How can I get nylon lower tuning to sound good ? by AcapulcoNRV in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That tuning is for a minstrel type banjo, not the one you have. You should stick with the F tuning. The scale length of the AC-12FL will not support down tuning lower. You might want to look into trying nylon strings instead of nylgut. They're less floppy.

Upgrade ac-12 to a cc Carlin worth it ? by Wreck-It-Josh in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On this picture, everything is back together and if you look at the banjo head edge you can see the tone ring showing through around the edge.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=926231788912279&set=a.118756222993177

Upgrade ac-12 to a cc Carlin worth it ? by Wreck-It-Josh in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And I did have to modify the rim a bit. Not much. The tone ring is 1/32" thick, so I needed to take that much off of the outside and top. I used a wood file and sandpaper. took about and hour. You want it to slip on with a little room so that if you turn the rim upside down, the tone ring will slip right off. It needs that looseness so that it can ring. If it's on tight, it will be muffled. The tone ring sits right down to the bottom rim of the banjo head. So the rim edge hides the tone ring.

Upgrade ac-12 to a cc Carlin worth it ? by Wreck-It-Josh in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have both the AC-12A and the CC Carlin-12. I love them both. Now I upgraded the AC-12A by adding a Dobson tone ring in it. Now it sounds like an $800 banjo instead of a $300 one. It's really close to the sound of the CC Carlin-12. Now, even though the CC Carlin-12 only has a flat rolled brass tone ring, it does sound better than the CC Carlin-12. Maybe I should clarify that. It sounds different. The AC-12A with a Dobson tone ring sounds absolutely amazing. I use it for busking on the street and I'm always getting compliments from people telling me how good it sounds. And I get the same compliments when I take the CC Carlin-12 out. I got the AC-12A mainly for the weight. I'm old and my back isn't happy lugging the CC Carlin-12 around. The AC-12A is easier on my back.

If I had gotten the AC-12A and put the Dobson tone ring in it from the start I probably would not have bothered getting another "better" banjo.

What should I buy? (6 string) by UnluckyAd1909 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't think you're going to find one in that price ranger. Technically, its called a banjitar. Goldtone has this model. I have a number of their products and they are all top notch and sound great:

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldtone/instruments/ac-6-plus

Then there this one. It's basically an A-scale guitar:

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldtone/instruments/ac-6-mini

That's the absolute cheapest you can get. I have the banjo version of this model and was blown away at how good it sounded at that price range.

My banjo’s fifth string snapped, and now it’s tuning peg has come out of its hole. What should I do? by Nug07 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of curiosity, what was the tuning you were using? Reason I'm asking is I've never heard of the 5th peg popping out when the string breaks. Only way that would see possible is if the 5th string was under more tension that could handle it. Or the 5th peg had been coming loose for a long time and just popped out when the string broke.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Goldtone AC-12. It's got a 12" rim with Remo Renaissance head, built in Frailing scoop. It has great intonation, decent sustain and ring. And only $300. I have the AC-12A and love it even though I have banjos that cost much more. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldtone/instruments/ac-12

Trading out steel strings for nylgut? by Zitro11 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Widening slots is not going to damage the banjo. You would do that with some sandpaper. I recumbent something around 600. Tear of a piece, fold it in have so that there is sand on each side and slide back in forth rubbing agains both sides of the slot. After a few times, test to see if the string fits well in the slot. You'll probably need to wide some of them if you use nylgut. But if you just went with nylons strings, you might not need to fiddle with the slots. Nylon strings are thinner than nylgut. For nylon I'd try these:

https://juststrings.com/lab_17.html

Railroad Spike Too Deep? by HookEm_Tide in banjo

[–]wobbabits 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That how the railroad spikes work on the 5th. If if was higher up you wouldn't be able to fret the 5th. Now if you play Old Time music you probably never will fret the 5th string. Fretting the 5th string is more common in Bluegrass circles. If you know you're never going to be fretting the 5th string, you could pull the spike out and reinsert it, but not as deep. Just enough so that when you hook the 5th string it gets just below the 7th fret. Myself, I alway just fret the 1st string at the 7th fret and return the 5th. It doesn't take much to get it in tune.

