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This particular page was created 28/11/2004 and last updated 04/10/2005
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| | Bridge positioningEven if you try your best to avoid hardware work on your banjo, you'll have to reposition the bridge now and then.If you remove all the strings at once, the bridge will come loose, if you change the string gauges you use, you may need to make fine adjustments to the bridge and the same applies if the head tension changes. Even if you never make any changes to the banjo, sooner or later the bridge will move slightly out of position - or in extreme cases even topple over. Fortunately it's quite easy to position a bridge: - Tune the strings down really low so it's easy to slip the bridge underneath them.
- Place the bridge somewhere near the correct position.
- Tune the strings up almost, but not quite, to regular pitch.
- Check the open and fretted notes against each other and move the bridge until they're right. If the fretted notes are too high compared to the open ones, you move the bridge closer to the tailpiece, if they're too low, you move the bridge towards the neck. You should check both the first and the fourth string and if necessary slant the bridge slightly to get them both right. You have to remember the sideays positioning too of course, but that's very easy: Just make sure none of the strings end up outside the fretboard.
There are three methods for checking fretted notes against the open ones:- Check that the note on the twelfth fret is exactly one octave above the open note (using your ear or a digital tuner), or
- Check that the twelfth fret harmonic is identical to the fretted note on the same fret, or - and this is the most exact method:
- Check that the nineteenth fret harmonic is identical to the fretted note on the same fret (although of course you can't use that method for a 17 fret short scale tenor ;-)
Fitting a bridgeToo high a bridge makes the banjo really hard to play and - in extreme cases - impossible to tune properly. If the bridge is too low, the string will buzz and you'll also have problems getting the full volume out of the instrument.You really ought to get a good instrument repairsman to do this, but you can make minor adjustments yourself if the bridge is too high:
Remove the bridge from the banjo, place a piece of fine-grained sandpaper ona flat surface and carefully sand the underside of the bridge (the part that's in contact with the head) down. Don't take off too much: half a millimetre will make a huge difference.
Generally it's important to sand down absolutely evenly, although that isn't as critical on a banjo as it is on - say a mandolin. In fact on the banjo it might be a good idea to have the bridge slope slightly upwards towards the ends (take a look at Frank Ford's interesting article about this topic.)
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