Banjo uke set up

DaveWm · Jun 17, 2015

Hi, I wonder if someone can give me some advice. I've been used to setting up guitars but I've just bought a concert banjo uke. When it arrived the remo skin was covered with plastic film. This went under the chrome ring so to remove it all I had to undo all the lugs after taking the strings off. I then replaced the chrome ring and refitted the end piece. I've now tuned up and set the bridge in the correct position but the action is too low and the strings are buzzing. I'd appreciate any advice on sorting out the action. I'm not sure whether you have to adjust the end piece to raise the action. Thanks

kypfer · Jun 18, 2015

Your description implies that the skin is under insufficient tension, that is to say it's sagging too much, allowing the bridge to "dig in". The skin should only distort downwards by a millimetre or so at the bridge. If this is the case, or you don't have the confidence to tighten the skin some more, the usual solution is to fit a taller bridge. In the first instance, this can simply be achieved by shimming the existing bridge with a suitable length of wood or plastic strip of appropriate thickness, just to "get things going".

Good luck

hoosierhiver · Jun 18, 2015

I agree with kypfer. You will probably have to spend several hours tweaking it, banjo ukes can take a lot of tinkering with to get them sounding the best.

DaveWm · Jun 18, 2015

Thank you both for your reply. I'll start "tinkering" now?

aaronckeim · Jun 20, 2015

I think you may have messed up the head. All kinds of Remo heads are made from synthetic materials. If you have one where the outside looks like skin, then you have a Renaissance model head. IF you stripped anything off this head, including a plastic "film" you may have stripped away half of the construction of the head. Was the "film" an easy thing to peel off or did it require scraping or sanding? I could be wrong here but I have never seen a Remo head with a protective film that was designed to be removed. (I have installed a few hundred heads) If the action is now too low, then you need to continue to tighten up the head until the bridge no longer sags. Maybe post a pictures or two?
Aaron

Picker Jon · Jun 20, 2015

I found the Deering Banjos tech blog really useful, some very informative vids. I'd never adjusted a compensator rod to adjust the action brfore I got a banjo uke but it really makes a difference.

http://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/banjo-maintenance-tips

DaveWm · Jun 20, 2015

Thanks for reply.

The "plastic" film had printed on it a warning about suffocation, so I think it definitely needed removing.
I've, hopefully attached some photo's. Do you happen to know if the angle of the tailpiece effects the action?

Thanks

SteveZ · Jun 20, 2015

I answered this on the original "new members post" with this comment:

What kind of banjo uke?

First, how is it at the nut end, especially the first fret? Is that end comfortable?

Second, is the neck straight? Along with that, is the neck level to the head (not tilted at all)?

Third, Which frets are where the buzzing is happening? Are they just too high and need dressing?

Fourth, does the instrument have a truss rod? If so, an adjustment there (not much different than guitars) may do the trick.

Fifth, have you tried putting a thin shim (no thicker than a popsicle stick size or so) under the bridge feet? If this works, getting a new, higher bridge would be in order, and you can sand down the feet to get to a more comfortable height.

There are probably other quick ideas, but knowing the brand/model of the instrument would help.

Probably one one the besi information sites on banjo (and thus, banjo uke) maintenance and setup is this one: http://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/banjo-maintenance-tips

DaveWm · Jun 21, 2015

Great info. Thanks SteveZ. I'll work down the list.

fynger · Jun 21, 2015

I always understood that on a Banjolele the neck angle is approx 3 degrees from the level of the head......that's how i've always built them...and that seems to work great......a UKE neck is flat level with the body...a Banjolele is 3 degrees down from the body to the peghead.

SteveZ · Jun 21, 2015

fynger said:
I always understood that on a Banjolele the neck angle is approx 3 degrees from the level of the head......that's how i've always built them...and that seems to work great......a UKE neck is flat level with the body...a Banjolele is 3 degrees down from the body to the peghead.

Always trust the artist who builds them. The lessons-learned which are shared have great value.

orangeena · Jun 22, 2015

If the head is organic (not synthetic) make sure that you have kept the instrument somewhere with a similar humidity to where you expect to play it for a while before you mess around too much with the tension. If it has been somewhere damper, the head might be very loose. So you crank it up tight as a drum (!) in your nice dry living room and next morning the first little rip has appeared. It all goes downhill pretty quickly from there. Ask me how I know!
I took mine along to a jam on a pub on Friday night (Norwood Arms!) and after an hour outside, the head was so loose the action was flat on the frets. Being a southerner I went inside when it got chilly and the head tightened right up in half an hour and the action was, if anything, slightly high.
And never leave it in the boot of your car.
Max

Banjo uke set up

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