I finally got my great-great-uncle's banjo to hold a tune with one weird trick

My great-great-uncle's 1920s banjo has been sitting in my basement for years, unplayable because the head was so loose it sounded like a wet cardboard box. I tried tightening the hooks a little at a time, but it just kept slipping. After three weeks of frustration, I remembered my uncle telling me once that old banjo heads need a specific tension pattern, not just random cranking. I looked up a diagram online and used a torque wrench set to 15 inch-pounds on each hook in a star pattern. It worked. The head is finally tight and the banjo rings clear now. Has anyone else had luck with old string instruments that seemed beyond saving?

2 comments

2 Comments

rodriguez.cora26d agoMost Upvoted

Bet that old thing sings now.

stellam8926d ago

It's "sings" not "sings" lol, but yeah, that engine purrs like a kitten now.