Don’t feel bad Charles, I would have to go look at one of my bridges to know which way they went on. 
Thinking about trying to trade for something better
Just seems like I should have called them first lol. Oh well, we live and learn. I am gonna tackle Kay neck problem next…should have a LOT to learn on that.
— Begin quote from "mreisz"
Another thing that you can do is learn to set up and maintain your instruments. I have done that, and it really helps being able to set the action how I want it without taking it to a shop. It’s not for everyone, but I enjoy it.
— End quote
I have done some light setup work/experiments on my instruments over the last couple of years too. The adjustments I made to my banjo made a huge difference in string action and made it easier to play.
On guitars, I can’t get past the whole truss rod phobia and I’m wary of playing with it a lot. Mine doesn’t seem to have much room to work with…if I turn it one way 1/2 turn it seems very loose but if I turn it 1/2 turn the other way it seems like the neck will crack if I go another hair. How do you know if you’re about to cross that line and tighten it too much? Just use common sense?
Hey Mike,
Real small truss rod adjustments make a significant change. I generally go for about a 1/8th turn at a time at most (even when I know it will need more). When tightening, I always loosen the strings. It’s not a bad idea to take the nut off and clean and lube the threads a bit. I would suggest lubing and creeping up on the changes and let it settle for a bit. Sometimes things settle in slightly over a period of hours or even days.
I have been fortunate that I have never popped a truss rod, but so far as I know, the only way to really know you went too far is to break it. I have heard that it might make a loud squeek before you get there, but I have heard nuts that kind of squeek once they are in contact with wood (and the truss rod is still intact). Certainly if the nut is already in pressure with the neck and you are tightening and then something all the sudden feels different, stop. You might be out of threads on the rod (in which case a washer can help).
The good news is that there are now methods for repair that don’t involve disassembly of the neck. Assuming the break is on the threaded end, they remove some wood around the rod and re-thread it in place.
I wouldn’t worry about making small changes. I think the odds of breaking one in such a case are real small. If you have a ton of relief, then I might be inclined to take it to a pro luthier and let him/her break it. I have a friend who has a guitar that has a ton of relief (I didn’t measure it), and I was going to set up the guitar for him. Once I saw the neck, I told him I wasn’t comfortable adjusting it as much as it would have needed. If it was mine, that’s one thing, but someone else’s… I’d rather not.
Best of luck with it!
Thanks Mike…I will keep the adjustments small and see how it goes. I capo the 1st fret and finger the 14th, then measure the string height at the 6th - 7th fret like they say. I think that there is not enough space there in my case, which means tighten, right?
String action is a bit too high which is always adjusted at the saddle as I understand it.
I probably should just fork out the $25 and let a pro do it.
Hey Mike,
If you want to increase relief (more curve to the neck) you loosen the nut. Tighter makes it straighter (or even back bow). Action height is adjusted at the saddle, at the nut, with the neck angle, and to a lesser degree with relief. Sometimes people try to radically alter their action with relief and that’s generally not going to work. There is a fairly narrow band of relief that would be good for a guitar (Edit: I suspect the same is true about banjos).
It’s not bad to pay for a setup, but if you want we can measure some things and discuss via forum or PM/email. Even if you don’t do the changes, it might help you get what you want out of a setup.
Let me know if I can help. I’ll probably be kind of scarce for the next week, but I’m glad to help.
alrighty guys and gals…sorry I’ve been away for a minute, but I had some things to take care of. So in the mean time, I was doing some more searching for an instrument. I found a Morgan Monroe MGB-2 about 2 hours away from me that a fella is going to trade me for a few weapons I have. I am going tonight to look at it and check it out. Let me know what ya’ll think about this instrument.
— Begin quote from "Charles"
alrighty guys and gals…sorry I’ve been away for a minute, but I had some things to take care of. So in the mean time, I was doing some more searching for an instrument. I found a Morgan Monroe MGB-2 about 2 hours away from me that a fella is going to trade me for a few weapons I have. I am going tonight to look at it and check it out. Let me know what ya’ll think about this instrument.
— End quote
Charles…unfortunately I don’t know anything about this particular model but I found a review link that may help you out (below).
I have seen a few MM Bean Blossoms around my area and played one at a shop once but the Beans are lower end of their line I think. If you can play it first and maybe give it a good lookover I definitely would.
