Goodtime Armrest: Alternate attachment

Many customers have asked us to develop a method of attachment for the Goodtime armrest that will bring it flush to the tension hoop. This was actually developed by one of our endorsing artists, Dan Levenson, and is very effective to bring the armrest down for more playing comfort.  The key is to remember TO TURN THE HEX NUTS UPSIDE DOWN BEFORE RE-ATTACHING THEM or you run out of thread to tighten the j-bolts down.

1. Remove your resonator by removing the 4 philips screws on the metal flange.

2. The armrest is currently held in place by two j-bolts.

3. Completely remove the hex nuts at the base of those two j-bolts.

4. Slip the j-bolts off the tension hoop and let them slide down on the “shoes” on the pot assembly.

5. Now take your armrest and, keeping in the same area, let it sit on the tension hoop. You will have two empty spaces where the j-bolts you released were and one hook that is still on the tension hoop sandwiched under the armrest.

6. You will notice there are two oval slots on the lower ends of the armrest.

7. You are going to bring each hook up and hook it into the LOWER EDGE of that oval. They will no longer go through the holes and back up to the tension hoop. Yes, you do lose two tension points on the banjo head this way but it does not affect the sound adversely.

8. Now, take the hex nuts you removed. You will be putting them back on UPSIDE DOWN so that you will not run out of thread when you put them back on the j-bolts. This means the ROUNDED END of the hex nuts goes up on to the hook first. If you look at the other j-bolts you will notice that the rounded end is at the bottom of the hooks.

9. So, with the ROUNDED END going into the hook first, tighten the hex nuts on the j-bolts so that they are snug. Do this with both j-bolts and your armrest will be held flush to the tension hoop and will be more comfortable to play on.