https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/banjo-setup-with-steve-huber-bridge-placement-banjo
Learn to set your banjo bridge in exactly the right place!
Discuss the Banjo lesson: Banjo Setup with Steve Huber- Bridge Placement
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Excellent video. I accidentally put my bridge out if place while changing strings. This is a massive help.
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Please correct me if I’m wrong but on another site I started at I learned that you measure 12” from the nut down the neck then again from that point another 12” and that was the point of placement for the bridge. Then you were to move the end of the bridge on the the 5th string side back up 1/16 of an inch. So it ends up not being parallel across the head. There was a reason for doing that but I can’t quite remember why. Is that not a good approach or is it better to do it the same way as in the video playing like the G and listening to determine placement? I’m very very new so I want to make sure I’m not learning any bad habit I’ll have to break later. Btw, I love all these lessons. Your site has taken me much farther than I’ve ever gotten anywhere else.
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Hi Jennifer, and welcome to the forum!
Great Question!
Listening to determine placement is the way to do it for sure.
Follow the video for sure. It is right on the money and very informative.
Dave
Hello @jennifer.rester, and welcome!!
Here is a good article on bridge placement, how and why you do it.
https://beyondguitars.com/banjo-bridge-placement-common-problem-lets-solve-mystery/
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Howdy ya’ll, I am having trouble setting my bridge to compensate for turning very sharp up the neck, I can barely get a chime out of my 12th fret and when I compare it to the actual note it is a lot higher.
Now I am playing a Savannah banjo so that is probably the answer. need help. thanks
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I sometimes get this confused, but IIRC, if the note is too sharp at the 12th fret, the bridge needs to move down toward the tailpiece. That lengthens the scale and puts the frets back where they need to be in the scale length. Try to find where the chime (harmonic) is happening on the strings in relation to the 12th fret and that might give you a clue as to how much the bridge needs to move. Since your issue is the note is too high, I think that means you’ll find the harmonic spot closer to the 11th fret (or possibly even the 10th) as opposed to be toward a higher fret.
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I have set the bridge measuring from the nut to the 12th fret and then using that measurement from the 12th fret to position the bridge.
After setting it the bridge seemed a long way from the tail piece.
I then noticed I have a fret right next to the nut, so this gives me 23 frets instead of 22
Should I measure from what I have learnt is a zero fret to the 12th fret and not from the nut?
You can try that, but ultimately your ears/tuner will tell you the truth. Get it where you think is close, tune it up, then play the 12th fret harmonic and compare it to the noted 12th fret…they should be the same. If they’re not adjust the bridge until they are. The first string is fine alone to get it close with.
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