The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #98115 Message #1939008
Posted By: reggie miles
16-Jan-07 - 10:00 PM
Thread Name: Six string banjo , help
Subject: RE: Six string banjo , help
Someone I know made one of these out of a snare drum body and a guitar neck. He had it tuned like a guitar. It didn't look that great and the action did have that loose feel to it but boy howdy was it loud.
I played it along with him while he was leading a song on an old upright piano. This thing could easily compete audibly with his banging on that old piano. That surprised me. I didn't think that something with such sloppy string tension could project so well. It's the head that enabled this Frankenstine to be able to kick out so much sound.
I would have preferred a tighter action, like my acoustic guitar has. I think all of the above ideas for accomplishing better string tension have merit. It's just a matter of tinkering with each of the solutions presented and trying them each individually and/or in combination with one another.
Heavier string gauges will bring a stiffer action but may make fingering more difficult if you're used to lighter strings. Increasing the head tension could help but also will increase bridge height and the action. So, you'll have to shave the bridge lower to maintain string height. Tuning the strings higher will also help but that tension will also bear down with more force on the bridge and head.
I've never seen someone overload a head but I suppose with all of the extra tension anything could happen. Something might give way. It's a balancing act that is best done slowly in measured steps until you achieve the results you want without creating undo forces.
This subject is of interest to me because I wanted to try my hand at creating one of these. Then I started noticing that contemporary makers were producing them and I gave up on the idea. Now I've set my sights on the idea of making a banjo bass using a bass drum and a cello neck.
An even more inventive maker in this area used an automobile fuel tank for a body and welded a piece of exhaust pipe on it for the neck. It sounds, looks, and plays great. Now that's what I call making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.