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At 12:01am on December 25, 2011, Bell Banjos said…: Welcome to the group, Joe !!!!

At 2:43am on December 25, 2011, Joe Shea said…: thanks very much terry, very king. might i ask you a question: i'm thinking of converting my 5 steel string gold tone over to nylon strings. if i wanted to go to that lower tuning would i need a heavy gauge string? what do you think about doing that at all? i like the clarity of a steel string but find it gets lost in the strum; whereas i love the soft sound of the gut string. any thoughts at all would be appreciated. happy christmas from ireland, joe

At 7:29am on December 25, 2011, Hans E Christiansen said…: I converted my old Saga from a bluegrass, resonated, steel stringed banjo to Nylgut strings and renaisance head 7 years ago. The Nylguts are thicker than steel strings and for the first couple of days they seemed more uncomfortable to play. Now I don't even enjoy playing any steel stringed banjos as they are sharper on the finger tips. The Nylguts also last longer than steel, after the initial "stretch-in" period. Nylguts also have a much larger tuning window. I never use a capo any more, just tune them up or down to where ever you want to play

At 8:40am on December 25, 2011, Joe Shea said…: thanks hans, my wife is a christensen from jylland, danmark. would the nylgut strings you're referring to be heavy, medium or light? and would you be able to go up to standard g tuning as well as down to the low d? thanks very much for the tips and happy christmas to you and your family

At 8:53am on December 25, 2011, Bell Banjos said…: Hi Joe,

If you put 'Aquila Nylgut Minstrel' strings on your banjos, it'll be just right for the low sound. I imagine that your banjo scale length is between 25 and 27 inches and that is good. Don't put on the 'Aquila Nylgut Classical' strings, these are medium. You want the heavier 'Aquila Nylgut Minstrel' strings. In the U.S. I like to buy them at Bernunzio's and Just Strings. I use only the "Minstrels" on the banjos I make.