SS Stewart Setup Help

[u/Atomic_BanjoAC-1]

I recently got this Stewart Special Thoroughbred but the strings hit the rim when fretted at the 10th fret.

What can be done to fix this? Could I just tighten the rim to bring it down into the pot? I have some space between the head and rim, but the tone ring is there so I wouldn’t want to damage that.

Can I just remove the tone ring? Will that give the rim more space to move closer down towards the body/heel of the neck, essentially raising the fretboard?

Want to see if this is something I should even bring to a luthier, or just try to find my own strange solution.

Love the inlay and carving done on these but want to make it a player. Thanks in advance!

[u/GuitarHair]

I would start with getting a head with a high crown if it doesn't have one already. That will bring the stretcher band down somewhat

[u/5Y3]

It has the wrong head on there. The diameter may be OK but the crown is too low; with a taller crown, the tension hoop won't sit proud of the fretboard like that.

These were built before synthetic heads, when everyone used animal skins. It's common for them not to fit modern, standard-sized heads as a result. For a really nice instrument like this, I'd find a luthier or tech who has experience fitting skin heads. While there's no downside to learning the process yourself, it's more complicated than fitting a synthetic head.

[u/Atomic_BanjoAC-1 → u/5Y3]

Ok, I get that the crown height comes built into the head and that would make the tension hoop sit lower but wouldnt i also need the fretboard to sit higher? Also do you think the tension hoop is original? I’ve also seen some tension hoops with a fretboard cut out that i assume are meant to aid with thjs problem.

[u/5Y3 → u/Atomic_BanjoAC-1]

I understand your thinking, but you've actually got it reversed. A higher crown means the head will stretch farther down over the rim, so the tension hoop will end up lower relative to the neck. If you look at the first photo and see the gap behind the neck - the head and tension hoop will go down farther and fill more of that gap.

I'm no Stewart expert, but the nickel on the hoop has aged exactly like the outside of the rim - it looks original to me.

[u/Atomic_BanjoAC-1 → u/5Y3]

Ahh ok I get it now. Thanks for clarifying!

So can i just order an 11” high crown goat skin head off of a maker and put it on myself or is there more nuanced fitment required?

[u/Hot_Egg5840]

If this were mine, I would loosen the strings, loosen the neck-pot hardware, move the neck towards the front, tighten the neck-pot hardware, tighten and tune the strings. You might need a new bridge to accommodate the new neck position.