Strings on S.S. Stewart Thoroughbred banjo

[Richard Katz]

What are the best strings on a S.S. Stewart Thoroughbred banjo? Steel or nylgut?
I am leaning towards nygut. My 1888 Luscomb banjo has nylgut and I love the tone and ease of play. Any advice gladly welcomed. Thanks!

[John Cohen]

You should never put steel on an SS Stewart. They cannot handle the tension and were not made for them. Besides, gut/nylon is always better sounding in my opinion.

[Trapdoor2]

Low tensions are advised, nylon/gut/nylgut, etc.

Banjos of this period were not designed for the higher tension of steel, they have no reinforcement in the neck...you're entirely depending on what the antique wood and glue has remaining in it. After a hundred and twenty years, they deserve to be treated just a bit gently.

[Shawn McSweeny]

The SSS No 1's have a slender one piece cherry neck with a glued on ebony strip fingerboard and are able to handle gut or nylon, but are not suitable for the higher tension of wire strings.

The No 2 and 3 models also start with a slender one piece cherry neck, but  multiple layers of veneer are added below the fingerboard. This is both decorative and functional. In his catalogue, Stewart claimed that this design " possesses a far greater strength than the ordinary neck that has only the the ebony strip glued on to the cherry." 

In modern terms, the veneers act like a  plywood sandwich to stiffen the neck, making it marginally robust enough to handle light guage wire strings at normal tension, in most cases. My higher grade Stewarts had wire strings, likely for many years, before I got them. Perhaps I was lucky, but the necks were still straight.

Having said all that, I don't personally use wire strings on them and would caution others against doing so.

[John Cohen]

According to SS Stewart, you void the warranty by using wire strings ;-)

[Richard Katz]

What weight of Aquila Nylgut should be used? Thanks!

[Shawn McSweeny]

Either regular guage or the lighter Classic will be OK for the neck, so it's really a question of what suits you.

Without a neck reset, most old classic banjos have high action, in which case the lighter classic strings are easier on the left hand, but may be a little too light (rubbery) for the right hand. Best to try both guages and see which you prefer.

[Jody Stecher]

I love Nylgut strings on some banjos. They sound great on my CE Regal and on my Windsor Grand Solo. I think they are not so nice on Stewart banjos. Nylon strings and a calfskin head are a very good combo on a Stewart. No doubt there are exceptions but so far that is my experience. Anyway there are other non-steel options besides Nylgut. 

Shawn McSweeny said:

Either regular guage or the lighter Classic will be OK for the neck, so it's really a question of what suits you.

Without a neck reset, most old classic banjos have high action, in which case the lighter classic strings are easier on the left hand, but may be a little too light (rubbery) for the right hand. Best to try both guages and see which you prefer.

[Richard Katz]

Jody, what would you recommend as far a nylon strings? What manufacturer and gauge?
I have a S.S.Stewart Thoroughbred winging its way to me as we speak and I want to replace the strings when it arrives, so any advice would really be helpful. It has a new skin head on it already.
I only live 50 miles from you and would be nice to meet up with you sometime.

[Jody Stecher]

I like D'Addario rectified Nylon.  

022, 028, 034, 030 (silver plated wound), 022

Richard Katz said:

Jody, what would you recommend as far a nylon strings? What manufacturer and gauge?
I have a S.S.Stewart Thoroughbred winging its way to me as we speak and I want to replace the strings when it arrives, so any advice would really be helpful. It has a new skin head on it already.
I only live 50 miles from you and would be nice to meet up with you sometime.

[Richard Katz]

Why do prefer D'Addario over Aquila?

[John Cohen]

Richard, I'll weigh in as well.  I prefer LaBella lights because they allow you to really "snap" the strings when playing hard, providing for a bright, poppy tone.  I like that they are rectified nylon rather than the nylgut material Aquila uses.  Nylguts break easily, stretch for way too long, and sound dead to my ears.  For a closer approximation to gut, I would try Savarez KF Alliance strings.  These are a bit pricey, and for what it is worth I have switched back to LaBella strings on all of my banjos.

[Trapdoor2]

I have to say that I use a variety of strings on my banjos. Nylguts are my preference over all but I like Sands and CE true gut strings. I just switched my CE Special over to a set of Sands "heavy" strings...for the past couple years it has worn CE guts. The Sands strings are just a tiny bit less stiff that gut...and it took me about 10 minutes to get used to that.

I do have to admit that my 1889 Stewart "Orchestra #2" has a set of D'Addario J55 (medium) phosphor bronze steel strings on it...and has worn steels since I re-assembled it in 1985 (a true basket-case banjo). I didn't know any better back then and it was my main clawhammer banjo for 25 yrs. Neck is still in perfect shape...and I have no plans to switch it over to nylon/gut/nylgut.

All of my other Stewarts have Nylguts on them (except the CB, which has Savarez nylons).