HIGH action banjolin

[ChelseaOctave]

I recently bought this old banjolin and I was super psyched to play it because the ad specifically said the action was good and just needed new strings and a "simple" set up. Well I received it and of course the action is so high that it's completely unplayable. Any ideas what the problem could be? The seller gave me a partial refund so I'm only out $100 at this point but I'd really like to use it for more than decoration.

[rcc56]

We can't diagnose the problem from one picture of the front.

Pictures of the inside of the rim, one of them a straight-on shot and another shot at an angle towards the neck; and a side shot of the outside of the banjo showing the fit between the heel of the neck and the rim would be helpful.

Installing a new lower bridge might be enough to make it playable.

If that doesn't work, it may be necessary to re-angle the neck. Sometimes that can be done by installing a tapered shim between the heel of the neck and the banjo rim. Sometimes it requires more involved techniques.

If changing the bridge doesn't solve the problem, you might want to drive over to Elderly Instruments in Lansing after their showroom opens back up. I'd like to think that someone there can get the action down without too much work.

[HonketyHank]

See that relatively clean rectangle on the calfskin just beyond the fretboard? At one time, this instrument had an extended fretboard. Now it doesn't. hmmm. Next look at the picture closely and it looks like the fretboard is level with the calfskin. Not possible. Or at least highly improbable. Unless the neck and the body are from two different instruments.

What to do? If you really like the instrument and just really really have to have it playable, a neck reset and a reshaping of the mating surface between the neck and body might work. That won't be cheap - if it is doable. More pictures are needed.

[ChelseaOctave]

Here's more pics

[pops1]

What gauge strings do you have on? These do way better with lighter strings. I use two sets of tenor banjo strings (it is a banjo after all) and the heaviest is a 28. Hank has a point it may be a different neck and the heel doesn't give you the proper angle. rcc56 also has a good idea to lower the bridge if you can. I have also found the dowel stick where it glues into the neck starts to creep out after all this time and may need to be removed and reglued. The screw underneath where the dowel stick meets the pot, it is tight? If not tighten it some and see if that helps. Another place that can give high action is the neck, is it flat? If not I would take the finger board off and reglue to make it flat. Sometimes you have to plane some wood off, sometimes you can get by without removing any wood. I know this all sounds like a lot to figure out, but rule out one at a time.

[Richard500]

Suggest searching banjo literature, but to me, the crosspin visible in the dowel at the neck end, plus a locking screw implies that this membranophone adjusts neck angle by moving the aft end of said dowel, not pictured. There can be an adjustment there, and the dowel may also have lost its solid connection to the neck. That the neck heel is tight to the rim may be meaningless (unlike mandolins, etc), because the rim itself can deform. Is my theoretical musing way off?
Also, it might be helpful if someone can identify the maker, or likely, makers, so that our friend can do further research.

[rcc56]

An in-hand inspection by someone who understands banjos is going to be necessary.
We can guess all day, but it appears that pictures are not going to provide enough information to diagnose the cause of the problem.
I think you're going to have to take her to the doctor.

[pops1]

The screw at the pot end of the dowel is simply to pull the neck heel tight against the pot. Nothing more.

[ChelseaOctave]

What gauge strings do you have on? These do way better with lighter strings. I use two sets of tenor banjo strings (it is a banjo after all) and the heaviest is a 28. Hank has a point it may be a different neck and the heel doesn't give you the proper angle. rcc56 also has a good idea to lower the bridge if you can. I have also found the dowel stick where it glues into the neck starts to creep out after all this time and may need to be removed and reglued. The screw underneath where the dowel stick meets the pot, it is tight? If not tighten it some and see if that helps. Another place that can give high action is the neck, is it flat? If not I would take the finger board off and reglue to make it flat. Sometimes you have to plane some wood off, sometimes you can get by without removing any wood. I know this all sounds like a lot to figure out, but rule out one at a time.

I've been looking to get into more diy stuff anyways haha and I use medium mandolin strings. I like the tenor strings idea a lot

[rcc56]

Yes, try lighter strings. Mediums are probably much too heavy for this instrument.

If you want to try to DIY, inspect the way the clamping mechanism secures the neck to the rim. It is possible that something is not assembled correctly. Look at it carefully, figure out how it is supposed to work, and see if it can be adjusted or reassembled in a way that will raise the fingerboard plane farther above the surface of the banjo head. Adjusting necks is all about simple geometry.

If that doesn't solve the problem, you can try to install tapered shims between the heel of the neck and the rim to change the pitch of the neck angle. The thick part of the shim should be beneath the fingerboard, and the thin part at the bottom of the neck heel.

If the problem is still not solved, you'll have to let a good repairman handle it.

[ChelseaOctave]

Thanks for the tips

[Richard500]

Never had any reason to think about it, but since mandolin bodies are fragile, and so are banjo necks, there could, over the years, be many hybrids made of salvaged parts. Octo-frankenstein meets the skin heads.
Sorry I even thought about it.

[morgan]

A while back I purchased a cheap banjolin that "plays great" per the seller but actually had very high action due to a bad neck angle. I loosened everything up so that the neck -pot join had play in it, cut up some kind of flexible card (I just looked at it and I can't tell what it is, but thinner than a credit card; maybe a library card) and stuck three of four pieces of card between the neck and the pot. The more pieces, the more the neck angle changes. That sufficiently re-set the neck angle to get the action down to a reasonable level when I tightened it back up. It may or may not work for you, but it's not much work to give it a try.