Every banjo has one of two types of heads: A skin head or a synthetic head. When you order a banjo, you choose the type of head.
Head Options
I give you three choices:
- Skin head - My favorite. See below for more information about skin heads.
- Fiberskin head - A synthetic head that tries to look like a skin head. No humidity problems with this one.
- Renaissance head - A synthetic head that (according to some) sounds a lot like a skin head. These are transparent.
I’ve developed some techniques to change the color of heads, to give your banjo a unique look.
More About Skin Heads
To me a skin head is the best choice for a banjo, they look great and they add a lot of character and depth to the sound of your banjo. While I can’t promise a skin head will never need fussing with, I can say that I expose each head to high humidity, then dryness and do the adjustments the head needs until it doesn’t respond to the different humidities and sets stable. I do this before I ship each banjo out. I also use a square flesh hoop to keep the hide from ever slipping.
A. A. Farland, a banjo maker, teacher, and performer, used to put this quote on his banjos:
“If the tone ain’t right, the head ain’t tight”.
I have to agree. If your banjo isn’t sounding right and isn’t responding like it used to, tighten the head. I generally set my string action 3/16” at the 17th fret. If your strings are lower than that, tighten the head until the strings reach that height again. You only need to worry about a head popping if you leave your banjo in a hot car, in direct sunlight, in a hot tent, or if the head gets a small hole or rip in it.
You need to worry about loosening your head only if you are heading from extreme moisture to extreme dryness. In this case, loosen each nut about two turns, before you head to the dry climate. Then adjust it accordingly when you reach the drier climate.
For a full video on caring for a skinhead, check my blog.