Advice and links for using Nylgut and other plastic/ polymer strings of all brands, including fishing line.

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Administrators: Bufo Bill (owner)

Still another Nylgut posting

From Bill on 2/20/2017 1:01:53 PM

Three years ago, I bought some Super Nylgut strings, the ones with the red 4th.  (from Elderly, set 1B.)  I was happy with them, except that the first string was stretchy enough that I could never get a really crisp pulloff with that string.  Dave Bing tried my banjo and commented on the same thing.  Also, the red 4th was a bit too floppy for my taste when I tuned it down to B, though I could put up with it.

So, I tried a Super Nylgut all red set, also purchased three years ago.  These were nice and I could get a crisp pulloff, but the 1st string broke at or near the nut when I tuned it up to E.  I broke 4 of them in a week that way.  

BTW, this is not a thread about the breakage, but you might be interested to know that I used the roughened back of a pair of watchmaker forceps under a microscope to buff the 1st slot and took out every bit of roughness that I could find under 50x magnification.  It was no help.

So, this month I ordered some more strings from Elderly.  This time, I ordered Super Nylgut set 1B (with the red 4th) and Super Nylgut set 5B (all white).  I noticed 6 things about these strings.

First, strings 1-3 and 5 of both sets are cream-colored, not white as were the ones I purchased 3 years ago.  The formulation has changed.  

Second, crisp pulloffs are easy to do with the newer cream-colored first string.  That’s a winner.

Third is the color of the “red” strings. My previous reds were just that — red.  The new ones are better described as plum-colored.  

Fourth, the plum-colored 4th tunes down to B better than before.

Fifth, the plum-colored 4th string intonates very poorly at the 12th fret.  This is more than a simple adjustment of the bridge problem.  I know how to adjust a bridge.  The string is waaaaaaaay out of whack at the 12th fret, enough to make it unplayable for me.  I admit I don’t usually fret the 4th string at fret 12, but I do go as high as fret 7.  The intonation is bad there also.

Sixth, I was worried about the larger diameter of the cream-colored 4th string of the 5B set, which I measured at 0.040”.  But it went right on there and plays beautifully.  It also tunes down to B without the extreme floppiness of the reds, AND it intonates well at the 12th fret.

So, the 5B set is the one for me.  It might be worth a try for those who previously have been unhappy with Nylguts.

1 Comments
	Bufo Bill says: 2/21/2017 9:53:57 AM Thanks for the detailed report. I think we could take all Aquila string variants and write a Safari guide to the rarities, should one be seen in your vicinity. Sshh don't spook them! Seriously though, all the reports seem to be that the general trend is for all these new variants to be getting closer to customers demands so all is well. All the best from Bill. :D
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