A question for Banjo players........

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 30 Dec 2013 12:45 pm

I was wondering. Do any of you guys run your banjo through a pre amp, specifically an EQ pedal before your amp? I just installed a Shatten PU in my banjo and I was just curious.....

Robbie

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 30 Dec 2013 4:15 pm

A preamp is best unless you are running it through an amp designed specifically for use with acoustic instruments, then it becomes redundant...FYI: Blocking the holes in the flange with foam rubber strips will help somewhat, but if you are playing with a loud band you still may not be able to turn the volume up high enough to be heard without causing feedback. I finally gave up trying to compete with the drummer and purchased a solid body electric banjo.

John Swain · Post by **John Swain** » 30 Dec 2013 5:03 pm

I have a Ibanez banjo with a piezo pickup under the bridge with a twelve inch circle of foam rubber two inches thick jammed in it to kill feedback..I run it through a MXR six band-eq, rolling off the bass. I can run it into my pedal steel amp just backing off on the reverb and have a usable volume with a six piece band..JS

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 30 Dec 2013 5:12 pm

Thanks guys...The foam rubber idea sounds like a good one......I'll give it try with an EQ...

Robbie

Dennis Russell · Post by **Dennis Russell** » 30 Dec 2013 5:13 pm

I have a schatten pu in my recording king banjo and usually have no gain problems interfacing with various PAs and amps. I do throw a Baggs Para DI in the cable box, just in case I'm somewhere in which I need to notch out a feedback frequency.

Dave O'Brien · Post by **Dave O'Brien** » 30 Dec 2013 5:14 pm

No! I use a magnetic DeArmond pickup.

Karl Fehrenbach · Post by **Karl Fehrenbach** » 31 Dec 2013 8:46 am

Rob, I play a Deering Crossfire Banjo for plugged in gigs and have no feedback concerns but I still need to EQ that banjo with a Boss GE-7 Equalizer. The EQ rounds out the sound a little. The Crossfire is not 100% banjo sounding like a miked banjo. The convenience factor on the bandstand and larger venues is worth the sacrifice . The GE-7 on the pedal board is very handy when I switch to steel for dobro simulation and just good old boost when you need it. I should probably be running two GE-7 stompboxes, one for the banjo as a pre amp and the other dedicated to the steel guitar.

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 31 Dec 2013 8:51 am

Thanks for the advice guys. I tried running it through a Danelectro Fish And Chips EQ the other day and there was quite difference in overall boost and tone.....I'll keep using it. See how holds up on a gig,...

Happy New Year to everyone...

Robbie

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 31 Dec 2013 11:45 am

In their Fender amp days, Sonny Osborne glued an iron "chip" to the underside of the head, and put a pickup mounted on the rod. It always sounded good to me.
No preamp, just a banjo, a ridiculous curly cable (in fairness, it WAS the early 70s) and a Twin.

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 31 Dec 2013 1:01 pm

What Lane is describing is the 'Fishman' banjo pickup system.

Gary Meixner · Post by **Gary Meixner** » 1 Jan 2014 9:03 am

Rob,

In the past I found a good compressor to be helpful when using a pickup on a banjo. I would set it to slightly soften the initial string attack which can be overwhelming with a pickup. You might find adding a line buffer like a Freeloader or Black Box would help a lot. The bass player in the band I currently play with added a Black Box to his standup rig and it made a world of difference. It smoothed out the attack, warmed up the tone and balanced the frequency response giving his sound a much more musical quality to overall. Good luck.

Gary Meixner

Gary Lee Gimble · Post by **Gary Lee Gimble** » 1 Jan 2014 9:16 am

Robbie,
You didn't specify if your banjo is a solid body electric or acoustic built. If its acoustic and of a decent build, keep it as such. Acoustic. When its time for a banjo tune and if your band mates are of professional quality, your banjo will sell the song. I suppose there is new technology out there to amplify an acoustic banjo, but I ain't heard nuffin yet....

Stephen Cowell · Post by **Stephen Cowell** » 1 Jan 2014 9:25 am

Best idea I've heard for acoustic banjo is to put a piece of magnetic material under the bridge and mount a magnetic pickup underneath it. A tiny piece would do... say, inset into the bottom of the center leg.

gary pierce · Post by **gary pierce** » 1 Jan 2014 10:23 am

We don't allow banjo players in our band, just kidding. The best system I've seen is like Bela Fleck's, which is a mic mounted to the top rod, and has an adjustment to allow it to be 1/4" below the head, and then some foam insulation for feedback. I don't know the brand, but you can probably check the banjo hangout forum.

