When you pluck a banjo string, the drum resonates and the bridge vibrates, emitting a sound. A banjo pluck is much louder than a guitar pluck because the banjo's thin head vibrates much more. A Nobel Prize-winning physicist named David Politzer studied this phenomenon in depth. Politzer believes the twangy, loud banjo sound comes from something called frequency modulation. You can modulate the frequency of a stringed instrument by changing the tension of the string.
For example, guitar players modulate the frequency of a string when they push it sideways and get that tremolo, or shaking, sound. The tension of a plucked banjo string changes as it vibrates.
Because a banjo's drum is so thin, the pluck makes the bridge vibrate as well. So the tension of the string changes twice: once from the initial pluck and then again from the resulting motion of the bridge. This means that when you strum the strings without pushing anything down, you will play a G chord.
You then can make a bar with your index or middle finger and push down all of the strings at the 5th fret to make a C chord. Lastly, you can slide that C chord position up the neck 2 frets to the 7th fret to make a D chord. With these 3 chords, and your right hand if you are right handed just strumming the strings, you can start playing thousands and thousands of tunes. The weight of a banjo does not let you know if it is a good or bad banjo. The weight of a banjo comes from the large metal parts on a banjo the tone ring and flange.
Not all banjos have either of these parts. Most people are associating the weight to the banjo having a tone ring when they say it should be heavy. There are very good banjos that do not have a tone ring. There are also tone rings that are lighter in weight such as the Deering Hartford Grenadillo tone ring. Also, there a number of cheap tone rings that are made of inferior materials and design that sound very poor these are usually on imported banjos from Asia.
Banjos that have resonators usually have a flange in order to hold the resonator on. All Banjo Music Is Fast. Some of my favorite banjo music is not fast at all. Posts: 3, You could use a noise gate, set with a very high threshold to kill your sustain. You will never actually sound like a banjo. Or you can get a banjo. Like a guitar, it can take a lifetime to master. But if you just want that plucky background for some country or folk numbers, you can do it with minimum investment in time.
Mar 31, 5. Age: 67 Posts: 6, Buy a cheap Zoom or other such multi effects pedal used. They can be found for next to nothing. Almost all of them have an acoustic setting that sound thin and brittle. Mess with the EQ and you can get some banjo and sitar sounds. Mar 31, 6. Age: 55 Posts: 4, A Pog maybe? I have a mini that can get some pretty funky sounds. I would imagine the full function pedal can do even more. Banjos have a floating bridge which means they can be moved.
It is important that you have it positioned correctly for your instrument. This will require a measurement so that you get it exactly correct. The bridge should be the same distance to the 12th fret as the nut is to the 12th fret. This is a good setup for most players but more advanced players may need finer adjustments of the bridge to achieve perfect intonation. This is a simple adjustment but it does require you to loosen the strings so that you can move the bridge into position.
This should be something that only has to be adjusted when strings are replaced. Otherwise, it should remain in the same position after the strings have been installed due to the tension of the strings holding it in place.
A professional Luthier or banjo repair person can do a proper set up on your banjo and make sure that it is ready for action. The head of a banjo can be made from different materials. There are frosted top heads, frosted bottom heads, clear heads, Fiberskyn heads, and others available to choose from.
These different types of heads can be the difference in having a bright, crispy sound or having a more mellow, warmer sound. Changing the head of the banjo will give you a noticeably different sound and you may find that it makes your cheap banjo sound much better. The head of the banjo is comprised of a thin plastic material that is stretched over the hollow ring. In olden days, this was made from calfskin and you may still find banjos using calfskin.
However, most banjos use plastic material for the head. A new banjo may have a loose head that will need tightening. You can do this by tightening the lug nuts on the tension hooks around the bottom of the tension ring. This may improve the overall tone that you will get from your banjo. However, this is very subjective and you may find that tightening the head will make it sound worse to your ears.
You may consider replacing the bridge on the banjo to help improve the sound. This is a cheap item for you to replace but could make a difference in the way the banjo sounds. You may choose to use a compensated bridge which could help to improve the intonation of your instrument. The tailpiece of the banjo can be another upgrade you could make that might improve the overall sound. Many banjos have adjustable tailpieces but your cheap banjo may not be equipped with one.
If all else has failed and your cheap banjo still sounds like crap, it might not be the banjo after all. It could be that you simply need to improve your playing style. For banjos of the past to sound good, banjo players had to have a lot of skill and be very good musicians.
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