Gut 4th string - Minstrel Banjo2024-03-28T19:41:27Zhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/gut-4th-string?commentId=2477478%3AComment%3A161381&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks for the update and the…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-10-09:2477478:Comment:1663232017-10-09T21:48:19.569ZStrumeliahttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/Strumelia
<p>Thanks for the update and the cautionary moral. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the update and the cautionary moral. :)</p> So I gave in some time last w…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-10-09:2477478:Comment:1664772017-10-09T21:17:12.069ZChris Prietohttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/caprieto
<p>So I gave in some time last week and replaced the 4th gut string with a wound one. I kept recalling your mention of no power and realized I dont even play the banjo because that 4th string is terrible</p>
<p>After a few days I got over the subtle differences in sound and now I have bass string with big boom that can handle the simple task of staying in tune.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Moral of the story folks? ... just get a wound bass string. Don't be like Chris haha</p>
<p>So I gave in some time last week and replaced the 4th gut string with a wound one. I kept recalling your mention of no power and realized I dont even play the banjo because that 4th string is terrible</p>
<p>After a few days I got over the subtle differences in sound and now I have bass string with big boom that can handle the simple task of staying in tune.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Moral of the story folks? ... just get a wound bass string. Don't be like Chris haha</p> Yeah it truly has been a gian…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-08-11:2477478:Comment:1640972017-08-11T16:26:19.767ZChris Prietohttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/caprieto
Yeah it truly has been a giant PITA<br />
<br />
I am getting *much* better results tuned up a step tho. A lot less flappy and less muddy.<br />
<br />
I am banking on slightly fatter fc string to do the trick. In all honesty I use the nylguts because they are convenient and I am lazy. I will eventually venture into getting a bunch single strings to put together a set as suggested.
Yeah it truly has been a giant PITA<br />
<br />
I am getting *much* better results tuned up a step tho. A lot less flappy and less muddy.<br />
<br />
I am banking on slightly fatter fc string to do the trick. In all honesty I use the nylguts because they are convenient and I am lazy. I will eventually venture into getting a bunch single strings to put together a set as suggested. HI Chris, FWIW historically,…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-08-11:2477478:Comment:1642132017-08-11T15:39:58.679ZJoel Hookshttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/deuceswilde
<p>HI Chris, FWIW historically, the earliest documented information on the five string banjo as we know it always used a wound over silk or wound over gut 4th string. Pre Briggs book photos clearly show a wound 4th. The wound 4th continued to be used in perpetuity.</p>
<p>There must be a reason!</p>
<p>I have tried to play banjos that were strung with unwound 4ths and could not get any power out of them. When played with any force (an effect I use often, esp. in march trios) it would just…</p>
<p>HI Chris, FWIW historically, the earliest documented information on the five string banjo as we know it always used a wound over silk or wound over gut 4th string. Pre Briggs book photos clearly show a wound 4th. The wound 4th continued to be used in perpetuity.</p>
<p>There must be a reason!</p>
<p>I have tried to play banjos that were strung with unwound 4ths and could not get any power out of them. When played with any force (an effect I use often, esp. in march trios) it would just slap itself dead against the fingerboard.</p>
<p>It is much cheaper to extrude polyester compound then to wind wire over floss so I think the cost savings, at least in part, is why a current manufacturer is offering full extruded sets. I know that a lot of old time banjo people were complaining that they would wear out the winding with frets. So it may have been in response to those complaints.</p>
<p>I find that with fretted banjos, by the time I wear through two wound strings there are flat spots on the bottom of the nylon strings where they get pressed into the frets and I change them all.</p>
<p>I am no fan of nylgut (polyester) strings. They squeak with my fingertips and clack with a thimble. I found them to go untrue due to the excess stretching. They would also get flat spots pretty quick. Not to mention the breakage (something that i have not had happen with nylon).</p> To follow up on this I have b…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-08-11:2477478:Comment:1643592017-08-11T03:14:32.227ZChris Prietohttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/caprieto
To follow up on this I have been battling with this bass string forever :|<br />
<br />
I ordered a wound bass from Dr Horsehair, tried a FC string from a previous gut set, tried an Aquila bass from my minstrel set, took a nice bass string from a guitar set I had.<br />
<br />
And compared to the other four gut strings they sounded really tinny and kind of harsh or hot. Just like super loud and jarring. The FC was the better sounding of all of em but it still wasn't as warm as the other gut strings.<br />
<br />
So I threw the…
To follow up on this I have been battling with this bass string forever :|<br />
<br />
I ordered a wound bass from Dr Horsehair, tried a FC string from a previous gut set, tried an Aquila bass from my minstrel set, took a nice bass string from a guitar set I had.<br />
