caseyjust - Posted - 10/12/2023:  15:20:04

(Sorry for the double post! I already posted this in the cello pluckers group but then I saw the last thread reply there was three years ago? I figured I'd try my luck here.)

Hi y'all! I'm new here. I will be getting a Gold Tone CEB-5: 5-String Cello Banjo soon. I wanted to use an SMP+ magnetic pickup as I do on my other 5-string banjos. I emailed Gold Tone but after a week I gave up expecting a reply. Then I saw on Butler Music that the SMP+ plus was optional. So I ordered an SMP+ from a different seller.

Welp, today I chatted Gold Tone and found out that the stock strings will not work with the SMP+. I've looked all over this forum and I see suggestions for Classical Guitar Strings or D'Addario Flatwound string etc. It's kind of overwhelming.

I just saw these: Gold Tone BBS 5 String Baritone Banjo Strings made for the MastertoneML-1: Missing Link Béla Fleck Baritone Banjo. String Gauges are .018w, .040w, .030w, .022w, .018w, and they are nickel-plated steel with loop ends.

Worth trying? The Cello Banjo is 24.75 scale length and the Missing Link Baritone Banjo is 26.25. I don't mind if the tuning is not an Octave below G standard as Gold Tone recommends. I'd be happy with a higher tuning if need be. Any suggestions welcome, Thanks!!!

Dan Gellert - Posted - 10/12/2023:  17:55:37

Ought to work fine tuned to about D (a fourth below standard, or a fifth above cello pitch). Worth a try, at least.

Edited by - Dan Gellert on 10/12/2023 17:56:49

wileypickett - Posted - 10/12/2023:  18:26:36

Hello cello banjo fans!,

I have a recently acquired 100+ year-old cello banjo with an 18" radius pot and a hide head.



I wasn't happy with the sound of Gold-Tone's medium cello banjo strings (CES5M) on it. (No oomph.)

So I put together my own set (ordered individually from Strings By Mail). This set sounds fabulous, IMO: 024, 056, 048, 035, 024.



Sounds like a string bass!

Glenn

Edited by - wileypickett on 10/12/2023 18:29:43

caseyjust - Posted - 10/12/2023:  19:58:37

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan Gellert

Ought to work fine tuned to about D (a fourth below standard, or a fifth above cello pitch). Worth a try, at least.

---

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it! I will give them a try. 

caseyjust - Posted - 10/12/2023:  20:03:05

quote:

---

Originally posted by wileypickett

Hello cello banjo fans!,

I have a recently acquired 100+ year-old cello banjo with an 18" radius pot and a hide head.



I wasn't happy with the sound of Gold-Tone's medium cello banjo strings (CES5M) on it. (No oomph.)

So I put together my own set (ordered individually from Strings By Mail). This set sounds fabulous, IMO: 024, 056, 048, 035, 024.



Sounds like a string bass!

Glenn

---

Thanks for the reply and recommendation, I appreciate it! I neglected to mention I play Claw Hammer style. Those are some rather large strings haha! Are you playing Scruggs/fingerpick style? Do you have any recordings of you Cell Banjo with these strings? I'm very intrigued! 

wileypickett - Posted - 10/12/2023:  21:23:39

I'm mainly a fingerstyle guitarist, but have been playing banjo for a little more than a decade. I play with three fingers, but not bluegrass style; I've loved clawhammer style for some 40+ years, but I don't play that either.



I've been working on restoring the banjo for the past couple months -- I made an 18" radius armrest, and a new bridge, both from ebony, and did some work to the tailpiece and dowel, basically undoing some of the "improvements" made by a previous owner, or making better fixes where I couldn't undo old changes.



I completed work a couple weeks ago, and just got the strings and installed them a few days ago.



I haven't made any recordings, nor taken any pictures yet, though I plan to do both. I'm hoping someone here can help me identify the banjo, as there is no maker name anywhere on it.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of what it looked like BEFORE I started work on it:

banjohangout.org/forum/attachm...ID=299144

Stay tuned!

Glenn

Edited by - wileypickett on 10/12/2023 21:37:53

caseyjust - Posted - 10/13/2023:  13:35:26

quote:

---

Originally posted by wileypickett

I'm mainly a fingerstyle guitarist, but have been playing banjo for a little more than a decade. I play with three fingers, but not bluegrass style; I've loved clawhammer style for some 40+ years, but I don't play that either.



I've been working on restoring the banjo for the past couple months -- I made an 18" radius armrest, and a new bridge, both from ebony, and did some work to the tailpiece and dowel, basically undoing some of the "improvements" made by a previous owner, or making better fixes where I couldn't undo old changes.



I completed work a couple weeks ago, and just got the strings and installed them a few days ago.



I haven't made any recordings, nor taken any pictures yet, though I plan to do both. I'm hoping someone here can help me identify the banjo, as there is no maker name anywhere on it.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of what it looked like BEFORE I started work on it:

banjohangout.org/forum/attachm...ID=299144

Stay tuned!

Glenn

---

Wow that is beautiful, congrats on the recent score! I should have asked you what type of single strings you put on it. Classical, Flatwound, Rollerwound etc?

wileypickett - Posted - 10/13/2023:  21:57:12

Sorry Casey -- I had meant to include that "minor" detail!



These are flatwound short scale bass strings. The short scale length is perfect.

Edited by - wileypickett on 10/13/2023 21:57:32

caseyjust - Posted - 10/16/2023:  12:51:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by wileypickett

Sorry Casey -- I had meant to include that "minor" detail!



These are flatwound short scale bass strings. The short scale length is perfect.

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I just received my Gold Tone CEB-5. Whoa...what a beast of an instrument. I can claw hammer and drop thumb on it pretty decent but I'm not used to it yet. The strings sound pretty mellow so I'll be experimenting with different strings for sure. It sounds really cool in G minor tuning!

caseyjust - Posted - 10/31/2023:  12:57:40

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan Gellert

Ought to work fine tuned to about D (a fourth below standard, or a fifth above cello pitch). Worth a try, at least.

---

Thank you sir! You had the winning idea. After I spoke with Nick at Gold Tone I decided to try the Baritone strings tuned up to A and it's more aggressive but still has the hugeness I was looking for. The strings work with the Gold Tone SMP + that I use on my main banjo and run thru an old Fender amp so it was a perfect solution. Thanks again!