Nylon 5 srring banjo strings (different guages)

[Daniel PEARCE]

Hello. Apologies for the maybe obvious question, but can anyone tell me where I can order nylon strings (and a 4th wound) in different guages? It seems quite the task to track anything down online. Even the guages in a set are usually not labelled! I recently tried Strings and Things but haven't had a response yet so if anyone has an idea that would be great! I tend to use nylons 20, 24, 28, 28 wound and 24 5th.

[Daniel PEARCE]

Strings not srrings!

[Joel Hooks]

Labella early instrument singles, available in any gauge on their website.

[Joel Hooks]

Also I’ll go ahead and answer your other questions.  With the extremely rare exception where scordatura is used, every single piece of music you will find on this website or published before the folk revival will use “standard tuning”= the equivalent of intervals gCGBD.  Pitch might change (noted always by the 4th string, but intervals remain the same.

The auxiliary form of raising the 4th string one step is used where this will afford easier fingering in certain keys and pieces. This is nearly always provided on the published score when the composer uses it.  

 

[Daniel PEARCE]

Many thanks! Much appreciated.

Joel Hooks said:

Labella early instrument singles, available in any gauge on their website.

[Daniel PEARCE]

Yes that makes sense. Many thanks again! The low C helps the range of melodic possibilities and was a revelation when I first tried it.. 

Joel Hooks said:

Also I’ll go ahead and answer your other questions.  With the extremely rare exception where scordatura is used, every single piece of music you will find on this website or published before the folk revival will use “standard tuning”= the equivalent of intervals gCGBD.  Pitch might change (noted always by the 4th string, but intervals remain the same.

The auxiliary form of raising the 4th string one step is used where this will afford easier fingering in certain keys and pieces. This is nearly always provided on the published score when the composer uses it.  

 

[Jody Stecher]

You can get any gauge of nylon you want from Stringsbymail.com.  They have a wide range and splendid service. The ideal gauge will depend on several factors but in my opinion the most important one is scale. If the vibrating length of the string (from bridge to nut) is 28 inches a good sounding set for that may well sound insipid if the scale is 25.5 inches. 

[Daniel PEARCE]

Thank you Jody. Experimentation seems to be the key. I ask because it's been so long since I changed my nylon strings. They only just now sound a bit muddy and lose their tune. Nylons don't fade nearly as fast as steel! 

Jody Stecher said:

You can get any gauge of nylon you want from Stringsbymail.com.  They have a wide range and splendid service. The ideal gauge will depend on several factors but in my opinion the most important one is scale. If the vibrating length of the string (from bridge to nut) is 28 inches a good sounding set for that may well sound insipid if the scale is 25.5 inches. 

[Daniel PEARCE]

Thanks for your answers, but have found both Strings by Mail and La Bella very difficult to navigate and immensely unclear as to where to locate single strings of specific guages, although they do have some options I found. Perhaps I'll stick with full sets! I messaged them in any case and am not known for skill with these things haha 

[Jody Stecher]

Strings By Mail has excellent customer service. Phone them or email them and ask where to find what you want and they will tell you or find it for you.   To be clear, they are located 2000 miles from me.  I don't work there and am not a shill. I just like their service.

Daniel PEARCE said:

Thanks for your answers, but have found both Strings by Mail and La Bella very difficult to navigate and immensely unclear as to where to locate single strings of specific guages, although they do have some options I found. Perhaps I'll stick with full sets! I messaged them in any case and am not known for skill with these things haha 

[Daniel PEARCE]

Thanks Jody. There may not be the option to ship to the UK but I'll ask! 

[Jody Stecher]

Whoops. One reason I like them is there is a flat shipping rate on domestic orders. It's $4.44 for 2 strings or for  200 strings, Simple. For International orders, they say (here:https://www.stringsbymail.com/shipping.html _)  that they currently ship to over 230 countries. Maybe the UK is one of them.

Daniel PEARCE said:

Thanks Jody. There may not be the option to ship to the UK but I'll ask! 

[Ethan Schwartz]

Daniel, for La Bella you will find nylon singles via Classical > Singles > Rectified Nylon Singles or Early Instruments > Singles > Rectified Nylon Singles. You will also find the Silver-Plated Copper Wound on Nylon Singles (for the 4th string) in the same place. These are the same strings that make up their "17 Classic Banjo" set: .019, .022, .028, .025 wound, .019. That's not super far off from the gauges you mention, so it might be worth trying the set just as a baseline, and you can go heavier from there. 

I will second Strings by Mail, though. At this point, I have no reason to buy strings from anywhere else (well, with the exception of the extra light .017 set Joel offers). Huge selection, good prices, good customer service, and they get your order out quickly. For shipping to the UK, I'd guess they use FedEx, so you will have to check how much it costs and determine if it's worth it.