Banjo Ukulele: Changing the head (skin)

This week, we've been blogging about banjo ukes!  We're gonna keep that going for the rest of the week and designate this the "unofficial banjo ukulele week".

Today, we're passing on a couple links about changing out your banjo ukulele's skin head...Something that I need to do soon on my 1920's Slingerland.





First things first, where to buy one?  You can buy goat skin and calf skin heads at Elderly Instruments.  I bought one through them recently and was very pleased both with the quality and service, so I'd recommend 'em.

Here is a great "how to" article from Ukuleleguide.com.  It's a very thorough explanation of the process of replacing a banjo uke head complete with links and plenty of pictures (the picture above was taken from their article).

If you'd rather watch somebody do it, below is a great video demonstrating the process.  Our friend and banjo uke enthusiast John Bianchi tells me that replacing a torn or worn out skin is absolutely essential to finding out exactly what your banjo uke sounds like.  So order away and give it a shot!  The process might seem a little intimidating, but once you get going, you'll find that it's something that even the most inept person (like myself) is able to do.  Good luck!