Arm Rest - Different types and how they fit

The prime aim of the banjo armrest is to give the player comfort on the wrist/arm of the picking hand. There are many different designs and styles of armrests. Most banjo arm rests are designed to fit on banjos in relation to the number of tension hooks (sometimes called brackets) on the banjo.

The traditional Gibson type flat armrest can have one or two brackets for fixing it to your banjo. These brackets are spaced to span over the tension hooks on your banjo. The brackets on the armrest have a flat metal bar that positions behind two tension hooks and clamps to the tension hooks via a hexagon screw that when adjusted pulls the bracket tight against the hooks. The Deering banjo armrest is similar to the original Gibson style arm rest.

Some armrests are versatile and will fit on banjos that have 18 or 24 tension hooks, whilst others are designed purely to fit a specific number of tension hooks.

The old Vega style ‘Wire’ armrest that can be bought from Eagle Music is very versatile in that it will fit OPEN BACK banjos that have any number of tension hooks from 12 to 34.

Fitting an armrest can also affect the tone of a banjo in that it can restrict your arm from resting on the banjo head and deadening the movement of the head. Any body contact (arm, hand fingers) with your banjo head will lower the volume of your banjo.

Most armrests can be adjusted for height to give the player the optimum position for your style of playing. All players have a different way that they ‘attack’ their strings.

Please call us to ask which arm rest is suitable for your banjo.