How much is too much back tension

[Jskwru11]

Hey guys, great section. Tons of useful information. Thanks for sharing your experiences. So I am making calls with my Thad Bright press and he told me it pulls enough back tension that he has a smiley face. When I feel like I get a smiley face with all reads my big note is to high and there seems to be a high/loud rasp On the back end. Do you guys have a rule of thumb for back tension?  I try to duplicate some store bought calls like the hooks call, but I think the back tension vs side tension is haunting me. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[GobbleNut]

Personally, I think the amount of backstretch tension, or lack of it, has more to do with the individual call design (and also the guy using the call) than anything else.  I also suspect the need for back tension in a call has a lot to do with the thickness of the latex material used, especially in the sound reed. 

Call sound quality is determined by many things,....and back tension is just one of them.  When you consider that the sound quality of a call is determined by all of the following,....reed thicknesses used, layering of reeds, spacing of reeds, tensions of reeds both laterally and front/back, cuts in the sound reed (and sometimes the secondary reeds), size of frame,....you can see that the combinations are endless. 

And when you throw in the fact that the latex material used is inconsistent from one piece to the next, you have a pretty confusing mess in terms of making calls that are consistent in sound. 

Some call makers swear that putting back tension in a call is essential.  Depending on the caller and his desire for perfection, that may be true, but I have not found that to be the case.  You can make perfectly good-sounding calls,...ones that will satisfy most of us non-contest-caller types,...by putting only lateral tension in the reed stretch. 

I guess my point here is that you should not think that back-tension is going to make or break a call.  There are just too many other factors in the mix.

[Jskwru11]

thanks for the response.  i agree with you that you can make good sounding calls with little back tension and little to moderate side tension.  I don't sell calls or do competition calling, but would like to be the most realistic caller in the woods, so i am just trying to get ideas for side tension vs back tension.  you can make good sound, but it really makes a difference with the first note. the sound of it at least.  i love calls that you get it a good first note with the least amount of effort.  also, im so confused about the sounding reed.  i have read that the sound reed is the top reed, but i have been told by some big name callers that the first note of the yelp comes from the bottom reed?  am I missing something?  what do yo mean by the sound reed?

[GobbleNut]

I generally refer to the long reed (the cut reed) as the sound reed, but you are right.  The lower (or first reed below the long reed) uncut reed is mostly where the higher end sounds come from, while the cut reed produces the lower tones and rasp. 

It seems like everybody wants to achieve that distinct two-note, high-low yelp.  That is a good goal, but in my opinion, it is more important to produce a well-rounded assortment of turkey sounds with a call than it is to focus exclusively on achieving that yelp.  Having listened to thousands of hen turkeys in the woods over the years, I have concluded that the yelping they do can vary as much as us humans do in our imitations of them.

[Gooserbat]

In general I pull mine to when it just starts to smile. 

[Jskwru11]

thanks.  Another thing i am finding out is that different color latex all have different stretch retention.  seems that .003 natural latex can take a high stretch than black or gray .003.  for some reason for me my proph cannot take a high stretch.  all of these seem to get too high pitched for turkey sounds.  anyone thoughts on this?

[TRKYHTR]

Different color latex have different vibration characteristics. Just because it's .003 doesn't mean that all colors that are .003 will sound the same. Same goes with .004.

[gobbler336]

Start with the same basic design and tweak one variable at a time so u can understand what does what to the call, back tension I believe is very much necessary, but its just one variable. There are so many little nuaunces involved.