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THE SET UP
All Eucalypt
Banjos are fully set up before shipping. This includes :-
The neck bow
The action
The head tension
Checked to be buzz free at all fret positions
The bridge position
The neck bow (sometimes called
'neck relief') is set by the truss rod and is a major
contributor in preventing buzzes. It needs to be set just enough
to prevent a buzz, but not too much which will throw out the
intonation.
The action is controlled by the
co-ordinator rods (not the truss rod as some folks believe) and this
is set before your banjo is shipped.
The head tension determines the brightness
of the banjo. We use a drum dial to set the tension and then allow it to
settle for a couple of days, new heads have to stretch in for a day or
so before they become stable.
Buzzes and really annoying things. In most
cases they are caused by a string vibrating against a fret. However,
they can also be found to come from the nut, bridge, tailpiece, a loose
nut somewhere, a lousy string and (once and once only) the armrest.
Every Eucalypt banjo is shipped buzz free.
The bridge position is important for the
correct intonation. In the simplest possible terms it's put the same
distance away from the 12th fret as the 12th fret is from the nut.
However, the best way is to use the harmonic on the 12th fret and check
it using an accurate tuner such as the one we use, a Peterson Virtual
Strobe. We also lean the bridge back a touch towards the tailpiece.
If you would like a Word document on setting up banjos all
you have to do is to email us and we'll send it to you.
SETTING UP
The final stage.
Here I am setting up a banjo just prior
to shipping. In this instance I'm checking the position
of the 12th fret using our Peterson tuner, that's the
blue thing off to the left.
We also play each banjo in to make
absolutely sure all is well.
