Thanks jed. Yah Mudcatter Banjo Bob (also Bouzouki Bob and Uke Bob) and I cut out many pieces of brass and polished, threaded, milled etc. til we got a darn nice banjo mute. They're twenty bucks U.S. and you WILL not wake the baby with one on!! P.M me if you could use one.

Re, tuning the head. I've never tried it. But then again I've never had a 'specific' sound in mind that I was going for. I figure that if everything's tight and fits right, the banjo will sound fine.

Now if I was looking for a "specialized" sound (say Scruggs' 40s sound) I'd get a calfskin head to start with or at least a 'fibreskin' one and then start messing with the tightening WHILE recording on to a machine. Listen to the playback when you think you've nailed Scruggs' tone.

You have to keep in mind also that every player uses a different hand angle, different fingerpick angle and different guage of thumbpick, so there are a LOT of variables.

Rick