Banjo: A Primer on Banjo Construction

The banjo is made up of a multitude of parts that include hardware and wood construction. Because a banjo can be completely taken apart and put back together, a banjo can have a lot of potential for differences in tone based on set up. For instance, a loose banjo head gives a banjo more of a thuddy, bassier tone; a tight banjo head will contribute to a brighter, crisper tone. Therefore, never pass judgment on a banjo's tone until it's been optimally set up.

Tone-ring selection and comparison


It is a commonly held belief that the tone ring of a banjo is the heart
or the basis of the sound of a banjo. The tone-ring certainly has a
major affect on why a banjo sounds the way it does. The character, or
specific type of sound of a banjo is most clearly created and defined by
the tone-ring. The wood in the rim and neck affect the color, or warmth
or brightness of the sound, but the tone-ring really determines the
basic voice or character of the banjo.


It is important to understand that the very specific materials that
comprise various tone rings can have a profound affect on the character
of sound of a banjo and changing any ingredient will change the sound to
some degree. In other words, spaghetti sauce tastes different when you
spill too much salt or oregano into the pot. Changing alloy, weight or
dimension of a banjo tone-ring changes the taste or character of the
sound.


We will try to describe the various tone-rings that Deering makes and
make comparisons between them to help determine what "kind" of sound
each produces. Some Deering banjos have rims that are not made with a
tone-ring and we will discuss them here so that all tone rings and rims
will be discussed.


The birch and maple rim of the Goodtime banjo.


The Goodtime and Goodtime 2 banjo rim is made of several plys of birch
and rock maple. The word "ply" means layers of wood glued together in
strips with the end product being a single, laminated rim. This rim is
lightweight and has a sweet yet bright sound. It has a gentle soft
character compared to a bronze tone ring banjo. It amplifies well and
records well.


The Goodtime Special steel tone ring.


This tone-ring gives the Goodtime banjo more power, sustain and ring.
The tone-ring is made from 1/8" steel and is shaped like a bluegrass
style tone-ring. It is clear, with some of the Goodtime banjo sweetness
and yet, it has some of the bell like "ping" that is desired in more
expensive banjos. It can be played very soft and fairly hard and has
good balance. It adds a couple of pounds to the weight of a Goodtime
banjo.


The Boston (and B6) steel rim.


The Boston banjo has a rim that is made of 3/16" steel. Unlike the
soft aluminum rims that are common on imported and domestically
assembled banjos, the 3/16" steel rim is extremely strong and hard.
This rim is very bright and extremely clear. It is capable of
beautiful, bright and crisp sound that records easily and is one of the
most powerful parking lot picking banjos made. Studio musicians like
the Boston rim because of its clear, subtly dry, precise tone. (This is
the main reason it records so well) For the banjo player who needs a
banjo that is extremely rugged, the Boston will endure more hardship
than most due to the strength of the rim and the strong, simple joint of
the neck to the rim.


The Deering sand-cast, virgin bell bronze tone ring.


Deering's sand cast virgin bell bronze tone-ring is the genuine Deering
tone-ring that is built into most Deering banjos. The term "sand cast"
is vitally important in the selection of a banjo to achieve the richest,
clearest and brightest ringing sound with good sustain and clarity.
Sand casting is a very old method. Many churches and temples in Europe
and Asia have huge bells that were sand cast. There are newer methods
of casting that are being promoted as better than or as good as sand
casting but this raises questions. If the famous, popular banjo tone
rings made during the pre-war era were sand cast, then why are many
modern tone rings centrifugally cast or die cast? The answer is that
newer methods are much faster and cheaper.

Sand casting starts with a model of the tone-ring made of
wood or metal. The model is pushed into a box that is filled with wet
sand, which takes the shape of the tone- ring when the model is removed.
The molten bell bronze is poured into the sand "mold" and left to cool.
When the bronze is poured into the sand, the porosity of the sand allows
the metal to cool through the sand, which helps align the grain of the
metal for the best musical production. The sandy textured, rough
casting is removed from the mold, machined to extremely close
tolerances, then polished and then plated.

Many companies use newer manufacturing methods to make banjos cheaper
and sell on name recognition and not necessarily for more beautiful
tone. Sand casting is expensive and when compared to modern
manufacturing techniques, not very efficient.

Just like crafting the finest violins however, that are hand tuned,
carved and built almost entirely by hand, the sand casting technique is
crucial for the finest tone. Deering is still sand-casting these
tone-rings despite the slower production time and higher manufacturing
cost because this makes the best sounding banjo possible.

