Neck profile & thickness

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From banjotef on 5/10/2011 7:06:16 AM

Hey folks:

I recently had a home-built banjo with a curly maple neck. I was fortunate enough that Jim Mills played it last october, and compared to another banjo with a smaller neck. He thought the smaller neck had better tone and power.

So, I took the neck off the maple banjo( it was way too thick) and worked it down to 3/4" thickness (not counting the fretboard) where the neck joins the heel, and down to 5/8" at the second fret.

WELL...it really did make a difference in volume, power, and clarity. I think that the thicker neck tends to dampen the sound and power of the pot. Also, I was able to re-work the profile where it joins the pot, so it had solid contact at all points.

Hope this info helps.

4 Comments
	vintagewells says: 5/10/2011 8:48:42 AM It does make a difference. I have a little banjo - 8" head with a thicker neck. I don't think I'll trim the neck down though, because it is a loud banjo. Mahogany. I may however make a thinner maple neck...all in the name of advancing banjo science of course. and curiosity.
	Banjobrothers says: 5/11/2011 11:57:51 PM The thickness of the neck does make a difference, but proper heel contact is very important for sound transmission through the instrument, that probably made most of the difference.
	banjotef says: 5/13/2011 5:35:03 PM Brother oz: Thanks for confirming that. I may take the neck off my other banjo and re-work the heel profile.
madatcows says: 7/28/2011 4:07:12 PM On my latest banjo I had a thick neck and it had too much bass. I trimmed it down and the bass really evened out. It doesn't sound any different otherwise.
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