Gary Lee Gimble · Post by **Gary Lee Gimble** » 1 Jan 2014 11:43 am

Audio Technica makes a nifty clip on sax mic that I used at many different venues. Great tone, plenty of flex for mounting, never a complaint.....

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 1 Jan 2014 2:28 pm

Gary Lee Gimble wrote:Robbie,
You didn't specify if your banjo is a solid body electric or acoustic built. If its acoustic and of a decent build, keep it as such. Acoustic. When its time for a banjo tune and if your band mates are of professional quality, your banjo will sell the song. I suppose there is new technology out there to amplify an acoustic banjo, but I ain't heard nuffin yet....

Gary, what's wrong with old school?
Sonny did what Stephen and I talked about.
I think it sounds banjeriffic!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3lvuSK8KjY
(I tried to find one from the same show with more banjo, Camp Springs, 1971, but I got the wrong search terms: this is all I find)
EDIT: I found Ruby, with Sonny showing off that low string. I miss that 6 string ("EVERYBODY has a banjo that goes 'ping.' MINE goes 'pong.')
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhiOaSWu ... 3lvuSK8KjY

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 1 Jan 2014 2:44 pm

I use a K&K twin head in both my banjos (5-string and tenor) and for a preamp, my favorite is the Tonebone PZ-Pre (for 2 instruments) or the PZ-Deluxe (for one instrument). The Twin head is a dual magnetic pickup, so no worries about feedback.

This is the setup used by The Punch Brothers. Need I say more? Actually, Thile and the guys also use a condenser mic ( Audio Technica ATM-35)and a Line 6 multi-effect. All 5 guys have the same set-up. I spoke with their tech after a gig and he said they tried everything and ended up with this setup.

Also, you could forego the preamp if you have a really good acoustic guitar amp, such as a Phil Jones Cub or an AER.

Gary Lee Gimble · Post by **Gary Lee Gimble** » 1 Jan 2014 2:48 pm

Lane, "old school" at best sounded nasty; the 'ole 5 just didn't have that crack, IMO. I don't ever recall seeing Emerson, Arnold, Eldrige, Crowe, Adock, W Hensley, C Johnson, Keith, Munde, Dillard, & Thomson incorporate what you suggest. But hey, if you like banjoeriffic, who am I to argue

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 1 Jan 2014 3:17 pm

Hell, nothing but an archtop REALLY has "crack."
(Admittedly, I LITERALLY cut my teeth on 'em, both Ralph and Eddie: Tom STILL has the records I chewed)
But I thought electric Sonny sounded like miked Sonny.
And I meant the old school electrification. I haven't heard a plugged-in that sounds better than Sonny got it 42 years ago. Maybe the secret is a Twin instead of a soundboard?

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 9 Jan 2014 2:11 pm

Forget all of this stuff about preamps and foam and separate EQ's and get a Gold Tone electric. Cut the highs on your amp and turn up. I had one that looked like a tele.

Contact Janet Davis music.

Larry Behm

Chuck Blake · Post by **Chuck Blake** » 9 Jan 2014 3:02 pm

Buy a Stelling Red Fox banjo, get behind a good condenser mic and pick it son......becareful not to peel the paint off the walls

Daniele Gilioli · Post by **Daniele Gilioli** » 14 Jan 2014 8:50 am

Rob, I think the situation can be different between banjo types in principle. I started with a Fender Banjo + shadows SH930 bridge PU + DI and the PA. I had problem about the volume and background undesidered noise. SO that I insert in the line also a Volume pedal to adjust signal when required. SHR930 needs anyway DI to conect to our PA. At the moment I'm playing a RK-R80 Recording king amazing banjo. Really bluegrassy banjo with Fishmann rare earth (under the skin)and I've solved all the problem. Even if the band rise their volume I can rise banjo volume too w/o problem and the sound remain really close to the MIC. IMO. I still use volume pedal in the chain . My volume pedal can be set wit 2 volume so I can use low volume (pedal closed) during the back up time and higher volome (i choose it depending on the band volume) for solos.

Peter Jacobs · Post by **Peter Jacobs** » 22 Jan 2014 12:34 pm

I haven't tried the Schatten (although I've read great things about it), but for my Fishman pickup (pre-Rare Earth, so no built-in preamp), I use a stompbox preamp to get the level up. Actually, I use two -- the second one is to give me more gain for solos. More wires than I'd prefer, but this is a lot less expensive than using a Radial or Baggs preamp-with-boost.

I have a Whirlwind DI box for running straight to the PA board, although I have also run the banjo to my lap steel amp, and with drums, electric guitar and bass all cranked, it still sounds enough like a banjo to work. I wouldn't record with a pickup, but it sounds fine for stage use.