternatively you could try some heavier strings on it to pull a little more relief in the neck or maybe shim the nut up a fraction if it can be easily removed/replaced until the humidity comes back up again.
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2013 9:15:41 GMT
Thanks for the tips, Dave. Might be worth a shot as I'm pretty certain it's a humidity related problem since I've got one or two sharp fret ends that weren't there before either.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2013 9:18:23 GMT
Does the banjo have tailpiece adjustment, Martin? On my banjo it causes buzzing if I set the tailpiece too low. I don't know exactly why, but what I suspect happens is that it makes the bridge sink the head that little bit too far.
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Feb 7, 2013 9:47:41 GMT
Thanks Pete. This banjo has a 'no-knot' tailpiece, so there's no downward pressure on the strings from it at all.
I also made sure to tighten the head a fair bit (not too much in case I tear the vellum!).
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Jo whoever he is.
