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Carver BanjosKeymaster
Are you only seeing one video on the minstrel kit page? I’m wondering if YouTube is blocking some because you are in another country?
This is how the page should look: see attachmentAttachments:
Carver BanjosKeymasterThanks for joining the forum!
The 3 assembly videos on the minstrel kit page should get you going. The third video is a complete assembly video made by a customer.Here is an older video, watch this and then finish the process by watching the “tacking a skin” video.
Heres another customer assembly video for a kit similar in construction.
Carver BanjosKeymasterHi Tyler,
Yes for the most part once a skin is tacked on its tension is set but It will constantly change with differences in humidity. You might see it sag slightly during summer months and return to higher tension in winter months. This is the drawback of a tackhead. We can compensate and expect these things to happen and still keep our banjo playable year round.
First, we need optimal tension when we attach the skin.
Next we need to be mindful of the external environment we are putting the skin through.
Last we can set the action a little higher so a slight sag in the skin won’t affect playability too much.
As far as replacing the skin, if the skin is put on correctly it should last for many many years and only to be replaced when damaged. I have a personal kit I use often and I put it together in 2018. It’s playable year round and the skin is in the same condition today as it was 5 years ago.
Also, I am releasing 12” adjustable tension rim kits and adjustable tension mountain banjo kits in 2025 so check back if that interests you!Carver BanjosKeymasterI just checked out your gourd post on the other page, looks really nice, thank you for sharing freeman.
The Appalachian neck could definitely be an offering on a 12” rim in the future.
I’m planning to start the year 2025 with just the Appalachian necks and minstrel necks and maybe a third- I’m thinking the Banza neck, If there is interest I will make all 3 neck types available across the mountain kit, gourd kit and rim kits. I’m trying to focus in on making less neck types so I can build up a stock and then be able to ship out orders much faster.Carver BanjosKeymasterLooks awesome freeman, I like the pattern of tacks, nice balance of skin to gourd
Carver BanjosKeymasterI sold the bent rim kits with peghead options for about one year and had not a lot of success. I am currently focusing on the minstrel neck and will consider offering other neck options in the future. Is there a certain neck option you would like to see on a bent rim kit?
Thank you!Carver BanjosKeymasterNo problem!
I would assemble the neck first then sand then apply the finishCarver BanjosKeymasterHey SC, while I check to make sure frets are smooth with each kit, I’ve seen this happen and yes definitely humidity could be a factor.
I would sweep a file along the edges of the fingerboard. Then go over with around 150 grit sandpaper and continue through to 220 and 320 as you sand the rest of the neck.
I imagine the wood has shrunk as much as it is going to and once you seal it with a finish, varnish, oil etc, it will be pretty stable.Carver BanjosKeymasterThe tuning peg holes are 9/32”.
I have never used geared violin tuners. I’ve seen some customers used planetary banjo pegs and I’ve seen guitar geared pegs used too.
I always encourage customers to use the friction pegs provided because they really do work very well when set up correctly. I can not guarantee any other pegs will work except for the pegs I provide.
The bridge and nut slot widths, I’m not sure exactly. I file the grooves in most of my bridges to what I know will accept the nylon strings.
I have several nut types for different kits.
If you have a white plastic nut it’s handmade and I fit the slots to match the standard strings I include with the kit.
If you have a black 3d printed nut, the slots I believe are uniformly 2mm across and may need small adjustments to fit each string.
If you have a fretted kit, the slots will be deeper to allow the strings to seat on fret zero.
I don’t fully understand the point of this question because you have the kit and can measure these things. If you want to explain what you are thinking with the nut and bridge maybe I can offer some help or suggestions on that.
Thank you!Carver BanjosKeymasterI forgive you Chris. I thought about it and the minstrel banjo might not mean the same thing to everyone as it means to me, so I should not be offended. You’re not wrong, but I certainly only wish to preserve the art of these unique banjos. Thank you for your compliments and thank you for posting on my forums!
Carver BanjosKeymasterThat’s a normal gap. The neck does not need to touch the rim there, plus you’ll have the skin on the rim. No worries!
You received the square dowel as shown on the listing. I don’t make or sell the kits with the round dowels anymore but the assembly videos can still be helpful 🙂Carver BanjosKeymasterI can’t help but feel a little insulted by that because my peghead shapes are not inherently racist and to think you might be promoting racism by supporting my art is a little extreme in my opinion. I’m not an historian but I do aim to keep the art form and music of the old time American 5 string banjo preserved with my work. It’s a truly American instrument and a crucial part of our history and culture.
Of course the minstrel banjo I offer is based upon historical examples of actual minstrel era banjos. How could you expect a minstrel banjo to have no connection to the minstrel shows that it is named after?
The Americana peghead is also based 100% upon historical minstrel era banjos. It’s a reality that cannot be escaped if you are seeking out to own a minstrel banjo. Thank you for your consideration.Carver BanjosKeymasterHi CarolynQ
In the case of the gourd banjos, the assembly video is a little out of date on that detail. The slots in the nut and the bridge are all equal in size. There’s no wrong way to orient the nut, but you may need to widen the slots for some of the strings, maybe. So put the nut in place and if you can’t get the strings to easily sit in the slots, you can widen with a folded piece of sandpaper like a file.
