Interesting Fact About This Banjo...
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- I recently took apart my Ibanez b200 banjo and discovered that it doesn't have a rolled brass tone ring like the Ibanez description says. It has a standard flathead ring. I thought this was really neat and wanted to share my discovery with anyone who cares to see! The Ibanez b200 is an entry level bluegrass banjo, so it's really cool to see that it has a flathead tone ring, and not rolled brass. Thanks for watching!
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My banjo is the Ibanez b200
Contact info: masoncronebanjo@gmail.com - Hudba
Hot and cold rolled metals such as brass, nickel, stainless steel, tin, etc... are processed through a "cog and roll process" after the material has been melted and processed from billets and ingots. I used to be an engineer when we used to have industries in this country. They are all rolled into flat sheets to the size to be sold. The ring is created from flat strips of metal and then spot-welded to create a round ring. In the case of softer metals like brass, it could shaped to be a round diameter of choice. Of course, it could also be used in its flat cold rolled shape from the sheet. For brass to be made into a round bar stock, the brass must be fabricated to be swaged and drawn (pulled) through carbide and diamond dies. Then the brass rod is rolled into a ring and usually tack welded. The term rolled can be used with flat alloys defining the brass being rolled by the "cog and roll" step in the metal fab process. Great job on your videos. Thank you so much.
This was fascinating! We know basically nothing about the banjo, so you're opening our eyes! You're our new banjo guru 👏
Awesome, thanks for watching!
That’s really cool!
Awesome discovery haha
For sure haha.
Good to know, I will check my B300. Thanks
No problem, I thought people might be interested in knowing this.
Great job!
Thanks!
That's always neat when you find a little treasure on something you own that you didn't know existed.
Yep, and it's especially rare for a product to be even better than the seller says...😂 This type of tone ring is a lot more expensive than a rolled brass ring.
I just got a Gosila and I started looking at the Ibanez similar to yours and they are very similar.
I am happy with the less expensive Gosila, frankly I was surprised at the sound..
As I am a beginner I am going to get a cheap banjo for learning simply because the Gosila is too nice... Gosila has another model that is the least expensive they offer. It costs half of the price of the model I recently purchased from them, so I think it would be the perfect Beater Banjo.
Rolled brass means it was cold rolled when it was cast. This is supposed to make the ring denser producing less air pockets creating a better tone when struck.
Newer Ibanez banjos have the basswood rim which works against having a tight head. A tight head has to have a strong rim and basswood is very soft and will crack under the needed pressure to produce loud volume, power and tone.
The older vintage Japanese ibanez's were better.
Yeah, I've heard the old ones were good. The ring in this one is not rolled brass though, rolled brass tone rings are very small.
@@MasonCroneMusic i believe what you are referring to are the tubaphone style rings which are indeed rolled tubes. There are different expressions defining these different rings. These style generally have found their way into frailing banjos but also were used in quite a few of the vintage vegas and I believe Deering makes some presently.
Great job.
That is cool!
Yeah, I was pretty surprised.
that's crazy! did you buy it used? (doesnt look like it). is it possible someone couldve changed it out before you got it? love your videos mason1
Thanks. I got it brand new! It seems to just be something Ibanez isn't very familiar with.
Interesting. Some intern probably typed up the description wrong
Possibly.
Awesome video Mason… if you really want to turn that banjo into a hot rod…. contact Steve Huber (Huber Banjos) ...he can make that sing like no other 🙂
I've heard that Steve is a fantastic builder, I want to get one of his banjos someday. I'm actually getting a new banjo next week, a Gold Tone OB 250+. Thanks for watching!
So I bought the B300 and it has pretty wide spacing on the the nut 1 inch , and the bridge is 1.82 inch, my older Morgan Monroe is .9 nut and 1.6 at bridge. is this a standard spacing for all the Ibanez banjo's. I like the wider top end spacing but the bottom end is a bit to wide as I really notice a difference between my other banjo's. What is the benefit of the wider spacing at the bridge. I'm pretty happy with the B300 and feel for the price it has a decent sound. Re tuners , my older Morgan Monroe had guitar type tuners which is common on entry level banjo's but they were easy to tune with as the degree of tension changed very little compared to how much you turned the tuner. With the geared planetary tuners on the Ibanez it's hard to get it to set in just right , it's either to much or to little , hard to get it in between. I think the planetary are 4 to 1 ratio. Do they make planetary tuners with a 3 to 1 ratio?
