A Comparison of Nylon Type Banjo Strings. Full commentary.....

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Strings used:
Andybanjo.com basic nylon strings, (.019, .024, .028, .024w, .019) Aquila Nylgut 2b Red Series Classic banjo strings, (.0205, .024, .027, .0305, .020) and La Bella 17 Classic banjo strings. (.019, .022, 028, 0.24w, .019)
Basic conclusions:
Andy Banjo Nylons, clear tone, tuning prone to change with stretch and time. Excellent value, not very different to La Bella.
Aquila Red Series. Louder, but "muddier" "plunkier" tone. After initial stretch and slip phase, tuning more stable. But strings are very slippery. Aquila - can you rough up the string ends where they go around pegs please?
La Bella - very similar to Andy Banjo in gauge and sound, perhaps a bit less stretchy. Tone clear. Definitely less slippery than Nylgut. Once stretched they stay in tune for the session well, but next morning will be well out of tune. Nylguts stay just about in tune over night.

Опубликовано:

22 ноя 2020

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Комментарии : 58

@liammurrayful 3 года назад

Amazing banjo my man

@liammurrayful 3 года назад

Players not bad either lol

@5150show Год назад

Brilliant thank you

@cerddoriaethfynyddig Год назад

I'm a nylgut fan, but those unwound 4ths are too thick..... And the slipping when you first tune them up..... Thanks for the comment!

@bruceday8464 3 года назад

I love playing my nylon strung banjos. I use calfskin heads but it's true they take careful attention. I made the mistake one Winter of keeping my banjos too tight and too close to a heater vent and they both split. I keep them slack a bit now and away from the vents. To me, the classic banjo sound is the best.

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

Thanks Bruce, I really like nylon strings too, easy on ears, and on the fretting hand fingers too! All the best, Andy

@MountainHomeJerrel 2 года назад

This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing this video and information. I was wondering what it would be like to put nylons on a banjo. I was thinking of setting up a banjo to play nylons. Does the head tension need to be lower when compared to a steel string setup in order to get clear and resonant tone? I have a Banjolele but that is totally different from a full sized banjo. Cheers matey.

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 2 года назад

Hi Jerrel, Head tension is better lower for nylon compared to that most people would use for steel strings, especially for bluegrass, but I tend to keep my heads looser for steel strings too. Glad it helped!

@RockStarOscarStern634 2 года назад

Fun fact Aquila Nylon Banjo Strings are color coded which makes them quite useful. Some Aquila Banjo String sets (especially those with a Wound 4th String) are so thick that they're actually meant to be tuned a Minor Third below a Modern 5 String Banjo so Open G becomes Open E. That Lower Tuning was also used by Pete Seeger because it allowed him to sing in a Lower Key, so those strings are great for playing his music as well as singer songwriters.

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 2 года назад

I always tune them low. So many people tell of how easy it is to break Nylgut. I've never broken one ever, really like the tone, and they stay in tune once they have stretched / slipped tight around the peg posts. I keep saying they'd be better if Aquila roughed up the section that went around the peg post to prevent that early slipping. Thanks for the fun fact!

@RockStarOscarStern634 2 года назад

@@cerddoriaethfynyddig This Lower Tuning will make it easier to sing the high notes w/o straining your voice.

@lazylili3699 Год назад

Whoa! I don't play in E. Does Aquila even make nylon strings for standard tuning?

@RockStarOscarStern634 Год назад

@@lazylili3699 They do make those

@cerddoriaethfynyddig Год назад

Hi, thanks for the comment. I can get these Aquila strings up to standard tunings, but they are prone to break with any even slightly sharp edges on a tail piece or tuner. I have the same strings on a little A scale I have, and I can get that up to A. But I like them tuned low, and this banjo has the original friction tuners, and they're happier / easier with lower tunings. Good luck with it all!

@jeremybudd4985 Год назад

Do the nylon/nylgut strings fit into the nut of a banjo that’s been designed for steel strings? Love your playing 👍🏻

@cerddoriaethfynyddig Год назад

Thanks! A nut and a bridge designed and cut for steel will probably not work with nylon. Nylgut is usually thicker again, so almost certainly won't fit the slots cut for steel. Bridges are relatively cheap though, and a thin model makers file will do the job. You can buy graded saws blades too of course, but they're more expensive. If you don't feel able to alter a nut, as a luthier to make one. It won't cost much, and would allow you to change back if you fancied a change. It is a bit scary taking a file to the nut on your nice banjo! The old banjo I'm playing here has a nut that was meant for thicker gut strings though, so I only had to alter the bridge. Good luck!

@TimothyEdDoran 3 года назад

Hi. Thanks so.much for the video. Really handy and we'll timed. I'm making a hand drum banjo and pondering strings. I don't know anything about banjos... But I think I will go for the Andy banjo strings. Wish me luck.

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

Good luck! Are you a Banjohangout member? There are lots of banjo luthiers on there who give free advice. It's free to join too. Click forums and then "banjo building, set-up and repair". Glad this was useful. All the best, Andy

@TimothyEdDoran 3 года назад

@@cerddoriaethfynyddig I'm a lurker on Banjo Hangout and you are correct they are a friendly lot. I should really post what I'm building. I'm building this: www.banjohangout.org/archive/300493/1

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

Wow, good luck! It's amazing what people will share isn't it? Hope it works out. Andy

@TimothyEdDoran 2 года назад

@@cerddoriaethfynyddig I went with the strings from Andy Banjo and I am not disappointed with my choice.

