What Banjo Railroad Spikes Are and How to Have Them Installed

Banjo players need to change their tuning more often than many other instrumentalists because the banjo is often played in an open tuning (namely, G). To play songs in different keys, a five string banjo player will need both a banjo capo and a special capo built for the 5 ^th string, because that little fifth string is shorter than the others and a normal capo won't affect it.

This can get annoying, so many banjo players decide to install railroad spikes. Railroad spikes are little tiny pieces of grooved metal that are placed on each fret of the fifth string of the banjo. The fifth string can be easily locked into the groove, thereby changing the pitch of the string. Basically, railroad spikes serve as simple, convenient capos for the fifth string of the banjo that are built right into the instrument.

In fact, banjo railroad spikes are so useful that they're usually built right into modern banjos. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case, especially with inexpensive models.

If you play the banjo regularly, you should seriously consider railroad spike installation. It's a simple bit of banjo surgery that almost any music store can handle. If you decide to have the spikes installed, here is what to do.

First, find a quality music store. You'll want a store that specializes in bluegrass or acoustic instruments, because they'll have worked with banjos before. Banjo railroad spike installation isn't rocket science, but they will be hammering or drilling the spikes into the wood of the fretboard, so it's not something that you want to hand to amateurs.

Get a price quote. You shouldn't expect to pay more than $50 for a job like this, because again, it's not very difficult. Make sure that the banjo tech knows exactly what you want-specifically, how many railroad spikes you'll have installed. This might affect your price, so it's good to make sure that you're clear with him.

It shouldn't take long. If a store is really backed up, you might wait a while to get your banjo back, but experienced bluegrass repair shops and music stores can often install banjo spikes while you wait. They should have the banjo spikes there, too, although in rare cases they'll have to order them. They're tiny bits of shaved metal, so the actual spikes themselves won't be very expensive. You don't have to worry about ordering them online in advance or any of that nonsense.

Once the surgery's done, your banjo will be easier to play, but take it back in if the railroad spikes get in the way of your picking. This is very rare, but a bad spike installation could cause some buzz or other issues. In that case, the store should fix the problem for free.

Any questions about banjo railroad spikes? Post in our comments section below.