With excerpts from texts, players,and builders
And Rootbeer,
Shown stretching out some calfskin, just for
this instance!
He gets all the leftover trimmings after a
skin goes on.
First things first.
We in no way want to imply that Skin heads are for everyone, or that skin heads are the "secret" to all things banjo.
This is not "New technology",and will be of no interest to many players, so if you have remarks that are "negative" in nature, save em' as we have already heard them all!
Lets all make this productive, for all of us, that wish to participate.
This is only an approach to try and get some real data on the tones emitted by skin,that, to us, is something that music of that time period must have, to sound "correct"
Just as the 5 string guys, who love it, we have that same love that a good skin can give,as for as tones,and inflections.
Now I myself, was not a skin head enthusiast, but was converted, when Tyler convinced otherwise.
I beleive that with the proper skin on the proper banjo, played the proper way, with the proper pick attack,gives the sound, that to my ears, was missing,for I like the "plunky" but bright tone, that a skin imparts.
And when he plays his Vegavox III, setup as it is now, then it all becomes crystal clear, if you are out in front of it.
You see, I am much more the "listener" than the "player" so many of you "players" will not get this, unless you stop and "listen".Simple as that.
This will be a "running chronology, for now, as thoughts come in from all over,and I will cut and paste them into the text.
if you have URL's that lead to skin head facts, please send them so they can be posted.
All opinions, that are condusive to this forum,are welcomed.
They are sensitive to many issues, the main one as always is humidity.
I do not recommend the to folks in high humidity areas, playing outside gigs mainly.
That requires some skill,to maintain a taut head under those circumstances.
Vinnie
Skinheads are easiest to maintain on top tension banjos, Like Vega Vox
Tyler J
or Ludwig / Leedy
Also on Weymanns, or Paramounts, with "quick release" resonators.
Vinnie
Skin heads are the only part of the banjo that can "open up". Just like in fine Guitars or the Violin family intruments, who have the fine carved woods that open up after playing a while. Banjos are made of mostly non-organic materials. Skin is a living, breathing membrane filled with life just waiting to come out. The more you play, the more you feel the relationship to the instrument.
-Tyler
The evolution of banjo setup
What exactly does "Banjo-setup" mean? It's basically referred to as how one adjusts their banjo to a certain style, or feeling that the person is comfortable with. I find it interesting how the banjoist's of the 20's had their banjos setup compared to most banjoist's today. With the 20's bringing in new banjo engineering concepts, a lot of new designs for recording purposes took place, you had company's like Paramount, and Gibson with their advancements in banjo tone with the addition of the "flange and resonator" design for improved volume and tone, PLUS, you had the major names of banjo backing them up, Harry Reser, Mike Pingatore, Robert Seney and so on. With that in mind, the basic "20's" setup involved...of course a calfskin head, but also thin maple, two footed ebony top bridge. Why did they do this?? And why is that 20's sound so distinct?? Most people think calfskin heads are pain to deal with and that sticking anything on there instead of skin would sound the same right? WRONG!!! People don't realize that banjo experiments had been going on long before the 20's...banjoists just didn't say..."look at that calfskin, that would sound good", instead they experimented until they found a perfect sounding material, that material was CALFSKIN. So why does skin work so well? And why wouldn't a piece of plywood work just as well? Consider this...when you hit a string on a banjo there's a lot more that goes into that sound than just hitting the string obviously, let's look at the "vibration diagram"..... pick-string-bridge-head-resonator and then out the flange. If you had a piece of plywood instead of skin it would just reflect the sound out and rob vibration of the banjo ,then the whole chain gets out of link!!! The skin is a living "breathing" membrane! It takes in ALL the vibration and gives just slightly. And this is what banjoist noticed for the past 150 years! Up to the late 60's skin ruled the banjo world! Why did we switch? Because some drum company got the idea that a piece of plastic wouldn't absorb the weather conditions as much as skin, then some banjoists got the idea that a drum head is the same as a banjo so they used plastic, they didn't even consider the fact of SOUND! A piece of plastic acts almost as a piece of plywood and that was what I was scolding earlier! DO you get the picture? I think people are just o lazy to spend time with there banjo, and adjust it. When was the last time you took the time to "get to know" your banjo???
You are very lucky to play such an adjustable
instrument!
take advantage of that and spend time with
your banjo! Back to skin heads...If you own a current model you are probably
getting the best sound with plastic. Why you say? Because banjo makers
today are setting up banjos with plastic heads to get the best sound.
If you have a vintager banjo with a plastic head, the you don't know the
capability of your instrument! Keep in mind when they designed your banjo
they didn't even know of plastic for a head and that all the tonal developments
were made strictly for skin! Try a skin head (good quality) on your vintage
banjo and I'll bet ya that you won't believe it's the same.
