Help with banjolele for a clueless beginner...

E

-Emma-

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Messages
181
Reaction score
0
Location
Sydney, Australia
Hi everyone,
I bought a handmade banjolele from here on the forum and picked it up yesterday.

I'm planning to take it to a workshop in a music store to get it professionally setup, because I am completely new to the banjolele and totally clueless and I can't tune it and get it sounding right.

It has friction tuners and I have only used geared tuners on my tenor uke, and I have no idea how to tune it. I read here that you basically "pinch" the friction tuners, but I have found them absolutely impossible to tune. When I get it professionally setup I definitely want the tuners to be changed to geared tuners...what type of geared tuners would you recommend for a banjolele? Roughly what should I expect to pay to have the tuners replaced?

Does a digital tuner work on a banjolele?

Also, what kind of strings would you recommend? On my regular uke I have the Aquila Nylgut strings and I like how they sound. What strings work well on the banjolele?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions/help :) .

Thanks :)
 
A digital tuner should work just fine on a banjolele. Most tuners these days work through vibrastion in the insturment, so as long as it makes sound the tuner should work. These are the type tuners that attach to the headstock of your instrument, like a Snark or Intelli. Some have a built-in microphone and will tune based upon the sound produced by the instrument and do not have to be in direct contact with it. Either should work.

As for friction tuners, you just turn the peg like a geared tuner, you just do not have to turn it no where nears as much. Sometimes all it takes is a slight tweak. If you cannot tune it at all, the tuner may need to be tightened so it holds and does not slip. Friction tuners work by friction and there is usually an adjustment screw in the center of the peg. Just tighten up that screw and the tuner should hold. Maybe with a bit of adjustment on the tuner pegs, you may not need to replace the tuners, but if you do, any decent quality geared tuner should be fine.

As for strings, I'm clueless. :)
 
Emma. You can always ask the seller for assistance. I'm sure they would help.

Anyway. Friction tuners. Yes I don't like them either but they will work to start with. Firstly. You need to give them a BIG yank to move and when they move they change the pitch QUICKLY compared to geared tuners. Often you need to use a screwdriver to adjust the friction so they move when you want but don't slip.

Setting up the saddle. I'm assuming the saddle was flat against the head for shipping. I'm guessing you have stood it up. To place it initially, measure accurately the distance from the nut (zero fret at peg heads) to the centre of the 12th fret. Place the saddle at exactly the same distance from the middle of the 12th fret + 2mm. That's the starting point. You can fine tune the intonation later when you get an electronic tuner and any tuner that works on a ukulele or guitar will work on a banjolele.

Anthony
 
anthonyg said:
Emma. You can always ask the seller for assistance. I'm sure they would help.

Anyway. Friction tuners. Yes I don't like them either but they will work to start with. Firstly. You need to give them a BIG yank to move and when they move they change the pitch QUICKLY compared to geared tuners. Often you need to use a screwdriver to adjust the friction so they move when you want but don't slip.

Setting up the saddle. I'm assuming the saddle was flat against the head for shipping. I'm guessing you have stood it up. To place it initially, measure accurately the distance from the nut (zero fret at peg heads) to the centre of the 12th fret. Place the saddle at exactly the same distance from the middle of the 12th fret + 2mm. That's the starting point. You can fine tune the intonation later when you get an electronic tuner and any tuner that works on a ukulele or guitar will work on a banjolele.

Anthony
Click to expand...

Anthony, by the "saddle", you mean the bridge..... just to clarify..... but yes of course, if the bridge is in the wrong place, the banjo-uke will never be in tune..... :)
 
-Emma- said:
Hi everyone,
I bought a handmade banjolele from here on the forum and picked it up yesterday.

I'm planning to take it to a workshop in a music store to get it professionally setup, because I am completely new to the banjolele and totally clueless and I can't tune it and get it sounding right.

It has friction tuners and I have only used geared tuners on my tenor uke, and I have no idea how to tune it. I read here that you basically "pinch" the friction tuners, but I have found them absolutely impossible to tune. When I get it professionally setup I definitely want the tuners to be changed to geared tuners...what type of geared tuners would you recommend for a banjolele? Roughly what should I expect to pay to have the tuners replaced?

Does a digital tuner work on a banjolele?

Also, what kind of strings would you recommend? On my regular uke I have the Aquila Nylgut strings and I like how they sound. What strings work well on the banjolele?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions/help :) .

Thanks :)
Click to expand...
Ok my advice for what it's worth - strings - just use ordinary ukulele nylon strings for the best sound on a banjo-uke - much, much cheaper than Aquilas. If you have new strings on there, they'll be still stretching for a few days, and that could be all that's wrong.

