Plastic Cover

Down Up Dick

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Directly above the nut on my Gold Tone BUT banjolele, there's a little shield shaped piece of plastic. Is there anything under it? Is it, indeed, a cover? Or is it just decoration?

I could loosen the strings and look under it, but i ain't gonna . . . :eek:ld:
 
Without seeing a picture, my guess is that it's a trussrod cover, so if you remove it, you will have access to the trussrod to adjust it.

Or, if the instrument doesn't have a trussrod, it may merely be for show.
 
One Bad Monkey, that's what I thought it might be, but I was just curious so far. My banjolele does have a truss rod.

Extra question: How do you like your Recording King Resonator?

Thanks for your input. :eek:ld:
 
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One Bad Monkey, that's what I thought it might be, but I was just curious so far. My banjolele does have a truss rod.

Extra question: How do you like your Recording King Resonator?

Thanks for your input. :eek:ld:

It's nice for what it is and what it does, but I haven't played it in over a year. Will more than likely sell it at some point.
 
Truss rod is used to adjust tension on the neck, which can have an effect on action, and "relief" of the strings off the fretboard. They should be handled with caution, as you can break things if you get too aggressive with adjusting. When I've adjusted on my guitars, I go 1/8 turn at a time, let it sit for a day and see what it did. Most of my guitars, I've never touched the truss rod. But, that's what's under that 'lil cover :)
 
The sole purpose of the truss rod is to adjust the relief (bow) in the neck to account for strings of different tension or different players' tastes. Turning it one way or the other will have an effect on action, but that's not what it's for; rather, action is adjusted at the nut and saddle. In my experience with guitars, the truss rod hasn't hasn't needed to move more than just a few degrees one way or the other to have a clear effect. If the neck is straight or has a slight forward relief (again, depends on taste), there's nothing to worry about. If it needs adjusting, it's better to let a pro handle it. (I mention guitars because the only uke I have with an adjustable truss rod is my Pono, and it's too new to worry about.)
 
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Yeah, mine's pretty new too. I guess I'll just ignore it for awhile.

Thanks for the info. I was mostly just curious. :eek:ld:
 
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