I have an early 20s Bacon tenor, tuned GDAE - I play Irish music. If I don't cover the bottom G in some manner it sounds while I play, adding a rather irksome drone. It's not really an issue playing with other people, but gets on my nerves while I practice. Any advice on doing away with this? Gauges are pretty standard, I did move to a heavier G string though as that one's a bit floppy.
I bought it from a luthier and will ask him about it tonight. Oh, also this banjo originally had a "tone hoop" I guess they were called - just a thin skirt of metal that went under the skin. This tone hoop is long gone. It was basically like the tension hoop, but smaller in diameter. Here's some pics of another open back Bacon banjo. Owner described it here. This one has the tone hoop, his tuners are replacements though - mine are the original friction jobs. Dunno if that plays a role in the auto-droning.