It is a commonly held belief that the tone ring of a banjo is the heart or the basis of the sound of a banjo. The tone ring certainly has a major affect onwhy a banjo sounds the way it does. The character or specific type of sound of a banjo is most clearly created and defined by the tone ring. The wood in the rim and neck affect the color, or warmth or brightness of the sound, but the tone ringreally determines the basic voice or character of the banjo.
It is important to understand that the very specific materials that comprise various tone rings can have a profound affect on thecharacter of sound of a banjo and changing any ingredient will change the soundto some degree. In other words,spaghetti sauce tastes different when you spill too much salt or oregano intothe pot. Changing alloy, weight ordimension of a banjo tone-ring changes the taste or character of the sound.
We will try to describe the various tone rings that Deering makes and make comparisons between them to help determine what “kind” of sound each produces. Some Deering banjos haverims that are not made with a tone ring and we will discuss them here so thatall tone rings and rims will be discussed.
The DeeringTwenty-hole Bronze “2006” Tone Ring
The Deering twenty hole “2006” tone ring or the “06” tone ring,is often called a “flathead” or “flat top” tone ring. First built into Deering banjos in 2006, this tone ring was not only an instant success but it was also the result of a history making, new, and innovative approach in tone ring manufacturing. The new alloy creates a tone ring with rich, complex harmonics that give the banjo a more musical character and expression, incredibly powerful, always superbly beautiful with a clear, bright ringing sound and good sustain.
The ’06 tone ring embodies all of the most desired tonal characteristics sought after by today’s top pickers. Flathead tone rings are,by far, the most popular design for five-string, resonator banjos used by fingerpicking bluegrass banjoists. Deering’s ’06 tone ring has sparkling,ringing high tones and powerful rich bass response with a sweet, but solidly powerful mid range, that creates a full, brilliant and solid banjo tone. The response of this tone ring is so powerful and even, like the greatest violins and pianos in the classical music world, that the new Deering ’06 player commonly feels that each and every fretted note has an equal intensity that translates to an ease of playability, prized and found, only in the most meticulously designed and crafted musical instruments that have been imitated but not duplicated throughout history.
The Deering ’06 tone ring has a huge, powerful dynamic range. It can be played exquisitely soft for sweet, gently passages. Or, it can be driven as hard as the human hand can drive it, while still retaining the full, sparkling tone demanded by the most exacting professional…but never sounding harsh. Unlike competitive tone rings and tone ring systems that are merely sharp or piercing (but not really powerful), the ’06 tone ring increases volume with the beautiful sweet sound that is sought after by virtually all demanding players; professional and hobbyist.
Dubbed “The Roaring Twenty” by players who demand great volume and power for their hard-driving performances, this versatile tone ring easily fulfills the needs of any musical situation with power, grace, and precision.
The Jens Kruger Bell Bronze Tone Ring
Jens Kruger and the Deering Banjo Company joined forces with the Reutschi Bell Foundry of Switzerland in developing the revolutionary Jens Kruger tone ring design that has elevated the beauty of banjo tone to a brilliant, classical purity unheard of in today’s experience. Created with abroad bass to support the upper register, the Jens Kruger tone ring has unsurpassed tonal clarity, a rich and broad range of harmonics, bright and sparkling sound, and an incredible sustain to meet the needs of the most discerning of all banjo players from professional through dedicated banjo enthusiast.
Discovering that the density of molecular structure and consistent crystallization of the bronze in casting plays a key role in improving banjo tone, the new methods used to cast the Jens Kruger tone ring produce a tone ring that is as dense and consistent in structure as a huge church bell with the tonal qualities usually only attained in huge castings…it rings with a full range of tone that blends well with other instruments.