I haven't looked into the spacing on these banjos, so I'm not sure about that. And yes, they make planetary tuners with a bigger ratio if that's something you want to change to.
I just don’t like a vine inlay even though I usually look at the side dots. The question is the flathead tone ring brass or aluminum.?
I prefer a more traditional inlay as well. I'm not positive about the tone ring, obviously the description for the banjo is wrong so it's hard to determine. I'm thinking probably aluminum, because it's very lightweight.
Don't knock a B200. My GF has one that we picked up on eBay. She wasn't happy with it, but after a good set up (including new strings, nut, bridge, and tuning the head and adjusting the action) it is now an awesome banjo that holds it's own with her Deering and Goldtone that both sell for over 3 times the Ibanez.
I wasn't trying to "knock" it, it's a good banjo for the price. It's just that this is an entry level banjo and performs like one. I played this banjo as my main one for a long time, I did a lot of setup work on it and tried a lot of different things. Good banjo for the price, but it won't compare to a higher end banjo. You can even feel it in the weight difference between this and a better one, it's much lighter. Something is missing, and it shows in both feel and sound. The rim isn't made like the rims in a pro banjo, which makes a big difference. The tone ring also doesn't fit very well onto the rim, super loose. Which makes it not sound great. It's priced this low for a reason. I recently got a Gold Tone OB 250+ and the pop that comes from it is something that would never come from the Ibanez. All that being said, it's a good entry level banjo.
Now I wonder about my banjo......?!?
Take it apart and take a look!
I bought one in a pawn shop $150-. Good banjo BUT, it is too heavy and that's not good when you stand up to play it
while practicing. And you do have to stand up at some point in your development.
Good banjos are heavy, that's what a strap is for...
And good shoes. Thanks for your video.
Imagine something being better than the seller describes it. A sweeping new business strategy?
I know right? Seems like they would say flathead tone ring but it would actually be rolled brass😂
Underpromise, overdeliver!
Why does it matter??
Rolled or flat??????
Rolled brass are lesser quality and don't give the banjo the same crack and volume that a flathead tone ring does.
They say you get what you pay for.
It's absolutely true!
So, you know how to set up your banjo
I know how to adjust everything, I do my best to do it right haha.
I have the same Banjo and I think it's one of the most underestimated one on the market ! I love mine.
@@billyball3633 It's pretty good for the price, nowhere near as good as banjos around the $1000-$3000 range though.
The Ibanez is a nock off off another one
Which one?
My grand pa told me the made wight eagle 🪕
@@Classics1w1 Never heard of it.
Look it up
Not a true flathead tone ring.
It seems to be made of a low quality metal
It is a flathead tone ring. It’s made of cast aluminum. The best ones are made of heavy bell brass.
@@clawhammer704 Research again, nothing like a 20 hole flathead but a hybrid.
Since you always respond..
Does this thing have friction tuners on all 5 strings? I got one one the way and am worried about tuning problems. Or is it just the 5th string? Do you have trouble keeping it in tune? Thanks.
I believe a friction tuner is a geared tuner that faces backwards, and that's what this banjo has. They're all geared so tuning is easy if that's what you're asking 🙂
@@MasonCroneMusic Ohh. Okay. I feel like I've seen a banjo without a gear on the 5th string, where it was sort of just pressed in the wood like a fiddle. Cool. I was worried this thing wouldn't hold tune.
@@mikebastiat Oh yeah, I've seen those too. You're good to go with this one though.
What does the tone ring do? Add tension to the head or something?
It adds another surface for vibration, which translates to the sound. You pick the strings and the vibration goes through the head, then the tone ring, then the rim, and the better quality these parts are the better the banjo will sound. Some people also believe that it makes the banjo louder, it's often debated though.
@@MasonCroneMusic Thanks. That makes sense, I think. Otherwise it would just vibrate the head and the rim?
@@mikebastiat Yeah, lots of cheap banjos don't have a tone ring or a rim. They make a huge difference in sound though.
@@MasonCroneMusic Would the B300 be a better buy for 50 more bucks?
@@mikebastiat I think it's just made out of a different type of wood, so it's likely about the same.