If you have one banjo with a standard spaced bridge and another with Crowe spacing, is it tough to switch back-and-forth?
Switching between Crowe snd standard spacing
I have my starter banjo (with a normal bridge) and my Gibson with a Crowe spaced bridge. It’s not a challenge at all to switch between the two spacings; in fact I would say it’s not noticeable unless you’re looking for the difference. Of course my two banjos feel very different because of other factors, which are much more noticeable than the difference in bridge spacing. I play about the same on either, though.
I don’t have a Crowe spacing bridge. However I have a 5/8" on my Fender & Gold Tone and 11/16 " on my Stelling. When I first got my Stelling it did feel a bit strange but after a while I got used to it. Switching between them now just feels natural.
I found it would take a few tunes to get used to the new spacing. I eventually went back to standard spacing because I was having to play other folks’ banjos spontaneously at a high level quite often and I got tired of the inaccuracy due to the spacing changes. Now I know that the inaccuracy comes from a simple lack of practice
Mine came with a 3/4" Crowe, which was quite a different feel (for my beginner level of play) than the 5/8 standard on my previous banjo. I swapped out the taller bridge for a 5/8 standard and noticed the difference immediately.
I have two nice banjos, one has Crowe spacing and one is standard. It’s actually quite easy to switch between them. The other differences between them take longer to get used to than the spacing.
I have never measured my bridges string spacing until this moment. Of my three banjos, one Gold Star is 1-11/16(my regular practice banjo),second GoldStar is 1/32 less Silvio Ferretti bridge and lastly an RB-100 with Yates bridge at 1-3/4. They are all 5/8 tall. Switching has never bothered me, but it might be in my head now. We’ll see going forward if knowing messes with me. I’ve had these set ups done by very experienced players and don’t mess with setting up banjos if I can help it.
If my economy of motion was tighter with my picks it may make more difference but my fingers make large loops so small incremental changes in spacing have gone unnoticed.