cjwit - Posted - 03/03/2026:  04:27:31

I'd been thinking about swapping over to nylon strings and after making the change on one of my other banjos, I thought it might be time to do it on my main player (my last build). This time, I figured I'd make a quick video so that I could more easily hear the difference. I'm leaving it here in case it helps someone who's considering the same. Don't mind the wild hair—it was a tired night—or the loud kids—they were having a blast upstairs.



The change is from D'Addario EJ61s to LaBella Classic 17s (the ones that are not actually 17s). Since making this quick video, I put a lighter bridge on and the banjo has felt great.

 

davidppp - Posted - 03/03/2026:  08:38:28

Two plugs:



Joel Hooks got La Bella to make 17's that are 17, and he's the only one I know who markets them: banjothimble.com/classic-era-banjo-strings. Even I can hear the difference between them and the standard La Bella set, and I like them.



OMG, that's a Jeff Weitzel 6-10 bridge! He might not still be in business, judging by the the response to his old link.  (The accompanying photo is from its.caltech.edu/~politzer/brid...hills.pdf, which does a compare&contrast with those six bridges, all ~2.2gm, particularly with respect to earlier theoretical work on bridge physics [its.caltech.edu/~politzer/pick...guide.pdf].)

 

cjwit - Posted - 03/03/2026:  09:04:44

davidppp Funny you say that. I got these LaBella's after putting Joel's true classic 17s on another banjo. I've been enjoying playing some of that classic banjo stuff, but I also have always liked the feel of nylguts. I figured I'd split the difference and put the "untrue" classic 17s on my main player for a bit more tension.

And honestly, I got that bridge shape idea from reading your article! Thanks for that. I've since whittled out a little compensated bridge that works better for the nylons, but I'm keeping that one for future projects. As I mess around with compensated bridges (and whittling), I'll probably go back in that direction, it's a neat form.

Silver_Falls - Posted - 03/03/2026:  09:26:54

davidppp I've got a couple of them Weitzel bridges - including the "6-10" you mention - and they're terrific. I'd love to try some more but now Weitzel's operation seems defunct...

cjwit great comparo. To my ear there isn't as much difference as I would have expected. I've got one banjo setup with Nylguts and one setup with LaBellas (untrue 17s), and both sound quite different from steel in the lap. But I have the synthetic strings tuned lower than steel -- and one is fretless -- so it's not a true comparison...

banjered - Posted - 03/03/2026:  10:50:35

Nice sounding banjo! banjered

cjwit - Posted - 03/03/2026:  12:19:45

Thanks! And yeah, I was also surprised. I’ve always used nylgut on gourds and fretless instruments. The feel is so different that I can’t help but wonder how much of what I hear is tactile. It obviously is a different sound, just not as much *out in front of the instrument* (rather than in my spot behind it) as I would have expected.

Jon Borcherding - Posted - 03/03/2026:  12:56:21

I can't help but wonder how much of the difference I'm hearing is caused by the removal of the sock and/or the altered striking hand position.

cjwit - Posted - 03/03/2026:  14:41:13

Yeah, I thought that too. But trying to make the steel sound like I would whole using them vs nylons at their most nylon (thee way they sound best) seemed more useful. I may do another with a bridge swap. I didn’t have a bridge ready to do all of the variations in one swoop. And I was tired… next time.

banjoboyd - Posted - 03/03/2026:  14:44:54

Thanks for the demo. I've found that the LaBellas have quite a pronounced "click" when played clawhammer, and I wasn't sure if it was just me and my various picks/thimbles (because I keep my nails super short) or something else. Sounds like it's just inherent to the string. Not necessarily a bad thing.

banjered - Posted - 03/04/2026:  06:23:25

Nylguts are softer. You get less click from the harder nylon. Not better/worse, but preference. banjered

Mtngoat - Posted - 03/04/2026:  10:49:59

What is that little tune you are playing in the video.