Perfect Banjo Bridge Placement in 2 Easy Steps

[@SanctumOfDreams]

THANK YOU I've gone through literally dozens and dozens of videos on how to set up the bridge and you were the only uploader to mention which way the bridge even faces. Thank you thank you thank you

[@OregonBreault]

Thank you. New banjo showed up with the bridge fallen over. Thought I’d hobby the banjo after being a guitar player, so this made for a challenging first day. Great video for my banjo-newbieness and a perfect way to get acquainted with this quirky, but beautiful sounding, stringed instrument before putting on the picks.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Congrats on your new banjo! Welcome to a beautiful and wonderful universe of sounds. Yeah, steep learning curve at first, but put in time every day and you'll be cookin in no time!

[@ChuckNorrisUltra]

Fantastic video for what I needed to know.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Glad it was helpful!

[@michaelharvey5138]

Great set up, love that twelfth fret trick with the harmonics !....

[@tgp4871]

Thanks this was perfect! What banjo is that? Beautiful!! 😍

[@s.d.davidson9144]

A strip of plastic cut to the length from the nut to the 12th fret works great and will fit in your case.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Great idea, S.D.!

[@Dr_Mauser]

A Beginner Banjo I was looking at comes with a piece of plastic the length from the nut to the bridge.

[@deadmanswife3625]

Is the 12 and 3/4 from the front of the nut to the center of the 12th fret or to the metal bar

[@VellaCharles]

Thank you Tom, most informative for beginners.

[@rogerjohnson2015]

Thank you Tom! Very informative!

[@sivad2]

As always, great video.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Thanks!

[@justinmorgan5382]

Thanks for this great video. It helped me tremendously.

[@markvoisey3031]

Your banjo sounds great ! What strings do you use ? Thanks Mark

[@keithamberg6392]

I've been working on this all morning and still can't get it quite right. All is pretty good, except when I fret the highest frets on the first and second string.

[@RhetoricalSyndicate]

Thanks mate

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Any time!

[@pekwalker]

How does a Compensated Bridge work? I just bought my first Banjo and am trying to learn what it's all about.

[@fhulkster]

best bridge set up instruction ive seen so far , thanks for sharing that

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Thanks, HAZ!

[@barbarajacobs5549]

Great tech information😊.

[@charliemcelveen2418]

Outstanding!

[@tedtedsen269]

what is the best tunig app for the 5 stringer

[@heatheralice1974]

5:50-5:56 that's how I learned to stop hating string changes. I'm almost addicted to changing mandolin strings - let's hope this banjo experiment I decide to try leads to more zen opportunities.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

The banjo leads to many wonderful places. I hope you relish the journey!

[@bjornhudson1699]

instablaster...

[@cherub2972]

So I did this to my banjo. Either this is a placebo or Wow, what a difference. I still need help with tuner to do the actual tuning bit but the sharp vs flat on the 12th is OK. Is it me does it make the notes SO much better. Not too difficult even for a shiny new player like me. Probably not perfect butt way better. As an aside the bridge is now way off where the makers pencil marks were....

[@Dr_Mauser]

I look at a bridge and I see one side is perpendicular to the strings you're playing, and the angled side is perpendicular to the strings from the tailpiece.

[@deadmanswife3625]

09:50 My app keeps saying B is in tune

[@slq3263]

Thanks Tom. What brand is your beautiful banjo?

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Hey Sarah...that's my Ome Tupelo. Simple, minimalist perfection! Highly recommended! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Best, Tom

[@davidgibb4551]

What does a buzzing 12th feet on 1st string mean?

[@margaretblack8491]

Nice, Tom! This was a real help.

[@TheHurricanePrint]

Hi Tom. It was a bit difficult to make out the name of the tuner you mentioned for your phone? Could you let me know what it's called please? Thanks.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Hey John! It’s called InsTuner.

[@MattyVicious1]

What head is that? love the look of it, been using the remo weatherking head.

[@Slideroolz]

Please tell me about the rug? My daughter is an “H”. Great video. Thanks

[@kodyhansen3929]

Your banjo is beautiful. what is its make and model?

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Hey Kody! That's my Ome Tupelo. Highly recommended! Thanks for watching, Tom

[@wednesday6127]

When I measure from the 12th fret do I measure from the center stupid question but I'm asking

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Not a stupid question! I don't think it matters if you're at the center or not. Just keep the string/ruler straight!

[@deadmanswife3625]

​@@TomCollinsBanjomeaning from the middle of the two bars or from the beginning of the 12th fret or the end of the 12th fret that is closest to the tail

[@BusterKitten]

my banjo came tuned from the factory so I never need to mess with it..... all kidding aside, how important is it to get the bridge perfectly perpendicular to the strings? Another question, when you're fine tuning each string, are you changing the degree of angle of the bridge to the strings or are you moving the bridge up or down on the head? I couldn't tell from the video.

[@Tasmanaut]

it's more about moving it forward or backward down the head slightly

[@TattooCebu]

This was really cool and scary at the same time. Any advice for doing this on a long neck. Thanks Greg

[@meadandmilk]

I know I’m 4 years late but for anybody else who sees this it’s exactly the same process for a long neck, you might just need a longer piece of string! 😛

[@MrMarkWilcoxon]

How can I do this with a fretless, since there is no 12th fret to locate?

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

I eyeball it and let harmonics guide me.

[@petrovichluzhin]

Hi Tom have you tried moon bridges. What do you think of them

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Really like the moon bridges! I had one on my Ome Columbine for many years.

[@deadmanswife3625]

13:30 My tuner says G

[@keeganfritz1141]

I strings are too tight I can’t get it underneath and I don’t know what I’m doing I don’t want to break it

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Hmmm...I'm not sure without seeing the banjo, Keegan. Could be that you're tuned high. Could be that you're using heavy strings, which will increase overall tension relative to pitch. Either way, just loosen the strings a bit and try to place the bridge. Then tune up. Hope this helps!

[@sparkydiaz397]

Tuner name please,thank you

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

“InsTuner”. Thanks for watching.

[@deadmanswife3625]

15:03 B

[@evanwilliams8908]

Jeez loosen you strings and make your life easier. Important to measure from near middle of the nut not the back. You need to look for where the string is actually contacting the nut.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

This is just the way I do it. You're welcome to do it however you see fit! Best of luck, Tom

[@byron7165]

There is no such thing as perfect intonation.

[@TomCollinsBanjo]

Agreed! Which is why I titled the video "perfect bridge placement" versus "perfect intonation". Cheers! Tom