DonH60 - Posted - 04/13/2016:  08:09:57

I am a building a short-scale  mountain banjo for a small-for-his-age grandson. Spencer is 9 but  cannot reach the first position on my banjos. To date I have used red nylgut strings on mountain banjos but am wondering if the reds are the best choice for a 22 inch scale length. Any thoughts or suggestions? 

hughstrawn - Posted - 04/13/2016:  08:36:03

Presently using the New Nylgut Classic (6B) with plain 4th. (ivory colored) on my 23" short scale. Seem to be working fine. Used these to  replace the red 4th string set which were OK too but I didn't especially like the stiffness of the red string. The plain 4th is a bit larger in diameter I believe and maybe takes a little more pressure to fret than the red.

In the past I've used the old standard Classics with wound 4th and liked them OK too. Anyway, the Nylguts have worked well for me--just individual preference as to which ones (although I did try the plain 4th ivory minstrels and they were too heavy)

hugh

Edited by - hughstrawn on 04/13/2016 08:36:41

mikehalloran - Posted - 04/13/2016:  08:52:55

Get the 23U NylGut aka Baritone Tuned Tenor ukulele set. This will give you 4 plain strings—they're plenty long enough and the tension is actually a littler lower on the 22" banjo at G or A than the 19" uke they are designed for. Add a D'Addario EXP Pro Arté Composite Classical D string—it's coated and lasts a very long time.

The 23U set is for bari uke owners who want to tune GCEA

elderly.com/aquila-23u-bariton...e-set.htm

juststrings.com/aqu-abuk.html

The EXP ​Pro Arté Composite single is not cheap but lasts many times that of any other wound classical string. The non-coated version is the Pro Arté Composite without EXP on the label.

juststrings.com/expproartecomp...ings.html

Zachary Hoyt - Posted - 04/13/2016:  08:56:46

I recently put a set of Aquila 5b strings on a 24" scale banjo I built to order.  They seemed to work fine in G or A.  I know it's not directly applicable to your banjo but I hope it may be of some help.

Zach

dhergert - Posted - 04/13/2016:  09:58:09

I routinely use fishing line strings on my short-scale American Princess, tuned to .  It's a 17" neck (nut to rim) on a 10" pot, which probably comes pretty close to a 22" scale.  They're easy to get, they actually sound pretty good, and if you're a fishing person, you probably already have some of the right line in house:

1st and 5th strings: 20 lb test Trilene XT (#XTVS20-22) .018" green line

2nd string: 30 lb test Trilene Big Game Supreme (BGSQ830-66) .023" steel gray line

3rd string: 40 lb test Trilene Big Game (BGQS40C-22) .024" green line

4th string: 50 lb test South Bend (M1450) .030" (approx) clear white line

Other brands may work just as well...  They need to be stretch and abrasion resistant line.  The lines I use are mix of clear and blue-green line, so it looks sort of interesting too.

Whatever direction you go, I hope it works out well!

-- Don

Edited by - dhergert on 04/13/2016 09:59:37

dhergert - Posted - 04/13/2016:  10:20:47

Hmmm, that should read "... American Princess, tuned to G."

Oh, and while these test ratings work well on my banjo, the test ratings could be bumped up tot 30, 40, 50, 60 and 30 for strings 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) if a stiffer feel is preferred.

-- Don

 

Edited by - dhergert on 04/13/2016 10:27:26