Many people think that banjo intonation is an oxymoron. Clearly the distance from the bridge to the 12th fret should be half the distance as it is from the nut. This gets you close but...........no cigar.

Tom Nechville's system for setting the bridge for best intonation goes like this...

"Relocate the bridge for correct intonation. This is done by playing the harmonic chime at the 19th fret of the 1st string and comparing its pitch to the fretted note at the same fret. If the fretted note is sharp, move the bridge back; if the fretted note is flat, move the bridge forward. Repeat the process on the 3rd and 4th strings to verify exact placement."

This is the best simple explanation I have found. Good luck.

I appreciate all the info you have given us on banjo setup, etc. It is very useful to all of us that own and play banjo. Perhaps some demos in the future?

On intonation and bridge placement, do you chime on the 19th fret to compare with the open string? Wouldn't it be the 12th fret? so the octave needs to match the pitch of the open string.

You can find the "chime" at several frets, not just 12. 7 and 19 also will chime, as will 5. The key is that the chime over any of these frets should be the same pitch as when you press the string to the same fret. 19 chime should be same pitch as 19 fret, etc.

The two tones will only be the same when the bridge in in exactly the right spot. Otherwise, the string is either too long or too short for the fixed position of the frets.

Tom Nechville recommends using 19 because slight differences in bridge placement are easier to detect at the higher pitch.

I'm now a little less confused and I think understand the process. Again, a inclass demo would be nice for all the banjo players!

Absolutely correct about the 19th fret. Also, at 19 since the frequency is higher the differences are magnified. 12 will obviously work but the lower frequency is harder to pick up by ear. Tuners generally won't work because the harmonic is too fleeting.

BTW, I do not claim to have any expertise on setup. Since I do not know of anyone locally who is a good setup person (I know we have guitar setup people) we banjo players must do the best we can. I don't let anyone touch my banjo except me or someone I can trust. My posts are srictly for the adventurous person who wants to get better performance from the banjo. No warrentees expressed or otherwise.

Briland -

We know that you are the most knowledgeable in the Bluegrass class for setup and minor adjustments to the banjo. There may be others in the class that know some information (I personnally have split two calfskin banjo heads!), but I think there are some banjo learners/players that don't know anything about setup, etc.

Since there isn't anybody locally to do the work, perhaps an inclass or after class lecture/demo could be done - I know that I would learn alot.