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Stephen45710 - Posted - 10/29/2016: 21:36:38
I recently acquired a 1950's Sears and Roebuck banjo (Harmony made). I replaced the plastic head with a thin calf skin head from Elderly. I thought there may be some people who might be interested in the sound difference.
Several members astutely recognized the head was not properly tensioned. I tuned it up to "A" via the Steve Davis method and made another recording.
The new video shows the plastic head, the tighter skin head, and then the loose head.
Edited by - Stephen45710 on 10/30/2016 11:52:51
jellyfish - Posted - 10/30/2016: 00:05:16
Wow, that's an improvement! Useful video, thanks!
banjobrewer - Posted - 10/30/2016: 05:39:54
It's definitely a difference. It seems to really mellow it out. The skin looks great, did you do any dying on it?
And the playing sounds great also.
Helix - Posted - 10/30/2016: 06:45:45
Very nice, the first banjo I ever played, what good care you are taking here. Simple changes can make great gain. More meat on those bones.
Uncle Brad - Posted - 10/30/2016: 07:03:24
Stick with the skin head. It sounds great, and so does your playing!
Stephen45710 - Posted - 10/30/2016: 07:38:11
quote:
Originally posted by banjobrewer
It's definitely a difference. It seems to really mellow it out. The skin looks great, did you do any dying on it?
And the playing sounds great also.
I applied some light brown wood stain to the dried head. I let the stain dry before soaking the skin prior to installation.
banjered - Posted - 10/30/2016: 07:48:35
Thanks! Very good demo! I think I prefer the synthetic in this instance, more snap and clarity. This from a guy who has five banjos and four skin heads. The skin head while mellow is a bit muddy to MY ears and it sounds as if the skin is too thick or not tightened enough but I am not sure how much tightening a composit can take. A different bridge might make a significant difference too. Thinner bridges make for brightness and thicker for more mellowness. My one synthetic is a Mogi with a 12" Ren head and it sounds so good I haven't yet been tempted to experiment with a skin head. It has a lot of punch which I need for jam sessions. All the above evaluations subject to change in a "live" situation versus the intermediary of the internet. Thanks again! banjered
Bart Veerman - Posted - 10/30/2016: 08:05:28
Heads, whether mylar or hide, need to be tightened several times before they're done stretching and settle to a stable tension.
To have a fair comparison: was the new hide head's tension stable were both heads tightened to the same tension?
It could easily be that for your tonal preference the tension is perfect. I'm with Tom though, to my ears the hide head also sounds muddy and needs more tension.
Tom Berghan - Posted - 10/30/2016: 08:31:58
quote:
Originally posted by Bart Veerman
Heads, whether mylar or hide, need to be tightened several times before they're done stretching and settle to a stable tension.To have a fair comparison: was the new hide head's tension stable were both heads tightened to the same tension?It could easily be that for your tonal preference the tension is perfect. I'm with Tom though, to my ears the hide head also sounds muddy and needs more tension.
I'm with Bart on this. Lots of you know I am a big supporter of hide heads but that recording didn't match my experience. I suspect the hide head was not tight enough. Hide does not equal muffled or muddy. In my experience, a good hide has a wider range of frequency response compared to Mylar, and the short story is that it generally has better response in the lower frequencies, but that does not mean the high end drops off. And not all plastic and Mylar heads are equal. In my opinion, a well made Mylar head with quality frosting sounds great. I myself prefer a quality hide head but if I am performing in the out-of-doors a lot, then I switch to a frosted Mylar head, because staying in tune is very important to me and it puts a dent in the entertainment aspect to have to spend a lot of time tuning. Nice stain job! Looks fantastic!
Stephen45710 - Posted - 10/30/2016: 11:56:00
Several members were correct when the suspected that the head was not tight. I tightened the head to "A" with the Steve Davis Method and made a new video. The video now shows three sounds: plastic, tight skin, loose skin.
Interested to hear more comments...
Edited by - Stephen45710 on 10/30/2016 11:57:34
banjered - Posted - 10/30/2016: 12:29:53
Sounds much better with the tightening - another good demo comparison. Banjered
bhniko - Posted - 10/30/2016: 12:40:27
Started playing the banjo in the bluegrass style like most beginners. Then I gradually drifted in to more of the old style banjo and found the skin head so much
more in character with the music. Deeper resonance of the skin head made me a believer.
Tom Berghan - Posted - 10/30/2016: 13:59:02
That's the ticket!!!! Nice job Stephen! See!? A wider frequency range! (What a happy banjo!)
Dan Drabek - Posted - 10/30/2016: 14:10:06
100% improvement. 
DiddyBum - Posted - 10/30/2016: 19:19:24
Oh yeah that tight skin sounds nice
Bart Veerman - Posted - 10/31/2016: 07:56:01
Sounds great now, a wider frequency and dynamic range. You can mix up your tone by playing closer to the neck or towards the bridge.
You're now seen first hand how the tone is affected by head tension and despite what we think, you might prefer the mellower tone with the lower head tension. Keep in mind, come summer time and/or higher humidity the tension will probably lessen.
Consider dropping hints about a Drum Dial to Santa, that way you'll always be in control of the tension needed to please your own ears...