The Jens Kruger tone ring allows for great versatility of playing style, from delicate softness to hard-driving, without being overpowered! The even tone from string to string and more consistent tone regardless of right hand placement make this banjo a player’s dream come true
The Deering Vega Tubaphone Tone Ring
The Vega Banjo Company around 1906 introduced the tubaphone tone-ring. It is a handmade tone-ring that, unlike a cast tone-ring, is made of three parts: the shell, hoop and the square tube. These three parts must be shaped, carefully hand fitted and soldered together, then polished and plated. These tone-rings have been used in both open back and resonator banjos but the current popular application is in open back banjos for old time and folk music and resonator models for Dixieland and Irish.
The sound of the tubaphone is a warm, round sound with a sweet, golden metallic ping in the tone. It doesn’t have the sharpness of a heavy cast tone-ring and for that reason it is popular with folksingers and old time clawhammer players who like a fuller sound. It is also extremely popular with plectrum banjoists in the Dixieland style. The notes on the higher frets are warm and clear. Some early bluegrass recordings were recorded on Vega banjos with tubaphone tone rings. Vega actually made an Earl Scruggs model atone time. For the player who wants a sweeter, gentler sounding banjo, that is crisp and full, with a little less“bite” than a cast bronze tone-ring, this is a classic and a beautiful choice.
The Deering John Hartfordgranadillo tone ring.
This tone ring is a uniquely Deering approach and sound. Granadillo is used for marimba keys, bassoons and even some clarinets for its musical vibrancy and tone. In a banjo tone-ring it has a beautifully warm, round, full and rich sound. It’s over tones are complex and full and yet it is capable of tremendous volume. As the player increases his or her volume, the banjo gets louder and louder but never gets harsh. While some famous brass tone ring banjos get more piercing as they get louder, the Hartford Tone ring just gets louder with all of its sweetness and rich tone. The late John Hartford commonly tuned his banjos down to E instead of G. The deeper, rounder sound of the granadillo tone-ring is ideal for lower tunings. A properly adjusted granadillo tone-ring banjo can be crisp and responsive while producing a rich tone in all tunings and string gauges. If you add a fiberskyn head to this tone ring, the warmth and dark tone is emphasized and the brightness and crispness is reduced. This makes a perfect combination for old time styles and the traditional clawhammer or frailing approach.
One side benefit of this tone ring is its lightweight. It takes about 3 pounds off a bluegrass style resonator banjo. This can be very helpful for individuals who want the power and punch of a bluegrass banjo, but are sensitive to weight due to physical size or back injury, etc.
The Boston(and B6) steel rim
The Boston banjo has a rim that is made of 3/16” steel. Unlike the soft aluminum rims that are common on imported and domestically assembled banjos, the 3/16” steel rim is extremely strong and hard. This rim is very bright and extremely clear. It is capable of beautiful, bright and crisp sound that records easily and is one of the most powerful parking lot picking banjos made. Studio musicians like the Boston rim because of its clear, subtly dry, precise tone. (This is the main reason it records so well) For the banjo player who needs a banjo that is extremely rugged, the Boston will endure more hardship than most due to the strength of the rim and the strong, simple joint of the neck to the rim.
The Arch top tone ring
The arch top tone ring or tone chamber has a pronounced treble brightness. This design makes the vibrating surface of the head smaller in diameter because the tone ring slopes down to the outside of the rim, thus raising or creating a kind of arch with the highest point of the outside perimeter of the vibrating head being along the inside diameter of the rim, instead of the outside diameter, like a flattop tone-ring. The smaller vibrating surface, vibrates at a higher frequency and therefore, produces a “voice” that is brighter or higher. Some bluegrass players and tenor banjoists prefer this brighter voice. If you want the brightest, sharpest, most“cutting” banjo sound, the arch top will provide it. The arch top doesn’t have the bass response of the flat top.
New Patent Pending Goodtime Special tone ring
2010 heralds the release of the new patent pending Goodtime Special tone ring. Designed by Deering, the new Goodtime Special tone ring produces a louder, sweeter bell tone, a considerable step up in tone from the original tone ring that was featured on our previous Goodtime Special banjos. Made of steel and crafted in a new configuration, this new tone ring will give you good volume, clarity of tone, and the sparkling sound found in banjos at three times the price.
