Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From:
Date: 11 Nov 00 - 09:11 PM

Use side-cutting pliars to remove the little ball from guitar strings - leaves a loop so that you can use them on a 6 string banjo. Works great!

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From:
Date: 11 Nov 00 - 09:11 PM

Use side-cutting pliars to remove the little ball from guitar strings - leaves a loop so that you can use them on a 6 string banjo. Works great!

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From:
Date: 11 Nov 00 - 09:08 PM

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Naemanson
Date: 11 Nov 00 - 12:51 PM

Jon, I have tried to do that with pliers and failed miserably. There must be some technique I'm missing.

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 11 Nov 00 - 08:22 AM

Namaeson, if you want to experiment with guitar strings, you can remove the ball yourself quite easily with a pair of pliers. The loop may becomes a little distorted but I have yet to have a string fail at the loop point as a result of me using this crude method.

Jon

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: John Hardly
Date: 11 Nov 00 - 05:36 AM

Brett,

I sympathize. I changed my mandolin strings last month...the whole month.

John

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:22 PM

I have no idea John but that sounds like a good idea. I suppose I ought to try it.

It just occurred to me what a pile of trouble I may be borrowing on this project. The one time I changed the strings on this baby I worked for two hours with everything but power tools. The cover over the string heads does not swing far enough out of the way.

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: John Hardly
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:18 PM

Hi Brett,

Love the Harvey Reid cd--love his act even more! Is the 6-string high-strung (High E's on BOTH ends)?

John

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 08:59 PM

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice.

Russ, thanks for the info about Banjo-L but I'm not sure about subscribing to one of those services. I did thatonce upon a time and wound up with my mailbox packed with mail, most of which I didn't have time to read.

Bill Foster, I will give Deering a try. I keep forgetting about them but they do make the best.

DonMeixner, if your friends have trouble with intonation it may be the quality of the instrument. I have a copy of Harvey Reid's "Artistry Of The Six String Banjo" and there are no intonation problems with his instruments.

I have a concern about the quality of my instrument. I have a hard time taking seriously anything named Mirth Tone.

Jon, I'll give the higher tuning a try. I have tried a lot of things so far including tightening the head. Who knows, this may work too. I only worry about over stressing the instrument.

Rick, thanks for confirming Jon's idea. Have you heard the Harvey Reid album I mentioned above? He plays six and twelve string banjos on that in all kinds of styles. It is a great album.

z!, I'll check on the wound strings.

Thanks for all the feedback. If any of you can make it to NH next weekend you should be able to hear the new sound.

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: z!
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 12:54 PM

I've had the same problem with autoharp strings. The middle C of the usual sets is a solid string, which is not flexable enough for the pitch. I substitute a wound string for the solid, and the tone improves quite a bit.

It should be fairly easy to find wound strings of the same guage as the solid ones.

z!

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 12:40 PM

Hi Brett. I've had a bit of experience in that area so here's my feedback, hope it helps.

A few years ago I got greg Deering to build me a maple bodied six tring. Twas a thing of beauty....but the lower strings simply don't register well. Nuthin' you can do about it.

If you've heard the recordings of Johnnie St. Cyr you'll know that the the old Vegas suffered similarly.

I tried a lot of things (at least twenty different combinations of strings) but the best solution was an extra light set, tuned up to F#. That brought a lot of the sound out. I sold the Deering and have owned a couple of others since then, but the higher tuning seems to be the ticket.

Rick

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Jon W.
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:51 AM

That is, when the strings are tuned to pitch, are they too loose to make the proper sound? Try carefully tuning them up a step or so and see if the sound improves.

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Jon W.
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 11:49 AM

Yeah, I wonder if the clunk isn't caused by extra-light strings that have to be tuned too loose to be in pitch?

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: DonMeixner
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:15 AM

I have friends with a Framus 6 string banjo. They rell me that intonation is a major issue with these guys and you have to take time to set the bridge with extreme accuracy. Also they use La Bella silk and steel guitar strings, like you would use on a Martin O-16. They have even used Bronze light guitar strings but they think in time the neck may have trouble wth Bronze.

GHS Banjo strings are available in individuals and are sizrd in many guages. Create a set that suits you. I think the ones on the banjo when they are new are too lite.

Don

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: GUEST,Bill Foster
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 09:05 AM

Naemanson--

You might email Greg & Janet Deering at http://www.deeringbanjos.com/; since they manufacture these critters, they may have some good advice. They're really great folks.

Bill in Alabama

Subject: RE: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 08:59 AM

Might have more luck with this question on Banjo-L. See http://idt.net/~zepp29/bn00002.htm

Subject: Six String Banjo Strings - Advice?
From: Naemanson
Date: 10 Nov 00 - 07:40 AM

I believe I have mentioned my six string banjo before. Its strings are getting pretty old and since it uses loop end strings they are difficult to find.

Next weekend, on my way to NH I plan to stop at a music store I once found to buy some new stings for that thing. The owner has a nifty little tool he can use to cut off the ball and turn ball end strings into loop ends.

My problem is that the high pitched strings, the D, G, B, and E ring as though played on a real banjo. The other two strings just go "clunk" albeit in E and A. And no matter how close to concert pitch you get it a clunk is still a clunk.

So I want to experiment with other strings. In your honest opinion what do you think will work in place of those heavy strings used for E and A? I am already using extra light guage strings. Perhaps there are strings from another instrument that will work. Inquiring minds want to know!

I plan to leave early for the party and spend some time at the shop trying out different strings before I settle on something but it would be handy to have some opinions before I go.

Thanks,

Brett