Banjo Uke Setup

Jerryc41

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I received a Sidekick banjo uke today - not for me, but for a friend. The head was very loose, so went around the rim tightening it. How tight should it be? It seems to be plastic.

I learned something about a banjo bridge: it should be placed facing one way but not the other. The base of the bridge is slightly angled. The first time around, it slapped down on the head as I was tuning it. That's because it started out tilted toward the headstock. As I tightened the strings, it tilted more and flopped over. When I reversed it, it had a slight tilt away from the headstock, and by the time the strings were tightened, it was level.

Another thing I learned is that as I tightened one string, that pushed down on the bridge and depressed the head, causing the other strings to loosen a bit. It took a while, but I got the strings tuned, and they'll be stretched enough by the time I give it to him Wednesday night. I haven't noticed this with my own banjo ukes, so maybe it's because everything is new.

That Sidekick 8" is a nice little instrument, and I'm glad he was able to get it at such a good price ($75) from someone here.
 
Tighten until it sounds a little like a snare drum when tapped with your finger nails , you should still be able to depress
the head slightly with your thumb. If the head breaks you have over tightened it. ;)
 
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