What gauge strings?

[justinguidry]

I bought a gourd banjo kit several months ago, and I’m absolutely loving it! It’s time to change the strings, and I got some nylon banjo strings from la Bella. They seem very light compared to the strings that were shipped with my gourd banjo kit. Does anyone know what gauge strings Brian sends out with the kits? I know I must have seen this information somewhere before, but I can find it anymore. I think I remember him saying something about them being classical guitar strings with a length of fishing line for the fifth string, but I’d like to know the precise gauges. Not only are the la Bella strings far too light for my taste, but the smaller gauge strings buzz in the nut. Any help here would be greatly appreciated!!

[Martin Newman]

Hey Justin,
I also built a gourd banjo a few months back and am enjoying playing it immensely. Early on I managed to break my 5th string and did some research to try to match the string gauge. I remember that Brian noted in his documentation with the kit that yes, he used classical guitar strings for strings 1 – 4 with a wound 4th string. Also that he used 50 lb. test fishing line to match the guage of the 1st string. I finally found a chart that referenced guage of fishing line and that 50 lb. line guage is .028in. That means the 1st string should also be .028. I can’t remember guages of the other strings but I bet you can find a classical nylon string set where the 1st string is .028 and the other 3 should be pretty close to those included in the kit. BTW, my son being a fisherman, I asked him for a length of 50 lb. test which he didn’t have. But he did have 40 lb. so I used that to replace my broken 5th string and it seems to work just fine. It is .024 guage which is pretty close. Hope that helps. Good luck.

[Carver Banjos]

Alrighty, got my calipers out.
For standard g tuning, I recommend using a set of nylgut banjo strings that are made for g tuning.

I provide strings that are made from nylon classical guitar sets. Mainly because these strings are much cheaper, last a long time, and sound nice on the kits.
E tuning is recommended for most of my kits- this is a few steps below g. The guitar strings like e tuning, so I work with that. We take the top 4 strings from the guitar and add another top string or simply use a 50lb fishing line so you don’t have to buy extra guitar strings. Heavier fishing line can be suitable for the other strings. I think it’s best to use the guitar string for your 4th banjo string though because this string is wound.
1…0.025”
2…0.030”
3…0.040”
4…silver wound 0.035”
5…50lb line, 0.025”

For the low octave tuning or “cello” tunings we are using the bottom five strings from the guitar set. An octave below standard g is a bit low and the strings don’t have enough tension to intonate very well, so I say tune up one step from that to low A.
1…0.040”
2…wound 0.035”
3…wound 0.038”
4…wound 0.043”
5…0.030”(you could use another 0.040 guitar string here if you want).

If you can find strings +/- 0.001” or so you should be fine.

Please don’t feel limited by your strings. Try different gauges to find the sounds/tuning ranges you are looking for.
Thanks guys,
-Brian

[Martin Newman]

I have found classical guitar strings which can be bought individually as well as by set via this website: stringsbymail.com. While I haven’t yet needed to order new strings the site offers nylon La Bella strings with guages .028, .032, .040, .029 wound, and you could buy another single .028 string for the 5th to match the 1st string. Seems pretty close to what Brian includes in his kits. BTW, I agree that tuning down to E tuning sounds just right on my gourd banjo.

[justinguidry]

Gentlemen,
I greatly appreciate all of your insight and assistance! I wound up going with a set of nylon classical guitar strings (d’addario pro arte), using the four lightest strings in the set: .0280, .0322, .0403, and .029w. I used the 50 lb. fishing line from zebco (it’s called omniflex, .029 gauge) for the fifth string. I’ve found that this works perfectly! On the original set I got with the kit, I kept it in F tuning, but I tried going down to E, and I’ve found that both the banjo and I prefer it lower! Thanks again

[Martin Newman]

I’m so glad that the d’darrio pro arte strings work for you as well as tuning to E. Now that inspires me to get a set for myself. I’m curious if your gourd banjo is fretted or fretless. Mine is fretless and great fun to play. Keep on pickin’ n grinnin’

[Martin Newman]

I’m so glad that the d’darrio pro arte strings work for you as well as tuning to E. Now that inspires me to get a set for myself. I’m curious if your gourd banjo is fretted or fretless. Mine is fretless and great fun to play. Keep on pickin’ n grinnin’

[justinguidry]

Mine’s fretless as well. It’s my first fretless instrument. I’m finding that the transition has been fairly smooth, but for certain songs with more chording (typical of the more modern songs I learn), I still prefer frets. Fretless sure is a really fun way to play, though, especially on the older tunes. The gourd kit was a lot of fun to put together, so I’m saving up now for the classic minstrel kit. Overall, I’d have to say that I couldn’t be much happier with the gourd banjo.

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