Care and Maintenance of your Bart Reiter Banjo

by Bart Reiter

Your banjo is comfortable when you are. Freezing temperatures should be avoided. If the banjo is left in the cold during shipping or transportation, let it warm up for 8 hours indoors before opening the case. Never expose the banjo to direct sunlight or leave it in a car that is parked in the sun. Excessive heat will break down the glue joints. High or low humidity have less effect on a banjo than other fretted instruments.

A new head continues to stretch a little for a month after installation. A head that is too loose will allow the bridge to sink and the strings will lower and cause buzzing. The sound may also suffer. Using a 5/16 inch bracket wrench, go around the rim and give each nut a quarter turn. If the nuts seem to turn easily and the strings are still low or the sound is still poor, give each nut an additional eighth turn or so. Heads can last many years, but if they are overtightened, breakage will occur.

The string height is also affected by the angle of the tailpiece. A high tailpiece angle will let the strings rise up a bit. A tailpiece that is angled down close to the head will push the bridge and strings down enough to lower the string height. The tailpiece angle can also affect the sound of the banjo.

The easiest way to change the string height is to change the bridge height. Among a dozen 5/8 inch high bridges, some will be accurate, some a little higher, and some a little lower. The overall variation can be as much as 1/16 inch, enough to make a big difference in the way a banjo plays. Buy several bridges when replacing your original bridge, which should last several years.

Banjos traditionally have nickel plating on the metal parts. This nickel begins to tarnish as soon as it is touched. To minimize tarnish, wipe off the banjo with a high quality paper towel after each use. If tarnish is allowed to accumulate, Simichrome polish will remove it. Simichrome can be found on the shelf next to the car wax in most hardware and auto supply stores.

A non-silicone polish such as Martin guitar polish can be used on the neck.

Eventually the strings will wear grooves in the frets and cause buzzing. This usually takes several years to occur. The frets on a new banjo can be leveled or filed ("dressed") several times to remove wear before replacement is necessary. Fret dressing can be done by an experienced banjo repairperson.