Check the position of the bridge - you just move it if it's wrong. Should play an octave at the 12th fret.

The friction tuners just take the smallest tweak to tune, compared to geared - it just takes a bit of getting used to, but worth it. If one is too stiff or too loose, adjust with a screwdriver at the screw at the top of the button - just 1/8 turn at a time. It's standard fiddling about.

I love friction tuners, they look so much better on a banjo-uke, and they are worth getting used to. Top-end wooden ukes have friction tuners... good luck with your new banjolele! I love mine, I have three vintage ones now! The first was a nightmare with one of the old tuners but I sorted it, with help from the great folk on here, and it works fine now! :)
 
barefootgypsy said:
Anthony, by the "saddle", you mean the bridge..... just to clarify..... but yes of course, if the bridge is in the wrong place, the banjo-uke will never be in tune..... :)
Click to expand...

On a banjo or banjo ukulele the difference between the bridge and the saddle is moot. For all intent they are the same on these instruments.

And regarding strings. I have Aquila Nylguts on my banjo ukulele. When tuning friction tuners you really have to turn firmly to get them to move and then you don't need to move them much at all. Yes they are frustrating.

Anthony
 
Last edited:
Thank you for your replies so far :) , I clearly have a lot to learn! I just sent an email to the person who built the banjo uke, so hopefully they'll have some suggestions too :) .

I already have a digital tuner (Lanikai brand) that works fine on my regular uke :) . I just wasn't sure if I needed a different type of tuner for a banjo uke, so that's good to know that it should work just fine.

I haven't adjusted the screws on the tuning pegs because I didn't know what to do with them and didn't want to cause any damage. How tight should the screws be?

Yes the bridge was flat across the head for shipping and there were lines marked on the head to indicate where the bridge should be placed.

I'm going to ring the music store tomorrow to find out about getting it setup too :) .
 
Emma, Its good that the line was there to show you where to place the bridge however placing the bridge on one side of the line or the other makes a difference to intonation. The pegs should be loose enough that they move when you turn them but tight enough that they don't move under string tension. Your not going to damage anything by adjusting them unless you get really ham fisted in tightening them but you wouldn't be able to turn them either if you did that.

Anthony
 
Thank you Anthony :) .

I received a reply from the seller and he said that the screws should not need adjusting because he had adjusted them prior to sending the uke. He said that if I really can't get it in tune then if I take it to a music store I should get them to tune it while I watch, which I think is a good idea. I'm not sure whether I should just initially pay for it it be setup and then see how I go with learning how to use the friction tuners. Or if I should just get them to change it to geared tuners when they set it up. What type of geared tuners would be suitable though?

Here are some pictures of the friction tuners...

IMG_4729_zpsa323935d.jpg

IMG_4730_zpsbc5a6bda.jpg
 
Friction pegs can be difficult. Just move them to start with to get used to the feel. The trick is to move them ever so slightly to fine tune things. To start with just move them. Thats a traditional peg head designed to work with friction pegs so I'm not sure what geared tuners would work with it. You may just have to line some up and see how they fit.

Anthony
 
I adjusted the screws and was able to get in tune :) , it took me such a long time though! :uhoh: Does it take quite a while to get used to friction tuners?

I'm still going to take it in to get setup and to get some advice about the tuners, so I guess I will see what the technician recommends.
 
Yes I don't like friction pegs myself. The few ukulele's that I received fitted with friction pegs I've had changed to open geared tuning heads. Its not that I couldn't tune an instrument with friction pegs it was just a painfully slow process to do so.

Anthony
 
Thanks Anthony :) .

Have you tried geared planetary tuners, anything like the ones shown below?

Gotoh-UPT-JP1-G-Display.jpg
 
Emma, the peghead on that banjolele is a really beautiful shape and very traditional, I can't imagine how it would look with geared tuners sticking out of the sides, I don't think you would pleased with the look of it, I'm just sitting here screaming "don't do it!!!" in my head! And those planetary tuners are pretty expensive and getting them fixed would put up the cost to you considerably.....you may eventually want sell that uke on, and upgrade - then you'd be thinking how much money you'd lost on it..... just something to think about. I still think it's worth getting used to the friction tuners, it really won't take long. But that's just my advice. Last word from me! (Sigh.....) I don't know where you are, but it's morning here, have a great day. :) Lesley
 
I haven't tried those planetary tuners but everyone around here is raving about them. I'm not sure of prices but I imagine their not cheap. You could get a quote. Yes as much as I dislike friction pegs myself the headstock on your banjo ukulele is made for them and will probably look rather odd with conventional geared tuners on it.

