Resonator banjos tend to be more suitable for gigging environments than open-back instruments, with easier tuning capabilities and louder volume when performing together with others.
Setup can be necessary, but for its price point it’s difficult to beat.
Neck
The type and density of wood used for the neck can have an immense effect on tone. Mahogany tends to produce a mellower sound than maple, while walnut falls somewhere in between. Furthermore, there’s something known as the peghead which houses banjo tuners which also makes a big difference to how your banjo sounds.
Some individuals like to customize their banjos by attaching a personalized truss rod cover with names, dates or short phrases on it to the peghead. This can make an immediate impactful statement about yourself as an artist while simultaneously improving tone. When selecting such an accessory it is often wise to select something suitable for the neck of the banjo in question.
Closed back banjos come equipped with a resonator which amplifies their sound through Helmholtz resonance and can alter or enhance it as desired. However, this feature can be removed to create an open back banjo with reduced volume levels; making an open-back banjo potentially quieter than its closed counterpart.
Bridge
Resonator banjos feature a different configuration for their bridge and pot assembly than open-back models, creating significant differences in tone quality between them.
Resonators make banjos significantly louder, and are much easier and more comfortable to play due to no exposed metal hooks digging into your thighs. Unfortunately, they can sometimes be difficult to produce sound unless playing in a large group and away from guitarists’ ears.
Resonator banjos typically feature an S-shaped curve at the heel to facilitate frailing and clawhammer playing styles for a more soothing old-time sound. Additionally, heel cuts also serve to accommodate bridge height adjustments, making setting the proper bridge height difficult; finding a screwdriver that fits this screw can sometimes prove difficult; when tightened too far this screw can throw the banjo out of tune when changing body position drastically.
Resonator
Resonators are added to banjos as a sound chamber, to increase volume for bluegrass groups playing together and also help them sound brighter.
Many newcomers to banjo may find themselves confused as to why certain models feature resonators while others do not or why having one might limit your playing styles (such as clawhammer). A resonator may appear as though it only lends itself to specific styles ( such as clawhammer).
However, most accomplished clawhammer players use resonator banjos and often play them in bluegrass bands as well. If you want to compete at jam sessions against guitar players without straining your fingers and joints, resonators might be the way to go; but should your tastes shift towards bluegrass music or you simply prefer an open-back instrument, thumbscrews make this modification possible and your resonator banjo can become open back instrument without much fuss!
Set-Up
Though a banjo setup can be done independently by an inexperienced owner (including adjusting the neck’s truss rod and installing or removing and installing the resonator), experienced repair techs or banjo teachers should handle these tasks for best results.
The Goodtime Resonator Kit is an easy upgrade for your open back banjo. Simply unscrew 8 hex nuts from underneath hooks on the rim and replace them with armrest j-hooks (2 bent ones are included). While this may take some patience to complete, this upgrade will make your banjo louder when playing bluegrass music as well as help reduce overtones in jam sessions with others!