Dogpro - Posted - 01/04/2017:  20:01:20

I am a rookie. I have a vintage custom longneck...the neck is 2 necks professionally put together...i just got her. She has steel strings now and sounds heavenly.. even with very old strings on her. What im reading and learning is that Nylgut strings would be the best for the health of the neck.. Do guys put Nylgut on longnecks? I ordered a set of Aquilla Minstrel strings because they are longer 51 inches and are made for the lower tuning...Im loving the super Nylgut strings...i went crazy and bought about 15 banjos... Another Kool thing about my longneck is the washers on the inside of the pot are made from tokens from the depression...Russ Hutcinson has been selling his collection here and ive bought several..

crazybilly - Posted - 01/05/2017:  14:48:45

I had minstrel nylguts on my long neck for a while. I loved how they sounded and felt, but they kept breaking on me (they're designed for lower tunings after all). From what I hear the standard Nylgut set isn't long enough for a long neck. Somebody around here recommended harp strings which worked fine except that the gauges they recommended were much too thin for me--they were way too floppy and flabby sounding at pitch. Next time around, I'll try a thicker set, I think. 

But for now, I'm back to my heavy steel set. Then again, I have a steel reinforced neck that needs to be reset anyway, so I'm not super concerned.

mikehalloran - Posted - 01/05/2017:  23:15:34

The right NylGuts will stretch quite a bit but the red and wound strings aren't good for that.

john bange - Posted - 01/08/2017:  09:25:22

with regard to nylon strings on a long neck banjo...harp strings can be made into a set that will work fine on a long neck.  there are many weights to choose from.  I have been doing this for years and I doubt I will ever change. 

the most important thing I have found is the nut width of the neck.

my Deering Vega has a 1 1/4 width nut.  this allows for some floppy strings.  a 1 3/16 nut is a little narrow for nylon, no matter what the diameter, in my opinion.  It took me a long time and a lot of banjos to realize this and i'm selling a Vega Folklore at a loss right now because of it.  the only longnecks that I have found to be wide enough for nylon are Deering and Wildwood...1 1/4 nuts.

the weights I use on my banjo are: 1st and 5th   .025

                                                        2nd               .032

                                                        3rd                .040

                                                        4th                 .045     allowing me to use and all nylon set without a wound string

rudy - Posted - 01/08/2017:  12:07:53

quote:

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Originally posted by john bange

with regard to nylon strings on a long neck banjo...harp strings can be made into a set that will work fine on a long neck.  there are many weights to choose from.  I have been doing this for years and I doubt I will ever change. 

the most important thing I have found is the nut width of the neck.

my Deering Vega has a 1 1/4 width nut.  this allows for some floppy strings.  a 1 3/16 nut is a little narrow for nylon, no matter what the diameter, in my opinion.  It took me a long time and a lot of banjos to realize this and i'm selling a Vega Folklore at a loss right now because of it.  the only longnecks that I have found to be wide enough for nylon are Deering and Wildwood...1 1/4 nuts.

the weights I use on my banjo are: 1st and 5th   .025

                                                        2nd               .032

                                                        3rd                .040

                                                        4th                 .045     allowing me to use and all nylon set without a wound string

---

I dislike strings (of any type) that are positioned too close to the edge of the board.  I prefer to set them a full 1/8" in from the edge and make my necks with a 1-3/8" width nut.  That (IMHO) seems ideal for either steel or synthetic string use when the strings are spread out over the remaining 1-1/8" first to fourth string center distance.

I have fluorocarbon leader line (light gray) in 20, 30, 40, 50, and 20 pound weights that works pretty well for standard scales.  I'm not sure what would be appropriate for long neck.

Edited by - rudy on 01/08/2017 12:11:12

Ken LeVan - Posted - 01/09/2017:  16:24:43

I've built a lot of longnecks, but never one with nylon strings.  I remember another discussion about this before, and it seemed to me at the time that 46" harp strings available plain or wound would be the best way to go (If I ever was hired to make one).  I would go with strings intended for musical instruments as opposed to fishing line (but that's just me)

Here's a place that sells different kinds individually or in rolls and you can pick from different gauges. robinsonsharpshop.com/strings.html

There are a certain number of design considerations involved in making a gut-strung longneck and it's an intriguing idea.

I certainly hope you post some pictures and sound files of it when it's finished.

Edited by - Ken LeVan on 01/09/2017 16:26:59

john bange - Posted - 01/16/2017:  11:54:14

my Vega Folklore has a 1 3/16 nut and was giving me a lot of trouble with floppy nylon strings...pull-offs took on a real serious meaning.  No one seemed too interested in buying  it so I decieded to experiment with heavier gauge harp strings.  My slightly wider Deering Vega banjo is perfectly happy with .025, .045, .040. .032, and .025 strings.  My Folklore is much more playable with .032, .050, .045, .040, .032.  The increased tension eliminates most of the floppy feel so instead of selling the Folklore, i'll keep it...might restring the Deering to this set-up too.  Both of my banjos have pots without tone rings and both are louder with harp strings rather than steel.  This is really evident on the Folklore.  Both are happiest with an all maple bridge, a tight head and a little tail-piece down-force.  The .050 string will not loop over a peg on the t/p so I just tie a knot and place it between.

Edited by - john bange on 01/16/2017 12:04:14