Pop-on Resonator Option
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:49
The custom pop-on resonator option is a wonderful way to gain versatility in your banjo. It gives you the ability to easily convert your banjo from a resonator style banjo to an openback. It is important, however, to remember that this option needs to be considered at the time you are creating that all-important dream banjo. The reasons for this will become apparent as we explain the subtleties of the production process used in the creation of the banjo with a pop-on resonator.
The flange, rim and heel construction of a banjo with the pop-on resonator are different from our standard Deering models. This custom option utilizes a tube flange. The tube flange is made of a 3/8” tube of brass that is usually nickel plated, or chrome plated if you choose this option. There are holes in this tube through which the bottom of the j-bolts pass and at this point a nut is attached to each hook. The top edge of each j-bolt fits over the edge of the tension hoop, which is the ring that surrounds the banjo head. It is these hooks that keep the banjo head tightened.
The maple rim on these banjos is turned to accommodate the tube flange by creating a
Rounded wooden “ledge” of sorts under which this rounded tube lays. The standard Deering one-piece flange requires the rim to be trimmed thinner to accommodate the smaller interior diameter of this flange. Hence the rim on these banjos is thinner than the rim that uses a tube flange.
The heel cut on this style of banjo is different as well. It is trimmed to fit the rounded tube flange configuration as opposed to the broader edge of the one-piece flange. The resonator is fitted with four custom-made, felt-lined clips around the inside. Using these for attachment, you are easily able to pop them on over the tube flange when using the resonator or pull it off when you want to play your banjo as an open-back.
With all of these considerations in mind, you can understand converting an existing banjo to accommodate a pop-on resonator is not done.This is a wonderful option to consider at the start of your banjo’s creation!We will be happy to talk to you about this and any other details that will make your personal banjo a dream come true!
Head Types and Descriptions
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:36
Each type of banjo head has a unique contribution to your banjo’s tone. Heads have different effects on different kinds of banjos. For example, one head might sound right for one player on a five string banjo, but be disappointing on another players tenor banjo. A head on a long neck open back banjo might sound completely different on a 12-string banjo. The individual artist's touch on the instrument, the use of picks or bare fingers, the kind of bridge and the gauge of strings are all intertwined in a recipe that creates the musical product that you, the artist, have designed. Music and tone are completely subjective and there is no one answer or definition that can be truly considered final. Here are some brief descriptions that are only meant as guidelines to experimentation.
TOP FROSTED: This is the most popular head made for a five-string resonator banjo. It is crisp, bright with good snap and not too much sustain. The bridge sitting on the hard coating doesn't shift too easily when bumped (or adjusted) and seems to stifle some unwanted sustain that gives fast fingerpicker passages clarity and good note distinction.
BOTTOM FROSTED: This head is very popular with tenor and plectrum banjoists. The smooth top doesn't make noise when fingers are dragged across the surface like many players with flatpicks or plectrums do. The bridge sitting on the smooth surface tends to increase the sustain and reduces some of the bright character of the top frosted head. The head has good bass response (lower frequency as banjos don't have true bass); it sustains more and is sweeter than the top frosted.
CLEAR HEAD: The clear head is good to show inlays, gold plating or other artwork that is done inside the banjo. The tone is sweet with clear distinction and long sustain. It has a bit less bass response than the bottom frosted head. Some say it is brighter.
FIBERSKYN: A favorite with old time, claw hammer, frailing styles. Also used by some bluegrass players. It is preferred for its warm,round and not as sharp character. It tends to have a more plunky sound. It was intended to approximate the tone of calfskin without the mounting and maintenance work of real skin. It also looks like a calfskin head. (A big plus for re-enactment groups and players wanting a very traditional appearance.)
BLACK SHINY HEAD: Strikingly different, this head is very mellow in tone with long sustain, lots of low frequency response (bass) and not as sharp as a clear or bottom-frosted head. More sustain than the fiberskyn and not plunky at all.