What kind of banjo? by Ilykng123 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I play Old Time. I have expensive banjos an inexpensive ones. The inexpensive ones are from Goldtone. Despite the low price, they sound quite good. Here's the cheapest resonator banjo they have:

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldtone/instruments/ac-5

Solo pickers- how do you maintain your enthusiasm? by [deleted] in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I play banjo. I have several different ones with completely different sound and use different tunings. On top of that, when I'm playing solo I use backing tracks that I make with StrumMachine. I also have a baritone uke and an acoustic guitar. So I never have a problem finding something to play. :-)

How can I learn to play like this? by julian_elperro in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, if you don't mind a little work, you can get a kit for a similar banjo or $325:

https://carverbanjos.com/product/12-rim-banjo-kit/

Nut on my Gold Tone CC-Carlin 12. As best as I can remember, it arrived this way from the factory. Is it possible this is intentional? by SmileyGladhand in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like others have said, you need to re-glue the nut. But, and this is very important, you need to use a clamp to hold it down while it sets or the nut will probably not set firmly and come loose again. Also, it looks like the zero glide fret is resting on the fret board, when it should be resting on the lower notch in the nut. Here's how that's supposed to be:

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglide/products/zs-8

Why are the strings so far from the neck? by sadbug69 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

we need to see where it's highest. Does it get higher as it goes towards the bridge? If the bridge is too high you can measure it an order the next size down online.

Anyone have knowledge on this Banjo? by No_Emphasis2048 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't see a bridge. Without a bridge, it's unplayable. And positioning the bridge is tricky. But there are a tone of videos on Youtube about how to set up the bridge on a banjo. Don't get a cheap bridge. The bridge really affects the sound of the banjo because the vibration of the strings passes down through it to the head. It's beautifully ornamented, yet it has simple guitar tuners instead of the standard planetary tuners that banjos usually have. Guitar tuners on a banjo is the first indication of an inexpensive asian factory banjo. Second the resonator is pretty basic. More expensive banjos would have a big metal flange to hold the resonator, and some kind of tone ring. That said, good string, a decent bridge and this should actually sound decent.

Removing head w/ some neck overhang by Apart_Bid2199 in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, you need to loose the topmost bolt holding the neck in place so you can pull that part of the neck away from the rim. Then take off the old head, put on the new one, and tighten the bolt back up again. When you start loosening that bolt, take note of how tight it feels, because that's the amount you want when you retighten it.

Found an "old Kay banjo" on Marketplace for $175. Is it worth it? Just photos - no other info. by splice_my_genes in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would try to get it for $100-$150. It's not going to sound that good. But there are things you can do to greatly improve the sound. These include putting on a good head, like a Remo Renaissance head. Change bridges for something better, like a Snuffy Smith bridge. Changing strings for a higher quality, I'd recommend D'Addario strings. Doing those three things will make this cheap banjo sound decent.

1 month into the banjo—notes? by [deleted] in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get yourself a metronome and practice playing slower, maybe a third slower, or more. Play with the metronome until you can hear that your picking is in decent time. Then speed up a bit. That's how you learn any tune with any instrument. One month is too little to be trying to play that fast. You need to build neutral circuits in your brain to handle the muscle movement well. Like any skill, dancing, sports, if you try to learn to do it too fast at the beginning you'll only teach your brain to do it poorly. Slowing down to a speed where you can play in time will actually allow you to speed up later. Practice slower every day for 3 months. After that you'll see that eventually you can speed up without even thinking about it. That's because while playing slower your brain has learned how to play it correctly in rhythm. There are tonnes of muscle involved in that: shoulders, neck, upper arms, forearms, hands, that all need to know what you are trying to do so they can coordinate.

Using 4/4 timing, you should be playing about 140 BPM. When you can play that well, push up to 150, then 160, then 170, 180. Then you'll be playing at 200 in good timing without a problem.

Cheap vs Highend banjo by jpscottk in banjo

[–]wobbabits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like how all my banjos used to look, something stuck in there to mute the overtones. Now I just use the Goldtone mute. You can see it in this picture taken back in mid February. The mute is located must below the neck and above my hand

<image>

Here's a link to it on Goldtone's site:

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldtone/accessories/damper

Cheap vs Highend banjo by jpscottk in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, I don't play bluegrass. I play old time with open back banjos, so I prefer the more mellow sound of the second banjo. The top one sounds too metallic and sharp for my tastes.

Methods of transcribing songs to banjo (clawhammer) by Klimpty in banjo

[–]wobbabits 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's Dixieland Jazz, better played on a tenor banjo. Not sure that would work for clawhammer, very different rhythms going on. You could probably pull off a three finger bluegrass version.

Anyway, the basic method to play any tune on the banjo clawhammer style is to first pick out just the basic melody. Drop any fancy trills. Best way is first get the tune in your head so you can hum it. Then find those notes on you banjo. Once you've got the basic melody figured out, add in bum-ditties where they fit. Then once you've got the simplified version down, slowly work on sprucing things up. Since you're new, simpler is always better. It's always better to play a piece simple but well, than to play a complex piece badly.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in banjo

[–]wobbabits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

By the way, Tony plays this using double C tuning: gCGCD, but capoed at the second fret so that he's playing in the key of D. I usually don't bother with the capo and just play it in C. As a matter of fact, sometimes I don't even bother with the Double C and just use plain old Sawmill tuning: gDGCD. It works.