sometimes the best thing to do with my banjo is to tie it to the nearst tree, without case in any weather or avoid it for a week but when I play them im currently plalyin a short neck stelling bellflower , heavey and loud but perhaps the best banjo Ive ever owned was a long neck ODE with an aluminum rim wow what a banjo . Ive never played a long neck since that had such clarity. The head stock broke off of it twice , i had it glued and pinned way back and now its in dry dock in my basement. when i get the chance I may send it to a guy named Bob Jones in Brooklyn N.Y they say he does great work on everything acoustic.-----Pat