Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

I Washed My Banjo Today

#1

Recently I heard a pretty good banjo player say “Wash your banjo.” He then went on to tell a story about Earl Scruggs, who would change the head on his banjo twice a year, even after he started playing the plastic heads.
And when he changed the head, he would give his banjo a thorough cleaning. Get rid of the tarnish, polish up the metal parts, clean the wooden parts and generally make it look lovely again.
My banjo lives outside of the case, in a stand, ready to be played in a split second.
I noticed my banjo was collecting some dirt in the nooks & crannies, but the thought of taking off all the J-hooks & re-assembling everything only to discover it’s way out of tune discouraged me from washing my banjo. But the thought lingered. Good drivers tend to have clean cars. Good office workers have clean desks. Good mechanics have clean tools. And there’s something about taking it apart to help you better understand how everything works.
So today I cleaned it up! I removed 4 J-hooks at a time, cleaned that areas, put the hooks back on then took off four more. When I was finished I put a drum dial on the head and was pleased to see I wasn’t that far off.
FWIW, I used Deering care-cloths to clean the metal & they worked well.
And I used a Magic Eraser to clean the head & it worked very well.

Doggone, the banjo looks nice & shiny! Sounds happier, too.

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#2

Great for you that you have the courage to do that! I am not there yet. I don’t think mine would sound like a banjo when I got it all back together.

Mike

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#3

FWIW - I takes about the same amount of courage as changing your strings. Once you commit to doing it there’s no turning back.
As GK Chesterton commented, “Often, the only way to get through a difficult time is to go through it.”
And once you start disassembling your banjo, you can see how it’s all put together, which makes your final task of re-assembly a bit easier.
Watch some of Ben’s videos on banjo set-up with Steve Huber. This one is about head tension, but at the 6:00 minute mark you can see how he takes off the resonator & tinkers with the J-hooks.
https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/banjo-setup-with-steve-huber-head-tension-banjo/video/banjo-head-tension
As another famous person once said, “Fear not.”
Go ahead. Clean your banjo!

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#4

yeah Im still scared. Im heading to banjo camp this week, wish you would have given me the courage a month ago.
Stephanie

#5

You’ll find courage, companionship, encouragement, support and fun at banjo camp, guaranteed.
And remember, once upon a time, everyone at banjo camp was a worse player than you! They’ve just been riding the train longer.

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