Tyler
As one of those who lives in a high humidity
area (a swamp by
the sea) I'll probably stick to the plastic
head. I noticed that the Lyric
sounded great one day and so-so the next.
I already learned something. And
something else - I don't have the patience
Tyler has to keep it in tune and
the artistic nature to keep doing it to get
the sound he wants.
Don Wiseman
Brad Roth
from Jazz Banjo Magazine
BR: They last longer but I have never really liked them. The reason I round my picks is because I think when banjos are recorded they sound two bright. As far as I am concerned a sharp pick and a plastic head takes the beauty out of the instrument. I use nothing but leather heads.
JBM: Have you had any problems with the leather heads due to humidity?
BR: No, I haven't had to many problems. I get my heads from Wayne Phillips who has been very nice to me over the years. He has some very definite opinions on how a banjo should sound and I pretty much agree with him. I love the sound of a Vega Vox and I have played one since I was a kid. Anything else doesn't sound quite right to me. I'm not saying that everyone should play a Vega Vox but to me it is the best sounding banjo.
Thanks for the e-mail lead on skinheads. I have two banjoes with skinheads,
and two without, and I don't care how humid it gets, the skin wins
everytime. The sound is simply more honest. This information you are
providing is valuable stuff. But any stray cats had better watch out.
JJJ
The skins are great!
The guys in the 20's and 30s played and recorded on them and we have that history. Many diehard oldsters in the revival days of dixieland used them.And we have those records too! Now some Tylers and a few others.....out in the Lime Light..keeping that 100% authentic tone going.
David Saleh
Vin,
I was playing my skinhead banjo one evening last summer on my back porch.
After an hour, the head absorbed so much moisture that the banjo became
unplayable. The head became really spongy and messed up the action.
It took about twenty four hours to dry out. If I was playing an outdoor show,
especially in the evening on a humid summer night, I'd have to stick with a
plastic head. No time for messing with head tension when you've got people
on the dance floor. That's my two cents, and I'm pickin' with it. : )
Gene Benarick
Vinnie: Funny you should bring up this subject today, because I just finished
mounting a skin head. I have done this several times over the past 40 years,
but enough time goes by between each mounting that each one is an adventure.
Today was just right...the kids were away, that cat was outside, so I took the
phone off the hook and went at it. My 2 previous mountings were the high-end
$55 skin from Bernunzio. After today, I'll never use anything but the best. For
some damn reason, this time I opted for the $22 goatskin from Stew/Mac.
Bottom line...if your going to the trouble of installing a skin head that could
last 30+ years, don't skimp on quality. I had never tried your heat lamp
procedure. This time I'm doing it...seems to help the drying process. The Bernunzio
heads seem to be less susceptible to humidity changes, and for pre-1950 banjos,
I'm convinced that skin is the way to go.
Thanks for your article on mounting a skin head.....
Cheers....John
Hi Vin,
Thanks for the additional great pics of your latest project - I guess it really is the very first Epi Recording banjo!
Real glad your putting on a skin head - as you say, providing humidity conditions are fairly stable there should be no problems, although more than 70% humidity does tend to soften the skin and take some of the sharpness away. As far as I know the jazz banjo players in the New Orleans area usually used a metal 'Tone Regulator' between the bridge and the tailpiece to sharpen up the tone in damp conditions - like steamy dance halls!
I have used skin heads since the 1950's and played around with plastic off and on ever since in an attempt to reduce the need to retune the banjo during performance as the vellum adapted to the humidity of the gig venue. Never has a plastic head produced the totally satisfying tonal quality of a top quality thin calf vellum on a top quality banjo when correctly tensioned and with the right bridge and setup etc -- although Remo Renaissence comes nearest providing the top surface is polished.
As you know the difference can be quite subtle as a top quality vellum can produce a sharp high frequency sound similar to plastic but adds that mysterious 'living' quality of nature which is impossible to describe, it just has to be felt.. By comparison plastic is just so dead - like anything made from plastic usually feels very different from something made from natural materials.
However I guess it comes down to what the player likes to hear and feel when he plays and, bearing in mind the limitations and wide variations of human hearing sensitivity (particularly in the higher frequencies), what each person can hear. For example somebody with restricted high frequency hearing will want a banjo with greater emphasis on high frequency which would then appear to be 'Normal'.
A Shaman would say that a vellum brings with it part of the spiritual essence of the animal and we feel that spiritual quality in addition to the tonal quality which we hear.
Brian Weld
Links to pages concerning skin
heads