Thank you very much for your support and thank you for posting here in the forum!Carver BanjosKeymasterFor now, that’s right. I have seen people with a preference for one or the other. One thing I know is the minstrel neck with the peg through the fingerboard is my all time best selling neck and I will be focusing in on it.
I don’t think the peg is any less in the way for either style.
Is there a side peg neck that you personally would like to see on a 12” tackhead?Carver BanjosKeymasterI’ve also discontinued the travel banjo kit in its old form and I am now offering it with a 10” bent rim. The construction and assembly is exactly identical to the classic minstrel kits, just smaller. This makes more sense in manufacturing. moving into 2025 I’m trying to streamline all of my offerings. So if you have a pre-2025 travel kit model, the assembly video is here:
Carver BanjosKeymasterI’m now packaging all of my kits with a versatile string set. This allows for cello (low) tuning on any kit. For this reason I’m taking the “cello banjo” kit off, at least for now. Moving in to 2025 I am going to focus mainly on the classic minstrel neck. This neck can accommodate the lower cello strings just as well as the cello neck has.
I’m planning to offer the minstrel neck on a tackhead bent rim kit, a gourd kit and on a rim kit with adjustable head tension hardware. I will also soon make the classic minstrel neck available WITH FRETS. It makes sense to focus in on this capable neck design and use it across the board.
So that being said, the cello banjo kit is out of the lineup, at least for now. Please consider the classic minstrel kit instead and you can tune it exactly as the cello kit.Attachments:
Carver BanjosKeymasterSo this is an example. Feel free to start your own post to ask your specific questions.
I will do my best to help. I also welcome other users to chime in with their own suggestions and solutions.For questions about buying replacement parts or for more private conversations you are always welcome to email me at carverbanjos@gmail.com
Carver BanjosKeymasterLooks good Richard, what tuning are you in? How’s it sound? Any issues to note?
Carver BanjosKeymasterYou bring up another good point to mention. My sets are thicker strings and standard g tuning is possible but not ideal for the strings. My personal banjos always settle down to E, 2 steps below standard g tuning. And instead of always retuning I just leave it there.
For standard G definitely experiment with banjo string sets like Aquila nylgut etc.
I’ve used classical guitar nylon strings for years because they are a fraction of the cost of banjo sets and they are much more durable.
I’d love to hear your findings on how the aquilas work out and what tunings they hold the best for your kit. Thank youFor the bridge question: there can be a lot of debate on it but I’ll give you my opinion.
5/8 should be the maximum height bridge used. If you need higher action you should adjust the neck angle by resetting the black screw in the dowel/rim joint.
My reasoning is that using taller bridges is less effective past 5/8 because you are adding more tension at the bridge- the strings are going to push down harder on the bridge and sink it into the skin further, it starts to just even out no matter how tall the bridge gets.
Adjusting the neck angle keeps the downward force on the bridge in a good range.Carver BanjosKeymasterThe classic cello kit has the widest neck for my full-sized kits. The string spacing can accommodate 4 or 5 strings at the nut. If you go with 4 at the nut I can space them out even further because there is plenty of room on the neck width for it.
The next widest nut in full size would be the classic minstrel.Carver BanjosKeymasterThanks for the questions. I’m asked this a lot so I’m glad to have it here on the forum for everyone to see.
All measurements are in inchesClassic minstrel
nut width: 1 13/32
String spacing: 5/16Classic cello
Nut width 1 19/32
Spacing approx 5/16Classic Americana (these are probably the closest to “standard” for any of my kit offerings).
Nut 1 7/32
Spacing 5/16Celebration Minstrel
Nut 1 17/32
Spacing 3/8All other necks not listed above have identical nut widths and spacing.
This would cover all discontinued 12” and 10” diy kits, all the mountain kits, all the gourd kits all the travel kits.
Nut 1 5/16
Spacing 5/16All kits have a scale length of 24 13/16
EXCEPT: celebration minstrel scale length 21”, travel kit scale length 22”.All kits use a standard size bridge string spacing approx 7/16 and all kits come with a 5/8 tall bridge, some include a 1/2 tall bridge as well.
I do not have a brand on the strings because I’ve used various non-branded strings which I acquire in bulk.
I’m planning to release my own string sets soon that include 7 strings so you can choose the range you want to tune your kit to. These strings will work on all of my kits.
The best I can say for replacements at the moment is to use classical nylon guitar strings in the light-medium range. I talk about my strings in the video posted below at the 25 minute mark.
- This reply was modified 3 months ago by Carver Banjos.
Carver BanjosKeymasterNo worries and good luck with the clean up. That foxfire book you have is exactly what got me started on building banjos. It can be done with little money as they used to do back in the day.
Thanks for posting and always welcome here.Carver BanjosKeymaster -
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