Called a "flathead" or "Flattop" tone-ring, this tone ring has
sparkling, ringing high tones and powerful bass response or low tones.
This tone-ring in a Deering banjo creates a powerful, full-bodied sound
with an extremely broad dynamic range. It can be played very softly for
delicate music or it can drive as hard as your hands can drive it and it
just gets louder and still retains the fullness of sound. When properly
tuned and adjusted, a Deering with this tone ring is incredibly powerful
and always superbly beautiful. The alloy and casting method create
rich, complex harmonics that give the banjo more musical character and
expression than any banjo without a sand cast tone ring.


The Deering Vega Tubaphone Tone Ring


The Vega Banjo Company around 1910 introduced the tubaphone
tone-ring. It is a handmade tone-ring that, unlike a cast tone-ring, is
made of three parts: the sleeve, the rod and the square tube. These
three parts must be shaped, carefully hand fitted and soldered together,
then polished and plated. These tone-rings have been used in both open
back and resonator banjos but the current popular application is in open
back banjos for Dixieland, Irish, old time and folk music.

The sound of the tubaphone is a warm, round sound with a
sweet, golden metallic ping in the tone. It doesn't have the sharpness
of a heavy cast tone-ring and for that reason it is popular with
folksingers and old time clawhammer players who like a fuller sound. It
is extremely popular with plectrum banjoists in the Dixieland style.
The notes on the higher frets are warm and clear. Some early bluegrass
recordings were recorded on Vega banjos with tubaphone tone rings. Vega
actually made an Earl Scruggs model at one time. For the player who
wants a sweeter, gentler sounding banjo, that is crisp and full, with a
little less "bite" than a cast bronze tone-ring, this is a classic and a
beautiful choice.

The Deering John Hartford granadillo tone ring.

This tone ring is a uniquely Deering approach and sound.
Granadillo is used for marimba keys, bassoons and even some clarinets
for its musical vibrancy and tone. In a banjo tone-ring it is a
beautifully warm, round, full and rich sound. Its over tones are
complex and full and yet it is capable of tremendous volume. As the
player increases his or her volume, the banjo gets louder and louder but
never gets harsh. While some famous brass tone ring banjos get more
piercing as they get louder, the Hartford Tone ring just gets louder
with all of its sweetness and rich tone. The late John Hartford
commonly tuned his banjos down to E instead of G. The deeper, rounder
sound of the granadillo tone-ring is ideal for lower tunings. A
properly adjusted granadillo tone-ring banjo can be crisp and responsive
while producing a rich tone in all tunings and string gauges. If you
add a fiberskyn head to this tone ring, the warmth and dark tone is
emphasized and the brightness and crispness is reduced. This makes a
perfect combination for old time styles and the traditional clawhammer
or frailing approach.

One side benefit of this tone ring is its lightweight. It
takes about 3 pounds off a bluegrass style resonator banjo. This can be
very helpful for individuals who want the power and punch of a bluegrass
banjo, but are sensitive to weight due to physical size or back injury,
etc.


The Archtop tone ring


The arch top tone-ring or tone chamber has a pronounced
treble brightness. This design makes the vibrating surface of the head
smaller in diameter because the tone ring slopes down to the outside of
the rim, thus raising or creating a kind of arch with the highest point
of the outside perimeter of the vibrating head being along the inside
diameter of the rim, instead of the outside diameter, like a flat top
tone-ring. The smaller vibrating surface, vibrates at a higher
frequency and therefore, produces a "voice" that is brighter or higher.
Some bluegrass players and tenor banjoists prefer this brighter voice.
If you want the brightest, sharpest, most "cutting" banjo sound, the
archtop will provide it. The arch top doesn't have the bass response of
the flat top.


The Deering 20 hole tone-ring


The Great Depression of the 1930's was a prime time for
banjo music and banjo development. The bronze tone-ring that is
popular today with modern bluegrass banjoists that was made in the
1930's, is a cast flat head (or flat top) tone ring with twenty holes on
the inside slope of the ring.

Deering has reproduced this popular tone-ring authentically
and accurately and has captured the rich, powerful tone of the original,
highly prized banjos from the 30's. This tone ring is found in the
Golden Era, Golden Wreath and Golden Classic model Deering banjos. When
combined with the traditional three-ply rim, the traditional resonator
and the traditional cast resonator flange, the classic banjo sound of
the 30's is recaptured in the Deering models that incorporate these
features.

When all of the above specifications are met, the banjo has
a traditional hollow, slightly dark tone that is resonant, clear and
rich. The tone-ring is similar to the Deering sand cast bell bronze
tone ring but a little lighter in character. It is full and rich and
has a bell like ring and penetrates, or cuts well, but with a beautiful
fullness. If you are looking for the fullness and sparkle of the
pre-war banjos, without paying high collector prices, this tone ring
delivers that sound just like the originals when built into a
traditional banjo like the Golden Era.

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