On Pg. 51 of Pete SEEGER's "How to Play the 5-String Banjo" 3rd Ed. (1961) he mentions nylon strings: "...Paul Cadwell tells me he prefers to go to a sporting goods store and get nylon fishing leader. The 1st and 5th strings use the kind guaranteed for a 10 lb. fish. The 2nd a 15 lb. fish, the 3rd a 20 lb. fish. Much cheaper (than store-bought strings) though sometimes they take a while to stretch" (What about #4? I guess that's where the tennis racket comes in...) From the jacket notations on Bertram LEVEY "That Old Gut Feeling" Flying Fish Records 1982: 1st String: Salvarez Flaminco "E" (Guitar 1st) 2nd: La Bella Classical "B"; 3rd: La Bella Flamenco "G"; 4th: Salvarez Wound "D"; 5th: La Bella Classical "E" (Guitar 1st). I used some other brands with pretty good results. Some of the strings LEVY uses are bright orange, and were hardly appropriate for my Civil-War reenacting. I had to open up and deepen the slots in my bridge to allow for the larger diameter strings. Hope this helps out, Podnah! Have fun!

"Uncle Jaque"