PRISM HEAD: Showy appearance and a bit like the black head in tone. Perhaps a little less mellow than the blackhead. A bit brighter and more potential for sharpness. A popular head for tenor and plectrum and Crossfire electric banjos both for tone and appearance. The prism effect radiates lines of color likea real prism when it is moved from side to side. If you want flashy, this is the head for you.
KEVLAR: On a four or five string banjo, the Kevlar tends to sound sharper and emphasizes the high frequencies like you would hear in an archtop tone ring banjo. The head is stiffer and the bridge doesn't sag in the middle and the playability is somewhat like an archtop banjo. The texture of the head is like an orange peel. It is textured but smooth. This head sustains well and is sharp. It is sweet and strong on the six and twelve string banjos.
These descriptions are all based on Deerings current head selection and may not relate to heads from other manufacturers.
Some players find that smooth top heads allow the bridge to slip when slightly bumped. A small bit of rosin rubbed onto the bottoms of the bridge feet will help prevent the bridge from sliding around. The effect on the tone seems insignificant to most players.
How to Adapt a Goodtime Banjo for Children
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:18
So your son or daughter says to you, “Mom/Dad, I want to play the banjo!” You maintain that “parental calm”,smile encouragingly, and then when they aren’t looking you begin the frantic search for information about banjos so you can satisfy this wonderful desire from your budding offspring!! If they are very young, you try to find them a smaller instrument, knowing full well that at some point or another, they will outgrow it! As parents, we are used to having our children “out grow” things--- shoes, clothes, toys, etc. But they DON’T have to outgrow their banjo just because their body is getting bigger!! Here at Deering banjos our sales manager Barry Hunn has figured out a way to make our Goodtime openback model adaptable for those little arms to play. With a few very minor alterations and at a very minimal cost, your child can play the SAME banjo from age 6 to 60 (or beyond)!!
Even though your little one can give you the biggest, strongest bear hug in this universe, they are really not well equipped to handle the 12 pounds and the 13 inch circumference that is routinely part of an upper line instrument. Deering’s bright sounding, rock maple Goodtime openback model is an ideal instrument for very young children because it is very light in weight. At only 4 pounds and with a circumferenceof only 11 inches in the pot area, most little ones can tolerate both the weight and get their arms around the banjo. Even though you could swear that a child’s reach is far greater than it should be (that is why we put all those“breakables” in locked cases!!), their arms are just a tad bit too short to reach the top of a standard banjo neck to chord! Unlike most guitar necks, the neck profile of the Deering Goodtime banjo is very slender and ideal for smaller hands as well as larger. By simply utilizing time tested tools calledspikes and a capo, you can make the necessary alterations to the banjo that will easily overcome the barrier to playing caused by the short reach of their little arms.
Capos are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased from most music stores—honest! They are not like the latest action hero that you found yourself searching for on Christmas Eve at every store in the known universe! There are many to choose from and they are modestly priced from $10 to $25 at most music stores. Place the capo just a little behind the fret and tighten it just enough to allow the strings to sound clearly. Over tightening can cause the string to go sharp and not enough will cause the strings not to ring fully. I have given you a chart at the end of this article to help you with the tuning of each string.
Have a luthier install the model HO railroad spikes for you. This service is usually less than $20 and truly well worth the price! Remember the time you put the bike together and ended up with“extra” parts? Save yourself the headache--- please have a professional do this for you! The combined cost of these items is considerably less than purchasing another instrument for your youngster as he quickly outgrows the first one.
Once all of these simple alterations and tools are in hand, you are ready to have your son or daughter play the banjo. If your child already has a teacher to go to, you are very much ahead of the game. If not, just get a basic banjo book or video. There are many available and we have some excellent choices here at the factory as well. Now,get started! Have no fear---you have done your homework! The rest really is fun!
