One of my fellow followers of The Daily Frail blog (http://dailyfrail.com/) has built himself a cookie tin banjo. He was asking for advice on making it louder and also help in making chords on a fretless neck. I figured my friends here at the nation would have an opinion or two.
He has a really neat design of putting the tuners inside. Slightly hard to adjust on the fly, but help a lot with accidentally knocking one out of tune.
Here's a video of him and his banjo.
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Hi, Thomas, Guess what! I'm here, that banjo has changed alot, thank to advice given here, its louder and sounds better, I now have frets, lower action, more support, and just added a single coil pickup (that I chnaged the magnets to better ones from one of my kids toys). I built a great CBG after that, and that also is great to play, plus two small amps. Thanks for getting me on this site... Pat's looking well, but I think Dad isn't too well.
There is a method of playing a fretless that a lot of people dont know.One way to get a fuller sound on the strings when you play is to get used to fretting with your fingernail.For some of us it means we have to stop biting our nails but it DOES WORK.It takes a few minutes to get the hang of it but shortly you'll be getting that fuller tone you were after.It wont sound just like a fretted , but darn close.
A fretless also lets you slide up and down the neck on some strings bending notes to get cool effects also.
Like a CBG there are endless tunings for banjos,but most just stick to "G"
Everything is relative.... is a cookie tin banjo going to sound like a "regular" banjo?... of course not. But, cookie tin banjos and CBGs are smaller volume and won't have the same acoustic properties as a manufactured instrument... and that's not the point. The point is that you get to make music with an instrument that you have made with your own hands. The sound a CBG or cookie tin produces is unique/different... and who's to say better or worse.
Most homemade instruments that are "amped" are done so, to increase the volume, not to change tone characteristics. I have instruments that sound good and loud enough for small venues without using a pickup.
The point is this... if I wanted an instrument that sounded like a manufactured one, I would just go out and buy it. The unique sound that a CBG produces sets it apart and attracts interest. With a CBG or a reso Banjo in hand I have gotten to in front of audiences that I might never would have otherwise.
Bottom line, if all you're after is to reproduce the sound of an manufactured/traditional instrument, then go back where you can from and buy another vanilla white clone that looks and sounds like every other instrument in it's catagory... If you want the joy of building a totally unique looking and sounding instrument, then come on it, ask your questions and start building.... up to you.
the best,
Wichita Sam
Denis Shevchenko said:
I'm new here and a bit bewildered at how everybody uses those box-shaped CBs and Matza boxes and now this tin box. To me, what they have in common is poor acustic qualities, that's why, I guess, nearly everybody goes electric. Is that right? The seeming simplisity of using something ready - made has to lead to losses in quality of the sound. Do my doubts have ground? In this particular design, the already poor resonator is filled with lotsa things which make the sound meander and dump it. That may be the reason of the weak sound and whatever you do about the height of the bridge and the angle of the neck, don't know it works. The sound itself is pretty pleasant though. How about turning the instrument electric?
I'm new here and a bit bewildered at how everybody uses those box-shaped CBs and Matza boxes and now this tin box. To me, what they have in common is poor acustic qualities, that's why, I guess, nearly everybody goes electric. Is that right? The seeming simplisity of using something ready - made has to lead to losses in quality of the sound. Do my doubts have ground? In this particular design, the already poor resonator is filled with lotsa things which make the sound meander and dump it. That may be the reason of the weak sound and whatever you do about the height of the bridge and the angle of the neck, don't know it works. The sound itself is pretty pleasant though. How about turning the instrument electric?
Thanks guys! As far as chording goes, Ive had the same problem with these home builds. I know the form and the placement, but my fingers just seem to kill all vibration. Sounds more like Im mutiing it rather than chording. Sliding and single notes work fine.
Maybe a slight groove as a marker would help. I know varies from instruments like these, but is there a certain neck angle to that makes a good starting position?
The two banjos sounded relatively equivalent in volume. A taller bridge, with corresponding adjustment to the neck angle, might help on the volume.
As for chording: he has it tuned as a traditional banjo, so all the normal banjo chords should work. It is harder to hit them accurately: I find that having a tactile marker (e.g. a lightly-sawn groove) helps in hitting the chords more exactly.
if that is 5 strings tune it in g and just use standard banjo chord forms, I play a 3 string cookie tin banjo so I only have 2 strings to chord on. What I do is tune it g and d and play partial chords like it is a fiddle. Works pretty well that way. Still as a fretless he should just pick a key and then play meladies in it. It willsound great. A very sweet looking and sounding banjo.
Replies
A fretless also lets you slide up and down the neck on some strings bending notes to get cool effects also.
Like a CBG there are endless tunings for banjos,but most just stick to "G"
Everything is relative.... is a cookie tin banjo going to sound like a "regular" banjo?... of course not. But, cookie tin banjos and CBGs are smaller volume and won't have the same acoustic properties as a manufactured instrument... and that's not the point. The point is that you get to make music with an instrument that you have made with your own hands. The sound a CBG or cookie tin produces is unique/different... and who's to say better or worse.
Most homemade instruments that are "amped" are done so, to increase the volume, not to change tone characteristics. I have instruments that sound good and loud enough for small venues without using a pickup.
The point is this... if I wanted an instrument that sounded like a manufactured one, I would just go out and buy it. The unique sound that a CBG produces sets it apart and attracts interest. With a CBG or a reso Banjo in hand I have gotten to in front of audiences that I might never would have otherwise.
Bottom line, if all you're after is to reproduce the sound of an manufactured/traditional instrument, then go back where you can from and buy another vanilla white clone that looks and sounds like every other instrument in it's catagory... If you want the joy of building a totally unique looking and sounding instrument, then come on it, ask your questions and start building.... up to you.
the best,
Wichita Sam
Denis Shevchenko said:
Maybe a slight groove as a marker would help. I know varies from instruments like these, but is there a certain neck angle to that makes a good starting position?
As for chording: he has it tuned as a traditional banjo, so all the normal banjo chords should work. It is harder to hit them accurately: I find that having a tactile marker (e.g. a lightly-sawn groove) helps in hitting the chords more exactly.
chords = open tuning.....