Kellie - Posted - 09/06/2024:  12:06:14

If I was To set up my deering Good time for classic banjo with nylgut minstrel strings, what adjustments would I need to make? Would I need a custom Bridge? A new nut? I'm just curious cuz I ordered the strings, but I'm not sure if they fit my banjo or not.

A Drum On A Stick - Posted - 09/06/2024:  13:17:16

If you want a traditional setup, you'd need to reduce the neck angle and get a traditional style bridge (such as Joel Hooks sells).



The nut might need a bit of work as well, depending how thin your current strings are. The nylgut minstrels are pretty thick strings.



A more traditional string choice would be Labella 17s, or the even thinner Labella 'True 17' or Nylgut historic sets. You can probably guess who also sells those :)



All that said, it's a banjo. Enjoy the experimentation. Try them out and see what happens. That's my theory anyway, and has helped me learn a lot of why "whys" and "why nots" about banjo setup.

Edited by - A Drum On A Stick on 09/06/2024 13:21:07

trapdoor2 - Posted - 09/06/2024:  13:26:40

There's no real reason to change the neck angle on your instrument. I played a Flesher Cotillion for years with a 1" tall bridge on it. It never held me back from playing Classic Banjo. Nope, it wasn't perfect...but it kept me playing. Here I am 14 yrs ago playing Joe Morley's "A Banjo Oddity" on it...1" bridge and all. A Banjo Oddity...

Yes, you may need to alter your nut slots to suit the strings you've chosen. Happens all the time...and you can go nuts by buying specialized files or you can whittle them with an Xacto knife (which I did for years...but I have the files now).

Wyrd - Posted - 09/06/2024:  13:33:42

Agree with Ian. I’d also throw in 2c that you don’t need to go too crazy—strings and bridge will go a long way. You may need to file any rough spots on your tailpiece, or swap it out as well. Smaller frets would be nice, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to refret your Goodtime.

When I started learning it was on a cheap Amazon banjo (it was a gift), and La Bellas, an all-maple bridge, and a different tailpiece made it a perfectly reasonable instrument (albeit with some playability and intonation issues from it being what it was) for starting to learn classic banjo.

Eventually I upgraded, and I did get to a point where the instrument felt limiting, but I was able to learn a lot with “good enough” and I’m sure you will, too! Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

Kellie - Posted - 09/06/2024:  14:10:40

quote:

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Originally posted by A Drum On A Stick

If you want a traditional setup, you'd need to reduce the neck angle and get a traditional style bridge (such as Joel Hooks sells).



The nut might need a bit of work as well, depending how thin your current strings are. The nylgut minstrels are pretty thick strings.



A more traditional string choice would be Labella 17s, or the even thinner Labella 'True 17' or Nylgut historic sets. You can probably guess who also sells those :)



All that said, it's a banjo. Enjoy the experimentation. Try them out and see what happens. That's my theory anyway, and has helped me learn a lot of why "whys" and "why nots" about banjo setup.

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Maybe I'll just put them on my Farland but I'm worried about the gauge. It might be too much for the old friction tuners to handle.

csacwp - Posted - 09/06/2024:  14:22:13

You can play classic style with any nylon/nylgut strings and tuning, but Farland was tuning to C and D, and the minstrel nylguts are way too thick for those tunings. Try a set of the LaBella true 17's or the historical nylgut set that Joel sells.



I'm of the opinion that the correct neck angle and bridge type are necessary to get the most out of your banjo and to facilitate good technique. Your modern banjo has neither. It also has too large of frets.

Edited by - csacwp on 09/06/2024 14:23:24

Kellie - Posted - 09/06/2024:  14:48:05

quote:

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Originally posted by csacwp

You can play classic style with any nylon/nylgut strings and tuning, but Farland was tuning to C and D, and the minstrel nylguts are way too thick for those tunings. Try a set of the LaBella true 17's or the historical nylgut set that Joel sells.



I'm of the opinion that the correct neck angle and bridge type are necessary to get the most out of your banjo and to facilitate good technique. Your modern banjo has neither. It also has too large of frets.

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Darn. The only nylgut strings I knew about were aquilas.

csacwp - Posted - 09/06/2024:  15:52:15

quote:

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Originally posted by Kellie

quote:

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Originally posted by csacwp

You can play classic style with any nylon/nylgut strings and tuning, but Farland was tuning to C and D, and the minstrel nylguts are way too thick for those tunings. Try a set of the LaBella true 17's or the historical nylgut set that Joel sells.



