Hi SINSULL,

To reply to your original question about the four string banjo....

I've seen it said by others in this forum and I fully concur and reiterate....

"YOU CANNOT TUNE A BANJO!"

You can tweak it. You can diddle with it. You can try every brand and gauge of string on the market. You can replace the bridge and the tailpiece and tighten the head. You can make sacrificial offerings to the goddess Vega. But the best you'll ever achieve is an approximation of "in-tune" and you will make little adjustments after every tune you play but they won't make it sound any better either. And it makes no difference whether you have a $300.00 banjo or a $3000.00 one.

Are you enough of a masochist to take the challenge?

bwl