Banjo pickup wanted

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 30 May 2017 6:39 am

Banjo pickup wanted as our band wants me to throw in several numbers that require banjo. I have an Ibanez Artist here which would need a reasonably priced pickup to be shipped to the USA . Thx, Steve Takacs

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 30 May 2017 7:45 am

But wouldn't that make it even louder?

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 30 May 2017 8:55 am

Anyone named Earnest Bovine need not reply. What a mean guy. Steve t

Tony Boadle · Post by **Tony Boadle** » 30 May 2017 2:37 pm

Hey Steve,
In case it's of any interest to you, I went down the same road a few years ago....picking banjer in a very loud Irish trad/country/bluegrass crossover band.
I tried a pile of pick-ups, from cheap to very expensive, and none of them worked well. Any time I got near loud enough, feedback would kick in.
I eventually solved the problem by taping a budget vocal mic. to the rods in the banjo. (AEG Blue Shadow or something like that name) Then I ran that through a budget (again!) volume booster pedal, and finally through a (you guessed it, budget) graphic equaliser unit.
Sounds like a lot of hassle, but it's really not.I mounted the two pedals side by side and clip them to my microphone stand, at waist level. I can then adjust volume and EQ to suit the gig.
Trust me, it works really well, if you're interested I can dig out the product names of all three items I used.
Cheers, Tony in Ireland

David Ball · Post by **David Ball** » 30 May 2017 4:52 pm

I've used Shure SM 57 replacement elements mounted to the coordinator rods successfully. Keeps the tone of the banjo and it's very compact.

Dave

Lyle Dent · Post by **Lyle Dent** » 30 May 2017 6:30 pm

Steve, I use a K & K pickup, Just run it through your steel rig. I do use a SGBB and V8 which helps the tone immensely! I tried several including the SM 57 route and feedback is always a problem.

Paul Hirschmann · Post by **Paul Hirschmann** » 30 May 2017 7:02 pm

the best pickup to put on a banjo is at least a f-150

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 31 May 2017 2:58 am

Steve..You may want to try placing a dampening agent such as light foam inside the resonator to reduce the overtones which are the cause of much of the feed back.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 31 May 2017 8:18 am

Years ago I placed a DeArmond contact pickup on the face of my banjo and got a good sound.
It was held in place by a large rubber band.
Does anybody remember those?
Erv

Robert Murphy · Post by **Robert Murphy** » 31 May 2017 11:45 am

PM sent.

Lee Warren · Post by **Lee Warren** » 31 May 2017 4:01 pm

Paul Hirshmann ...

Steve: I have an old Barcus Berry dobro pick up, if you think that might work.
Lee

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 1 Jun 2017 6:58 am

http://kavanjo.com/the-kavanjo-banjo-pickup/products

Doug Jones · Post by **Doug Jones** » 3 Jun 2017 4:18 pm

FWIW: years ago the late Portland steel guitarist Eric West came up with a non-feedback solution. If I recall (and maybe Paul Hirshmann might remember) Eric used an acoustic guitar sound hole pickup placed in the resonator under the bridge and secured in place by cramming an old Tee shirt inside, too. It gave a surprisingly good sound when amplified, yet rather dull and thuddy when played acoustically.

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 4 Jun 2017 2:27 pm

The Kavanjo pickup/head assembly, which I mentioned previously, is used by Keith Urban and Taylor Swift. It should work for your situation.

Ian Worley · Post by **Ian Worley** » 5 Jun 2017 1:16 am

you should call these guys, they will probably pick up the banjo for free, no feedback

George Seymour · Post by **George Seymour** » 5 Jun 2017 2:00 am

steve takacs wrote:Banjo pickup wanted as our band wants me to throw in several numbers that require banjo. I have an Ibanez Artist here which would need a reasonably priced pickup to be shipped to the USA . Thx, Steve Takacs

I have what you need, I'll PM the details

David Alexander · Post by **David Alexander** » 5 Jun 2017 7:59 pm

PM sent.

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 13 Jun 2017 2:07 am

I want to thank all of you members who took the time to help me solve this banjo amplification problem. I have plenty to work with now. Time to hit the streets of Beijing to see what I can find. Stevet

Rich Upright · Post by **Rich Upright** » 15 Jun 2017 3:12 pm

Paul Hirshmann wrote:the best pickup to put on a banjo is at least a f-150

HAHAHAHA!!

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