If you have tried all else--changing your head tension, replacing the bridge and changing your string gauges, and you are still not satisfied with the sound of your instrument, do not despair, there are still other things you can do. One of these is to change out the tone ring.

There are more than a dozen different tone rings available on the open market. The following contains a review of as many of these as I have been able to procure, and is a set of on-going tests of tone rings. These rings are tested on normal Gibson rims and on Tone Bell(TM) rims as well.

I do not own any interest in any of the manufacturers of these rings. I pay for them myself, and I try to test them under as rigorous a set of conditions as possible.

If you have a 1960-1987 Gibson Mastertone, chances are that you can greatly improve the sound of your banjo by trying one of these new tone rings. This is especially true of Gibsons from 1960-1980 or so. If you have a flathead Mastertone banjo, most of these rings will be a drop-in replacement. Other flathead instruments might require some alteration to make the ring fit properly.

If you have an "archtop" or raised head instrument, and you wish to convert to flathead, there are some conversion tone rings available from various sources that will give you that option with a minimum of inconvenience. However, if you want to try the standard flathead style tone rings, you will have to either alter the original rim permanently or have a new rim made to fit your resonator flange and the tone ring of your choice. Personally, I would choose having a new rim made. This will minimize loss of value should you try to resell the instrument.

In November of 1996, I purchased a Buck tone ring from First Quality Music Supplies. In December of 1996, I purchased a Tennessee 20-hole tone ring from Janet Davis, along with 2 banjo rims, a Gibson resonator flange, and some other necessary hardware. I also acquired a Kulesh 10-hole tone ring from Bernunzio's. I have modified one of the rims so that it meets the requirements of the Tone Bell(TM) system, that is, I have used a 3/8" corner round router bit to round off its inner edge. The other rim is unmodified.

Both rims have been stained and lacqered. I am using a Gibson RB-100 neck which I purchased from Wyatt Fawley of the Banjo Loft. The resonator I am currently using is basically a Gibson resonator--actually a mahogany veneered resonator made by the same people who manufacture the Gibson resonators.

Since the tests have started, I have had some questions asked about the rims used in the tests. I am now using several different rims. They are all recent rims made of 3-ply maple and cut to fit standard Gibson tone rings, except for the two that are cut for Stull tone rings. All are stained and lacquered.

One question I received was whether I had tried these rings on any prewar Gibson rims. No, I haven't. There are two reasons for that. One is that prewar rims are hard to come by. The other, more logical reason is that most of the people who are changing tone rings around on their instruments are using newer instruments with rims that are less than, say, 30 years old. The age of the rims I use is in keeping with the rims that most banjo players will be using as well.

The exception to this is the use of the tone rings in conjunction with the Tony Pass Lost Forest submerged wood rims in the most recent tests.

The banjos are strung with Gibson Earl Scruggs medium gauge strings or the equivalent thereof.
The banjos are fitted with Snuffy Smith compensated 5/8" bridges, Price tailpieces and Weather King heads. The banjos are equipped with Gibson one piece resonator flanges.

I am using a 1996 Gibson Earl Scruggs Standard model as a control banjo. It is equipped with a Price tailpiece, Earl Scruggs medium gauge strings, and the head is tightened to 9 kg.-cm. The head is the one installed at the factory. This is a particularly exceptional banjo for a new one.

I have weighed each tone ring on an accurate electronic scale, and have also tested them to determine their resonant frequencies. For the resonant frequency tests, I suspend the tone ring from my left index finger, with the finger at the lag bolt hole. I then strike the ring on what would be the upper edge if the ring were mounted in an instrument. I use my right index fingernail to do the striking. I compare the notes produced by the ring to notes on a Proteus 1 synthesizer tuned to A=440. The notes are rounded to the nearest pitch. All of the pitches so far have been in the octave around middle C to C above middle C.

Here are the results so far:

The headings refer to the name of the tone ring, its retail price, its weight, frequency when struck, and the rim upon which it is tested. The tone rings are listed by weight, with the heaviest at the top of the list.

There are a couple of terms that I use that may be interpreted differently by various people, so let me define some terms. When I refer to fundamentals and overtones, I am referring to the lowest pitch that is produced by the tone ring when it is struck (fundamental) and any other notes above it which sound at the same time (overtones).

When I refer to sustain, I am referring to the ability of the banjo to sound a note until it is released by the left hand. I am not referring to the "ringy" aftertones that are so detrimental to clear playing.


n/a*=retail price unknown, purchased used.
n/a**=came with Epiphone banjo.

Notes about the J.D. Crowe tone ring

I finally was able to try out the J.D. Crowe tone ring. For specific impressions of that tone ring go to the J.D. Crowe tone ring test.

Note about the prices

The prices quoted above are the retail prices from the manufacturer or an authorized outlet at the time of purchase. Some of the rings were purchased used. For example, the Gibson-Kulesh ring was a trade-in that I purchased from Janet Davis. The First Quality tone ring and the 5-Star Flathead (20-holes) were trade-ins that I purchased from First Quality. The 5-Star Flathead (no holes) came from Janet Davis. They are no longer made, so they must be purchased used. The J.D. Crowe tone ring is usually available only on a new Gibson J.D.Crowe model banjo, so I had to find someone who had a used one to sell.

