My tackhead banjos use natural calf hide or goat hide heads. I sometimes also use the term “fixed head” when talking about a banjo that has a non-adjustable head. I build fixed head banjos with both natural hide and with synthetic materials. Each head is pre-stretched using a stretching frame before being mounted on the rim. Pre-stretching the natural hide before mounting to the rim provides an opportunity to find the optimum amount of stretch before permanently glueing the head to the rim. Each natural hide is different! At the time of final mourning to the rim the hide is stretched just a tiny bit more than during pre-stretch.
After stretching and mounting the head I apply a weather seal to stabilize and protect the head from humidity changes. Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where Thumpy Banjos are built, summer humidity levels often range between 60 and 80 percent from the months of June through August and dip way down to less than 20 percent humidity indoors during the winter. These pre-stretched weather sealed heads will move very slightly with humidity fluctuations but are generally stable. I’ve not had reports of Thumpy Banjo natural hide heads moving excessively due to humidity. But, if one were to sag it could easily be made taut again by moving the instrument to a drier environment or by briefly blow drying on low heat with a standard hair dryer. One can also keep two bridges on hand, one for high humidity that is a little taller and one for lower humidity that is a little shorter. I have not yet heard from any Thumpy owners who needed to do this.
Not All Natural Hide Heads Have Tacks
I use a stretching frame during the pre-stretching and mounting of natural hide heads. Because of this process, tacks are not actually required to hold the head in place, glue does this. But tacks are a beautiful decorative element and I sometimes ad the them for this reason.
This banjo has a natural hide head and features tacks. They are purely decorative. Click the image above to see more photos and learn more about this banjo.
This banjo also has a natural hide head, but does not have tacks. But instead has a nylon ribbon for decoration. Click the image above to see more photos and learn more about this banjo.
Synthetic Heads
In addition to natural hide heads, I also build “fixed head” banjos using modern synthetic Fyberskin and Renaissance heads. I call these “fixed head” banjos because the head tension is not adjustable. I’ve yet to hear of one that has sagged over time.
This banjo has a synthetic Renaissance head (an old time music standard) made by the Remo company that also produces drum heads. Click the image above to see more photos and learn more about this banjo.