Try struggling on with the friction pegs and see if you can get the hang of them. See if you can get a price on the planetary tuning heads.

Anthony
 
What Lesley said. Including the screaming.

Whatever you end up doing with it, I hope you enjoy the instrument. They have a great sound and are a lot of fun.

barefootgypsy said:
Emma, the peghead on that banjolele is a really beautiful shape and very traditional, I can't imagine how it would look with geared tuners sticking out of the sides, I don't think you would pleased with the look of it, I'm just sitting here screaming "don't do it!!!" in my head! And those planetary tuners are pretty expensive and getting them fixed would put up the cost to you considerably.....you may eventually want sell that uke on, and upgrade - then you'd be thinking how much money you'd lost on it..... just something to think about. I still think it's worth getting used to the friction tuners, it really won't take long. But that's just my advice. Last word from me! (Sigh.....) I don't know where you are, but it's morning here, have a great day. :) Lesley
Click to expand...
 
I'm going to take it to the music store tomorrow and will see what they recommend with the tuners...I do like the look of the friction tuning pegs, but after attempting to tune it again today I ended up giving up and playing on my regular uke :( . I can't see myself ever wanting to sell my banjo uke, but if I get geared tuners I want them to be decent quality ones that work well and look nice too

I'll get some advice tomorrow about the friction tuners and the cost and will have a think what to do next. The first step is getting it set up :) .

The planetary tuners are being sold on ebay...I'm in Australia so they would cost me about $80 including shipping. My dad is interested in woodworking and is certain that he could fit them (would need to double check measurements to make sure they would fit ok though). But I would most likely leave that to a professional.

The banjo uke is beautifully made, I don't want to ruin the look of it, but on the other hand I need to be able to tune it.

I didn't take these photos (they were taken by the person who built the banjo uke), but you can see how lovely it is :) .
 

Attachments

  • Banjo Uke.jpg
    Banjo Uke.jpg
    95.8 KB · Views: 23
Last edited:
Friction tuners are fine unless they pop out of tune. I have big hands and there have been times I hit the high tuner on my fluke when fingering an "F" chord, popping the peg loose. I'm still cranking down the tuners though (so it's not totally adjusted just yet).

If I were you I wouldn't think twice about putting on chrome machine heads. If anything it will look even better since that banjo looks to be pretty chrome heavy as it is.
 
barefootgypsy said:
Emma, the peghead on that banjolele is a really beautiful shape and very traditional, I can't imagine how it would look with geared tuners sticking out of the sides, I don't think you would pleased with the look of it, I'm just sitting here screaming "don't do it!!!" in my head! And those planetary tuners are pretty expensive and getting them fixed would put up the cost to you considerably.....you may eventually want sell that uke on, and upgrade - then you'd be thinking how much money you'd lost on it..... just something to think about. I still think it's worth getting used to the friction tuners, it really won't take long. But that's just my advice. Last word from me! (Sigh.....) I don't know where you are, but it's morning here, have a great day. :) Lesley
Click to expand...

As much as I respect Lesley, I'm going to be the loyal oppostion on this one :). First, I'll observe that I nearly bought that uke, and based on what I know about it, I think Emma got a very good instrument at a very reasonable price. Therefore, even with the cost of adding new tuners, the uke is probably well worth the price. Second, what good is an instrument if you don't enjoy playing it? Not everybody is a fan of friction tuners, and while I understand that have fervent fans, I think Emma's made it pretty clear she's not dealing well with them. Third, I agree that adding "ears" to that beautiful pegehead would be a mistake, I think that both the Gotoh UPTs and Pegheds are reasonable solutions for keeping the classic look of the instrument. For this one, I would tend towards the Gotohs-- I think they would really fit the look of this uke. And banjo ukes tend to be pot-heavy anyway, so I wouldn't be at all concerned about the weight they would add to the peghead.

In the end, Emma, it's your uke, do what you like-- but I think your plan is very sound and I hope it makes it an instrument you're dying to play (and if it doesn't, PM me... I still think it's sweet. :) )
 
I really don't get the whole 'friction vs geared vs planetary' thing. Mind you, the only tuners I like the look of are big bass machineheads. They'd look silly on a uke. Anything else is fair game!

Remember, whatever anyone says, it's your uke!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Peteslp
Banjolele identification help needed
Replies
7
Views
342
Knows Picker
K
B
Banjolele size help
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
beatle-bug
B
Y
Help with ID'ing a banjolele
Replies
0
Views
135
YouMakeMeUke
Y
default
Banjolele action help needed
Replies
5
Views
1K
DPO
DPO
N
Need help with old tuners on an banjolele
Replies
3
Views
629
DPO
DPO
Top Bottom