<br />
And compared to the other four gut strings they sounded really tinny and kind of harsh or hot. Just like super loud and jarring. The FC was the better sounding of all of em but it still wasn't as warm as the other gut strings.<br />
<br />
So I threw the big ol gut string back on and for a few days the weather was dry and it sounded great but it slowly went out of tune and got floppy again and started hitting the fifth string peg.<br />
<br />
It occurred to me that I can tune up a step to A and they are much better behaved but sound "off-ish" even when in tune.<br />
<br />
I really do enjoy the way they feel and play and they deff sound different than a set of nylguts but they sure are moody. I have spent more time messing with the bass string than I have playing the banjo haha not to mention the tremendous slot in my bridge for that giant bass string.<br />
<br />
I am convinced they were intended for longer scale banjo. Man, I pulled and pulled on i…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-05-24:2477478:Comment:1612232017-05-24T16:09:34.172ZChris Prietohttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/caprieto
Man, I pulled and pulled on it some more last night and it's finally holding a tune. I have to tune it a touch flat so it's on key when struck but boy is it a loud bass string makes my whole stomach vibrate and rumble
Man, I pulled and pulled on it some more last night and it's finally holding a tune. I have to tune it a touch flat so it's on key when struck but boy is it a loud bass string makes my whole stomach vibrate and rumble Or call up Chris Henriksen of…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-05-23:2477478:Comment:1614372017-05-23T19:15:41.890ZTom Berghanhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/TomBerghan
Or call up Chris Henriksen of Boston Catlines. He will fix you up with the best type of gut string. You might well love a gut catline (they are like braided gut). Chris makes the best catlines.
Or call up Chris Henriksen of Boston Catlines. He will fix you up with the best type of gut string. You might well love a gut catline (they are like braided gut). Chris makes the best catlines. Chris, what is the scale of t…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-05-23:2477478:Comment:1612062017-05-23T19:11:51.452ZTom Berghanhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/TomBerghan
Chris, what is the scale of the banjo and the exact pitch you are tuning the 4th string to? I will suggest a music-nylon or carbon fiber single for you to try. (the gage)You can order online.
Chris, what is the scale of the banjo and the exact pitch you are tuning the 4th string to? I will suggest a music-nylon or carbon fiber single for you to try. (the gage)You can order online. Does the shellac change tone…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-05-23:2477478:Comment:1612052017-05-23T19:01:31.284ZChris Prietohttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/caprieto
Does the shellac change tone or anything like that? I've used nail polish on frayed parts but never ventured to shellac the whole thing.<br />
<br />
<br></br>
<br></br>
<cite>John Masciale said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/gut-4th-string?xg_source=activity#2477478Comment161381"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>I use varnished strings, they are much more weather resistant. If they are not varnished, dip your fingers in some shellac and run them down the string. You…</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
Does the shellac change tone or anything like that? I've used nail polish on frayed parts but never ventured to shellac the whole thing.<br />
<br />
<br/>
<br/>
<cite>John Masciale said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/gut-4th-string?xg_source=activity#2477478Comment161381"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>I use varnished strings, they are much more weather resistant. If they are not varnished, dip your fingers in some shellac and run them down the string. You can try using a string that is not quite so fat. You won't get the volume out of it, but it should be tunable. Something like a 1.2 mm string might work for you. If they were using wound strings 150 years ago I don't see a problem with using them. If you really are desperate you could consider twisting two strings of smaller diameter together. To do this you need to twist each string in a clockwise direction and then twist the pair in a counter clockwise direction. This is time consuming to do, but it could work. I think you would be better with a single string.</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote> I stretched and pulled on it…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2017-05-23:2477478:Comment:1611362017-05-23T17:58:45.362ZChris Prietohttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/caprieto
I stretched and pulled on it for about an hour last night and it's deff holding up a lil better. Still tends to go a tad sharp but I am hoping if I hit it with another hour of pulling tonight I will have broken it in.<br />
<br />
I need some digital calipers to check diameter. So I can hunt down an equivalent size. I'd love to test both a wound and unwound nylguts. Since I've only ever had a wound bass string.
I stretched and pulled on it for about an hour last night and it's deff holding up a lil better. Still tends to go a tad sharp but I am hoping if I hit it with another hour of pulling tonight I will have broken it in.<br />
<br />
I need some digital calipers to check diameter. So I can hunt down an equivalent size. I'd love to test both a wound and unwound nylguts. Since I've only ever had a wound bass string.