Sometimes it's important to cut out some of the overtones by stuffing a hanky or a diaper in back under the crossbar inside the pot. Sometimes, the head makes a difference. A lighter head might work better than a heavier or vice versa. Each banjo has it's own sound. Played two Bart Reiters the other day and the both sounded so different.


If you have a Tuba-phone pot, you oughta' be able to get a good rich sound. Sometimes, a resonator can change the sound of a banjo, too. Seems like to me (correct me if I'm wrong) that Uncle Dave used a resonator banjo. Also Stringbean.

One idea which is pretty rad is to have a plexiglas circle cut out and bracket it to the back of your banjo. Old-Timey purists might not like this idea but it might bring out a different quality that's good. Works on my tenor banjo and it's lighter than a standard resonator which means you can play it standing up longer without tiring. I haven't had the time or nerve to try it on my long neck Gibson but I just might one of these days.

Pete now uses a lignum-vitae neck (hardest wood out there) with a Tuba-phone pot. The neck will have some effect on the sound.

If you like the bright sound of a Round Peak clawhammer, you won't get it out of the long-neck Deering I believe. The long neck is going to get you a Seeger sound.

Frank Hamilton