Hi,
Wondering if anyone plays their banjo thru an amplifier?
I have been playing at the local school in a large room and have had my banjo plugged into an amplifier using a piezo pickup.
I have been toying around with pre-amps (kits from radio shack,jaycar etc) but has been a failure really. Pre-amps are meant to improve the quality of sound from a weak signal source such as a microphone or piezo but I get pretty much solid hum or feedback squeal.
Regards,
JB
for what its worth the guy I bought my banjo from used to play square dances and stuff all the time. On all his banjos, including the one that I bought from him, he put a mic inside the resonator and attached it to the rods so that the top of the mic was directly under the head, then he plugged the mic into a double female adapter to be able to plug the PA or Amp equipment into the mic. Shade tree solution for sure but it must have worked for him cause he has the same setup on his old Gibson he plays at our jam too 
Check your local ordinances, first.
[attachment=0]signs.jpg[/attachment]
Hey, I think that’s my neighbors sign post!
“I have been playing at the local school in a large room…”
Dusk to Dawn!, who is going to school in middle of the night???
— Begin quote from "bmorgan42175"
for what its worth the guy I bought my banjo from used to play square dances and stuff all the time. On all his banjos, including the one that I bought from him, he put a mic inside the resonator and attached it to the rods so that the top of the mic was directly under the head, then he plugged the mic into a double female adapter to be able to plug the PA or Amp equipment into the mic. Shade tree solution for sure but it must have worked for him cause he has the same setup on his old Gibson he plays at our jam too
— End quote
Thanks, I think I will dump the pre-amp and just stick with the final amp, it sounds pretty good anyway.
Regards,
John
Thanks Ben, much appreciated, I will check out those items.
Regards,
John