I’ve been playing pretty regularly for almost two years and I’m still not seeing any of the frosting worn through where my pinkie finger rests 
I don’t know what I care, it just looks cool. Am I washing my hands too much? Should I be pressing harder? I want my banjo too look rough 
First time I ever heard that one. Do you wish your guitar had all the finish scraped off the top too? 
My beginner banjo’s head never had its frosting wear off, but I wore a mark through my Gibson’s head in a few month’s time… can’t remember what kinda head was on the beginner banjo. I’ll have to check!
I put a new head on my banjo in September and it’s already got a pretty noticeable mark. I think it can depend on the head. This one feels a bit rougher than the heads on my other banjos and it’s definitely showing wear way sooner. My student has a banjo head that is slick and shiny, I didn’t even know they made those haha (I knew there were black ones like that, this one is white though). I don’t see his ever showing wear since it’s that type of material.
I have playing about the same amount of time and my banjo doesn’t show much pinkie wear either.
Hey, we could start a new business selling relic-ed banjo heads! 
Is that a hole in WIllie Nelson’s guitar? I don’t think I could keep my banjo as clean as Earl’s if I tried to be honest!
I understand that there are different types of heads, but I figured the ones with the rough frosting-like texture were all pretty much the same. I recall Jim Pankey’s RK-R35 had a small streak after just a 6 month review (I think)! Maybe I need to play harder 
Mike, keep me posted and we’ll let each other know when we see the first signs of wear haha.
Actually, one of those Mr Clean “magic erasers” works very well on a banjo head. Has it looking like new in 10 seconds!
And the other benefit of “washing your banjo” is it forces you to discover how the darn thing is put together! IMHO, the more you know about a machine, the better you can operate it.
Well, they sell blue jeans theses days for top dollar that we would have thrown away when I was a kid…
There probably is something to the idea about the smoother finishes showing less wear on banjo heads.
I seem to recall reading somewhere that Earl replaced heads more frequently than most?
I much prefer the top frosted heads over the smooth heads which are frosted on the back side. They do a better job keeping the bridge in place and IMO they sound better too.
Bill Keith recommended replacing the head about once a year
It depends on the head. Do NOT try to anchor harder 
Why not put the color on the inside then it would always look new.
That is good to know. I had wondered the same thing (if I wasn’t anchored firmly enough).
Thank you 
I think my accuracy is decent ish the way I’m playing now so I was hoping I didn’t need to change it up! I do only anchor with my pinkie though.
As do I, Russ Carson, and many pro pickers.
I’m glad there’s hope for us folks who only anchor with the pinky! My ring finger wants to dance all over the place.
Anything you can do to increase the entertainment factor for the audience is alright!