Check for any obvious red flags…cracks in the neck, anything bent, broken etc. You already know that but I thought I’d throw it in…one guy, a shop owner at that, had a used banjo for sale with a crack in the head that was huge, he’d glued it back. I wouldn’t touch that one with a 10ft pole!
http://www.banjohangout.org/reviews/search.asp?m=m&v=6607&redir=true
Holy cow…thats crazy. Seems people like them pretty good. They are higher up the totem pole in their product line it seems.
— Begin quote from "mreisz"
Hey Mike,
If you want to increase relief (more curve to the neck) you loosen the nut. Tighter makes it straighter (or even back bow). Action height is adjusted at the saddle, at the nut, with the neck angle, and to a lesser degree with relief. Sometimes people try to radically alter their action with relief and that’s generally not going to work. There is a fairly narrow band of relief that would be good for a guitar (Edit: I suspect the same is true about banjos).
It’s not bad to pay for a setup, but if you want we can measure some things and discuss via forum or PM/email. Even if you don’t do the changes, it might help you get what you want out of a setup.
Let me know if I can help. I’ll probably be kind of scarce for the next week, but I’m glad to help.
— End quote
Thanks Mike, I may take you up on that. I think this WD10S is a pretty good guitar if I can tweak it a bit…and I’d love to do it myself if possible.
I’m gonna be out of pocket as well for a few days so maybe we can pick this up next week?
Mike
Hey Mike,
I sent a PM to you.
— Begin quote from "mreisz"
Hey Mike,
I sent a PM to you.
— End quote
thanks Mike…I replied and I hope it went through…it’s in the outbox. Has to be approved first?
Well we drove 2 hours last night to Athens, GA…what a ride. Very easy place to find. The banjo is dirty to say the least, but it is all stock. No spikes, 5th string capo or anything extra installed…nice leather strap…One can tell by the clear head that it has been played, but not much. The neck is straight as an arrow and the frets look as if they’ve never been played. It is out of tune, but not by much. I noticed that on the top of the tone ring between the top of it and the bottom of the clear head cover, there looks to be a stain and on the ring and the green film like brass will have sometimes. I want someone to take it apart and clean all that and put it back together for me. The wood is absolutely gorgeous and the carving on the back adds a nice touch. I’ve never had an instrument of this quality before…it is kinda weird going from the Mastercraft that I have up to this…major jump in quality. It certainly makes me realize why some are more expensive than others. In total, I would bet it weighs in around 15-20lbs. Its fairly heavy…much more so than the others I have. I think that will be a good thing though. We got home last night around midnight, so I just sat it out on my stand and didn’t pick it much at all, but from what I could tell immediately, the weight of the pot keeps the neck in place so I don’t feel like my thumb is having to hold up the neck when I play. More research on that to come tonight…oh and PICTURES!
Congrats Charles! Make sure you take it to someone who works on banjos for a living. If it were me, I’d have them install spikes in the 7th 8th, & 9th frets while it’s in the shop. That will give you the ability to play in most any key.
Congratulations! It sounds like that will be a great instrument.
Thanks so much! The banjo actually came with spikes from MM, but the owner decided not to have them installed. I still have them in the original baggie! I am psyched!
Also, the green stuff on the die cast tone ring…I know thats pretty standard for brass to do in just about any oxygen based environment, but is it something I should worry about?
I have to tell yall…this banjo plays great. Now don’t get me wrong, I have never played the likes of a real Mastertone or a TB-1 conversion or anything remotely close to those, but I do know stepping up from an entry level instrument to this is a MAJOR jump. I have decided that this will force me to be a better player because it isn’t near as forgiving when I make a mistake…everyone in the neighborhood hears it and it rings out…LOUD. I can also tell now why some people play farther down the head towards the neck…my other banjos didn’t make a difference, but playing directly on top of the tone ring sounds totally different. It has just the right bark for a perfect bluegrass tone. All in all, I have fallen in love all over again… 
Awesome!
I got some of the tarnish off last night…along with some of the gold plating…but thats ok. It seems to be a character builder lol. It actually looks pretty good with the current patina. I do want to totally polish the armrest because all of the plating is already worn off of it. I cleaned the clear head…they show every nick, scratch, and fingerprint. Someone has already tried to glue the anchors in the resonator wall back into place. I need to find out how those are actually supposed to be in there. In the process the got some glue on the outside of the resonator which I got off this morning. I got all of the dust off of it and today, I will be putting on new strings because the current ones are rusty as well as applying some ‘Fast Fret’ to it. They say you can put that stuff anywhere on the fretboard, front and back etc… and it will bring the luster back out as well as lube the strings. Any pointers on doing this?