@davebonk319 Год назад

you play the Jo very well. What are the songs you're performing if you don't mind me asking?

@cerddoriaethfynyddig Год назад

Thanks for the comment. The main theme is kind of Loch Lomond, but it's all just noodling really!

@AquilaStrings 3 года назад

Thanks tho share the comparation between different strings. Just one thing if our reds are based on the new Bioplastic Sugar they take a bit of time to settle up. The sound becomes, step by step, brighter and louder. Please, if you give a look on the white small label upon the red envelope you can read the date (so we can realize if they are based on Nylgut or on Sugar plastic). thanks

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

Hi Aquila. What's really interesting is that I prefer the Nylguts for the tone and stability. I left the La Bellas on that banjo after I did the review, but now I hardly ever pick it up, because the tone is too thin and bright, and it slips. The code on the packet is BE 04/2017. Does that mean it's bioplastic sugar, or just plastic? And do you judge bioplastic sugar to be better environmentally? Also, did you get my note about a rougher texture on the string where it goes around the peg? That would really help prevent slippage around the peg. I'm @cerddoriaethfynyddig on Instagram, you can DM me there if needs be. Always happy to share more, especially where environmental improvement is concerned. Those La Bellas had very silly, wasteful plastic beads to say which string is which. Your paper labels and packaging are much better in my view. Thanks for your interest!

@AquilaStrings 3 года назад

@@cerddoriaethfynyddig well these reds are nylgut based, not with the Sugar whose sound is more brilliant and powerful. Would you to give a try a free set ? If you agree you can mail us here telling about me (Mimmo, owner and founder of Aquila strings Italy: aquila@aquilacorde.com

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

Ok, will email. Thanks for the interest!

@DJDom Год назад

just put on some nylon strings, how how should i wait to get to this octave? i’m at G but it’s not the same G you are.

@cerddoriaethfynyddig Год назад

Thanks for the comment. Aquila strings slip during the tightening phase, but once that's done, they don't stretch much. The other true nylon strings stretch more and for longer. Aquila strings should be on tune within a day, the others take longer, 2 or three days, but you only have to do that once. I always keep mine tuned lower than standard tunings. So probably more like fCFAC (standard G tuning, but a whole step lower.) You could have pegs that slip too, if they are just friction pegs? Good luck!

@neillconnor 3 года назад

I’ve tried steel, nylon, the red nylogut and classical strings on my banjo and my favourite on my banjo were the red nylogut on a goat skin head. Lovely tone and a bit more rigid than the clear nyloguts . The red series took about 2 weeks to stabilise properly but once so, they kept tuning nearly as well as steel strings. Problem I had with my banjo was the goatskin head and the approach of autumn, the damp conditions and central heating playing havoc with it. Went back to steel strings and fibre skin head. Maybe next spring I’ll swap it all back to skin head and red series. Banjo with red series strings and goatskin head ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iHcNeLQqFjo.html

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

I think the Nylgut red series stay in tune better after that first period. I'm not sure if it's stretch and slip, but once they are past that they stay in tune better.

@neillconnor 3 года назад

@@cerddoriaethfynyddig it’s the strings stretching. I have geared tuners on my banjo and there was no slip at all, just stretching over a week or so before they stabilised. But once stable they behaved. More rigid than clear nylon strings and louder with a mellow tone. Hunter Robertson did a in depth review of the red series strings when they came out

@neillconnor 3 года назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-l1bd1Y5QAxg.html

@neillconnor 3 года назад

If your thinking of getting any type of nylon strings for your banjo and have a 5 star 5th string tuner, they’ll guillotine the string. There isn’t enough clearance for the fatter strings on the tuner. I waited for 2 weeks for my strings to arrive ......imagine my disappointment when I snapped the 5 th string at the tuner as soon as I put it on. !

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

@@neillconnor ouch!

@charlesbrown7579 3 года назад

is it best to wear picks or not to play a banjo

@cerddoriaethfynyddig 3 года назад

Great question! Banjos have a long history going back centuries. In the 1950s the growing country music industry in the US allowed Earl Scruggs to develop and share a new style of playing using a pick on thumb, 1st and 2nd fingers of the picking hand. Played close to the bridge this is the typical bluegrass banjo sound. I love that sound, but playing without picks has a much longer history. I never use picks anymore, but did when I first learned to play. It's personal choice, and for me, playing without picks gives a greater range of possibilities. When I play tenor banjo, I always use a single guitar plectrum, 0.7mm for the record! Thanks for the comments!

@DinosaurFalcon 2 года назад

I agree with Cerddoriaeth Fynyddig that no picks will grant you more options how to play. I like to flow between finger picking, claw hammer and strumming whenever it feels right, having picks on fingers prevents me from doing that, so I don't use them.

@lazylili3699 Год назад

Depends on your preferred style of music. Bluegrass kinda needs fingerpicks to cut thru the other instruments' sound. For old timey (old hillbilly) clawhammer or frailing style you would almost never use fingerpicks.