Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Goldtone Twanger? What's wrong with it?

I just got my new twanger in and I have to say, she’s beautiful but I’m disappointed in the sound. My Recording King RK35 sounds a lot better. Clear notes, deep bass, notes that ring for a good while. The twanger seems really “tight” a bit warmer, pull offs are hardly audible, its loud but requires more force. She sounds good, just next to the RK she’s lacking soul… could it be the strings? Or maybe the OB3 needs a break in period? I hate to send it back but it’s looking like I’ll be keeping the RK35.

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I’ve heard from Twanger owners that the strings that come on the Twanger are too heavy for good tone. Maybe try a lighter set like GHS PF135s or the Banjo Ben signatures?

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I put the 135s on mine, and it made a WORLD of difference.

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Yeah, try the PF135’s on the banjo and it’ll change everything. I’ll send you a couple sets.

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I have yet to find two banjo’s that sound the same. My TWANGER sounds great the only thing I find is I have to retune every string when I put on / take off my capo. I don’t have this prob with my other two banjo’s but after a while I have got used to it. ( Feel free to send me a Recording King RK35 @BanjoBen ) lol

I also think when you swap between banjo’s there’s a period you need to “get a feel for the instrument” If you have driven multiple types of cars you’ll know what I mean.

When I bought my Stelling I didn’t like the sound or the feel of it. It felt and sounded different to my Chinese built Fender. I had light strings on my Fender and Medium Heavy strings on my Stelling. So I put medium heavy strings on my Fender but the two banjos still sounded differently. The one thing I did notice though was the strings on my Fender didn’t break as often.

So now I 've got seven banjo’s 3 x 5 string 2 x tenor and 2 x Banjo Ukulele’s none sound or feel the same.

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You didn’t mention how it is set up… What is the head tension at on both of them, bridge height, strings used, tailpiece height, height of the action, nut, and more. A lot of that affect it. The first thing I would check is the tension of the head.

It also takes a few weeks of playing a banjo to get the “tone” out of it if. It might just need a little time :slight_smile:

Luke

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@thremix I sent you a few sets of strings to try out, as well as an email.

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Just wait until you get those new strings. I have one of the very first Twangers (serial #3.) I was sold on them even before they were released to the public because I got to play the prototype at the 2019 camp. It was one of the best sounding banjos I’d ever played. So, I had a solid expectation of what I would receive.

Like you, I was also a little disappointed with the tone when I inboxed my Twanger. It sounded choked out with little ring. I went straight for a set of PF135s and it came to life! So far the best set I’ve found for tone is the Elixir Nanoweb Lights. Not only do they give the right tone, they last forever.

Looking forward to seeing your report.

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@thremix Where did you buy the Twanger? I checked and don’t see a purchase record from us. So, one problem could be that you bought it from somewhere that didn’t do the setup we do (and honestly they require some expertise when directly from the factory).

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We’ve discovered it was purchased directly from Gold Tone and didn’t have our setup done on the banjo…oops.

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A good setup will make a ridiculous difference. Instruments straight from Gold Tone are not set up well… I have played a lot of them.

I wonder if @thremix can return it and get it from @BanjoBen instead?

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@thremix, hope all has improved with the Twanger. I’ll have to agree with @Mark_Rocka on the strings as I was a little disappointed at first too. Like Mark, I tried the prototype out at he 2019 cabin camp and was amazed at the sound, and have one from the first batch of 36 made. I’ll also agree with Ben that the setup is a big deal and the bridge from Ben may be different than what may have come direct from Gold Tone. I decided on the Twanger after what I like to call my “Banjo Pilgrimage” and those comments are included in the reviews at the General Store.

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