By placing the capo at the 5th fret, or 4th fret, or 2ndfret, you will shorten the fingerboard “musically” so that little arms can reach the proper positions on the fingerboard. They will be playing in the keys of C, B, or A but the fingering of the chords will be the same as for those of us who play in the ever-popular key of G on a full scale banjo neck tuned to open G. The beauty of this is that by starting them out with a capo over the 5th fret, you can continue“lengthening” the fingerboard for them as they grow, by moving the capo to the4th and 2nd frets, and they will still be using the same chord positions they have already learned.
The fifth string will need to be slipped under the railroad spikes. The spikes themselves will be installed at frets 7 (A), 9 (B), and 10 (C). These along with the placement of the capo at the appropriate position as explained above, will make it possible for even a 6year old to begin.
Here is a simple chart for checking the proper tuning of each string after you put the capo on and spike the 5thstring. (The 5th string is the shortest one on your banjo.):
Capo Place Key 1st string 2nd string 3rd string 4th string 5th string Spike
2nd fret A E C# A E A 7th fret
4th fret B F# E flat B F# B 9th fret
5th fret C G E C G C 10th fret
Now the REAL ADVENTURE begins!! Exploring their heart’s desire for music will make the banjo a joy for your youngster. Having a banjo they can actually play will make the joy even greater!! Who knows, you may even want to share the adventure with your young person!! We have shown you how you can easily “alter”one instrument for everyone to use!!
After all, it’s not like the time you tried to ride little Jimmy’s bike to show him how easy it was. Let’s face it our legs are just not meant to be contorted like pretzels!!
Share the joy of music with one another – in this case, one size really does fit all!!But most of all, play the banjo!!
D-Tuners
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:10
The Keith D tuner is a tuning machine that has stops built into it that allows the player to “set” a note and then re-tune to another note and “set” the second note so that he can change from one note to the other and the stops will prevent him from tuning too far or not far enough. Earl Scruggs used these and is credited for inventing them on several songs. (Earl’s Breakdown, Randy Lyn Rag and Flint Hill Special are some classics.) D-tuners take some finessing and an “out of tune” situation is very common and easy to fix.
We'll start by first taking a sharp #2 pencil and lifting out the second and third strings from the nut (up by the tuning pegs) and rub the pencil back and forth in the slots until both slots are completely coated with the pencil graphite. This will lubricate the strings in the slots and help prevent any binding that will pinch the string and not allow the string to move from pitch to pitch.
When the strings are back in the now lubricated notches, and tuned up to pitch, set the tuner to the upper note first. (Always set the upper note first) Lower the string pitch to the lower note and without setting the lower note, bring it back up to the high note that is pre-set. I'll bet it's flat. Loosen the high note stop and re-tune the note. Now, lower the note again and bring it back up to the stop. I'll bet it's closer if it's not right on. If it is close but not quite on, loosen the high note stop again and tune it again. One trick that helps is to bring the note up to the high note while tuning and setting the stop. Avoid bringing the note down to the right pitch, as this tends to exaggerate the problem of the "sticking nut".
Once you have the high note set and in tune, now lower the note to the desired lower note and set the stop. Bring the note back up to the higher note and then back down. Perhaps it is a little sharp. Loosen the lower stop and retune and set again. This usually puts the lower note in tune. Raise the pitch up to check the high note and lower it to the lower note. Sometimes the high note will be flat again and you will need to start the process all over again. Setting the high note while the lower stop is in place doesn't usually work. It is best to set the high note when the low note stop is not set. However, setting the low note is usually easier and faster than setting the high note on most banjos.
As you can imagine, the amount of graphite in the nut slots makes a big difference when you are sliding a string through constantly like you do with D-tuners. Keep a pencil in your case and keep the slot and the string constantly coated with the graphite. (This helps your other strings tune easier too. Even the wound fourth string when you apply the graphite to them as well)
D-tuners are not exactly user friendly but with good nut lubrication and patience in setting the notes in the manner I've described,they will be accurate, smooth and soooooooo much fun!
