Comment by Adam on April 7, 2011 at 16:35

Very nice!

Did you ever try the strings? :)

Comment by Richard William Ineson on April 7, 2011 at 17:19

The strings are still within the box, they are gut and very light. I have seen and handled a lot of early banjo strings over the years and they have always, when from the post 1890 era, been of very thin gauges. The fashion nowadays seems to be for the heavier gauge strings associated with the classical guitar, but I feel that, especially with the fourth string, that lighter is better for the banjo.

 

I haven't tried these particular strings because they are still in pristine condition and it is rare to get something as old as this in really good shape, in any case  they may be dry and brittle by now and probably couldn't be brought up to pitch without snapping.

 

I have used other, not so old strings, especially fourths, with very good results, the Cammeyer 4ths are very good and the windings last well. Clifford Essex 'copper polished' 4ths are worth looking out for as they sound very good, the windings wear out very rapidly though so they are afleeting pleasure.

Comment by Trapdoor2 on April 7, 2011 at 18:04

I like the latin motto: "Ne sutor ultra crepidam" (Shoemaker, not above the sandal), which translates to something like, "don't judge beyond your expertise".

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