I'm of the opinion that the correct neck angle and bridge type are necessary to get the most out of your banjo and to facilitate good technique. Your modern banjo has neither. It also has too large of frets.

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Darn. The only nylgut strings I knew about were aquilas.

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Joel's set are also Aquilas, but I believe he is the sole dealer of them. I've been using them lately tuned to Bb, and I like them a lot. They'd be alright tuned to C as well, but I wouldn't tune them to D. Joel's LaBella True 17's would be better for D.

Kellie - Posted - 09/06/2024:  17:47:14

quote:

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Originally posted by csacwp

quote:

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Originally posted by Kellie

quote:

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Originally posted by csacwp

You can play classic style with any nylon/nylgut strings and tuning, but Farland was tuning to C and D, and the minstrel nylguts are way too thick for those tunings. Try a set of the LaBella true 17's or the historical nylgut set that Joel sells.



I'm of the opinion that the correct neck angle and bridge type are necessary to get the most out of your banjo and to facilitate good technique. Your modern banjo has neither. It also has too large of frets.

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Darn. The only nylgut strings I knew about were aquilas.

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Joel's set are also Aquilas, but I believe he is the sole dealer of them. I've been using them lately tuned to Bb, and I like them a lot. They'd be alright tuned to C as well, but I wouldn't tune them to D. Joel's LaBella True 17's would be better for D.

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I tune to C or A lol

trapdoor2 - Posted - 09/07/2024:  09:40:41

I just mounted a set of Joel's Aquilas. They're fine at D (half the tunes I play are C, the other half are raised bass).

I'm still getting used to them. They're floppy in comparison to what I'm used to (but not as floppy as the LaBella 17s). I've popped the 1st out of the bridge notch twice (and then I cut the notch deeper). They do sound good. However, they radically changed my intonation...my bridge is severely angled compared to the previous set...not that it makes any difference to me.

I just play.

Playing tuned to A, I would want a set of Clifford Essex heavies (or mediums). They'll retain some stiffness at the lower tension levels...but I prefer my strings to fight back. 

Kellie - Posted - 09/07/2024:  15:14:59

quote:

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Originally posted by trapdoor2

I just mounted a set of Joel's Aquilas. They're fine at D (half the tunes I play are C, the other half are raised bass).

I'm still getting used to them. They're floppy in comparison to what I'm used to (but not as floppy as the LaBella 17s). I've popped the 1st out of the bridge notch twice (and then I cut the notch deeper). They do sound good. However, they radically changed my intonation...my bridge is severely angled compared to the previous set...not that it makes any difference to me.

I just play.

Playing tuned to A, I would want a set of Clifford Essex heavies (or mediums). They'll retain some stiffness at the lower tension levels...but I prefer my strings to fight back. 

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It's better than my current setup with steel strings that I think are a high gauge. My strings on my Farland hop from one notch to another all the time on the 5th string when I hit it too hard.

Edited by - Kellie on 09/07/2024 15:16:04

cjwit - Posted - 09/07/2024:  16:29:36

I did this recently: put some Nylguts on my Gold Tone BC-350+. I had to make up a quick new tailpiece, similar to things I've done for instruments I've built. Once I swapped out the tailpiece, there were no real problems. That said, I didn't like the sound until I played with some different bridges. I had some that I've built, but I ended up liking a Pigsah Eclipse that I had lying around.

Here's a photo of another banjo of mine with a similar tailpiece. This one uses a brass bolt, but I usually just tie them on with some heavy fishing line. cwitulski.com/posts/gourd-banjos

csacwp - Posted - 09/08/2024:  04:53:29

quote:

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Originally posted by trapdoor2

I just mounted a set of Joel's Aquilas. They're fine at D (half the tunes I play are C, the other half are raised bass).

I'm still getting used to them. They're floppy in comparison to what I'm used to (but not as floppy as the LaBella 17s). I've popped the 1st out of the bridge notch twice (and then I cut the notch deeper). They do sound good. However, they radically changed my intonation...my bridge is severely angled compared to the previous set...not that it makes any difference to me.

I just play.

Playing tuned to A, I would want a set of Clifford Essex heavies (or mediums). They'll retain some stiffness at the lower tension levels...but I prefer my strings to fight back. 

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D isn't raised bass, it's all the strings raised one whole step above C. Joel's nylguts are too taut on many banjos tuned that high.

Edited by - csacwp on 09/08/2024 04:55:07