This will seem a little off, but I need a little help.
A number of years ago, I built a dulcimer and learned to play it over time.
Then my daughter played it some and kind of kept it...
But she said she really wanted a mandolin, so I promised to build her one if she gave me the dulcimer back.
So I did, took 3 years, but I did.
Annnnnnd, she gave me the sad face and kept them both.
So I started building me a banjo.
I'm not a luthier by any means, just a guy that builds things and isn't afraid to fail so I just get to it.
Now, I'm sitting here finishing a banjo made mainly of persimmon and catalpa and bits of other wood from the farm and I'm trying to figure out what strings would be best.
It's a 10" pot, with a roughly 23" scale. 4 strings.
This site has been a wealth of information for everything else I've researched, but I can't get a handle on the strings.
Ultimately, I'll use it just to plink out an old forgotten tune or melody, so I'm not looking at performance level.
Just musical.
Thanks in advance.
And I'm trying to post a picture so y'all can see it.
Edited by - UnderHammer on 10/18/2026 03:25:50
23” is standard tenor banjo scale length so you can just get a set of tenor banjo strings. CGDA is the standard tenor banjo tuning but if your daughter gets a sniff of that banjo she’ll be looking for GDAE tuning. Either way there are string sets made up off the shelf for both tunings. Some people around here that have GDAE tuning get a set of coated phosphor bronze Elixir 12s and use the 1st, 2nd, 4th & 5th.
Nice work on that deep looking pot !
Is it going to be fretless ?
Metal or nylon strings ?
I'll cut the frets in after I set a bridge location and determine a final scale length.
And thanks for the compliment. It turned out better looking than I thought.
5 coats of tung and a couple weeks of setting really made the persimmon pop.
For (low) GDAE/Irish tuning, I've been using
.011 (or .0115) plain steel
.018 phosphor wound
.026 pw
.036 (or .038) pw
Not that I'm an expert on the subject, but this was recommended to me as a good middle-of-the-road starter set, and I haven't felt the need to update it.
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