When conducting the tests, I often purchase used tone rings. When you consider that I am in the process of testing more than a dozen different rings, you can see that any savings is a big help!

Everyone's opinion of tone rings is subjective and subject to all sorts of variables due to setup,etc. However, the ranking of the tone rings, I have tested so far is:

For normal Gibson type rims:
(1) Paul Hopkins Full Flathead Ring, Paul Hopkins Traditional Cut Flathead,Tennessee 20, McPeake-Kulesh,Steve Huber Vintage 39, J.D. Crowe, New Kulesh Big Ten, Price Classic (these are listed in the order tested, not necessarily in the order of my personal preference)
(2)Stull Model 4 (rim modified to accept longer skirt), Stull Model 12 (rim modified to accept longer skirt)
(3) Gibson-Kulesh 20 hole (placed third because of price and restricted availability

I should point out that some of the most outstanding sound came from the Hopkins-McPeake Conversion tone ring on an archtop style rim. It is a hard combination to beat,

For Tone Bell (TM) rims:
Steve Huber Vintage 39
(exceptional sound, but requires restraint on 5th string)
Stull Model 12
Tennessee 20
Kulesh Big Ten
McPeake-Kulesh
Gibson-Kulesh 20 hole
These 4 tone rings are all very close in quality of sound.
Stull Model 4 with Remo head and Grover bridge, lower head tension.
One big advantage of the Stull tone rings over the similar sounding rings is the price.

If you have a recent Gibson banjo, you will find that the Tone Bell (TM) modification works well with the existing tone ring. If you are not satisfied with the sound of your recent Gibson banjo or you have a 1970's through 1987 model (pre-Gibson-Kulesh)*, you will probably find that investing in a Stull Model 4 tone ring will give you a truly fine sound. For this tone ring, I recommend that you use the installation procedure that Jim Stull details in the sheet accompanying the tone ring, not the Tone Bell (TM) system.

*Note: The Kulesh family started supplying tone rings to Gibson in 1987. The original name of the company was Anti-Friction Products.

I still have a couple of tone rings to test. The results will be posted as the tests are completed.

I have been conducting some experiments with archtop to flathead conversion tone rings. For the continuing investigation, click here.

Most of us have never actually played a pre-war Mastertone. I have played several instruments that were pre-war instruments, and several that were purported to be pre-war instruments. Some were good, some were not. Most of the differences were in setup, with the exception of those instruments that were simply bad attempts at copying old instruments.

Each of us has an idea of what a banjo should sound like. I cannot tell you what is the best sound for you. Neither can Earl Scruggs, Sonny Osborne or anyone else, and they would be the first to admit this. All I can do is tell you what I hear, what a given tone ring will do under various circumstances, and, to the best of my skills, tell you what I did to get the banjo to produce a given sound.

I purchase these tone rings with my own funds. Nobody tells me how to judge a tone ring. I am not "married" to any of the manufacturers. If I like a tone ring, you will know it. If I don't, you will know that, too. All of these descriptions are subjective. But they are based on lots of experience, and the methods used allow the results to be duplicated. This is the basis of scientific investigation. And that is what you find on this page--facts, not folklore.

OKAY?

In the latter part of May, 1997, I converted a 1926 Gibson TB-3 to an RB-250, using the flathead conversion tone ring manufactured by First Quality Music. This is a drop-in conversion that requires no fuss at all. I found that it was necessary to use a modern tension hoop and modern hooks for the conversion, so if you are in the position to do one of these, order the tension hoop and the hooks and nuts at the same time. This will save you a lot of trouble.

The banjo sounded fantastic! In fact, I have an instrument now with a 1925 ball-bearing rim and a Sullivan conversion ring in it. I had to do a little work on the rim to get it to fit, but it is a really fine sounding instrument.

I took my banjos to SPBGMA again this year. This time I had two Tone Bell (R) banjos. One had the RB-100 neck and resonator and a Stewart-MacDonald no-hole tone ring, the other had a Flying Eagle neck and matching resonator and the Tennessee 20 tone ring. I showed these instruments to several very knowledgeable banjo players and setup experts. Each one liked the instruments. There is a certain richness of tone, without harshness, plus amazing volume that really attracts the ear. I had a chance to hear other people play these instruments, and I was personally amazed at how good they sounded. Rather than make a list of people who liked the instruments--primarily because I have not asked permission to do so--I will simply say, "If they sat down and played them, they liked them."

For this same information with a lot of added historical reference, click here.

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©2006 Bill Palmer. All rights reserved. For permission to republish contact Bill Palmer. The opinions expressed on this page are strictly Bill Palmer's. Mastertone, Stelling and the other brand and model names are the property of the manufacturers and other people who own them.