Chris Sands Nylon Banjo Strings Heavy 4th string

[Pam Tointon]

Hi guys, my strings arrived today but was surprised to see that the 4th string is metal?

How do I attach it to the Fielding tailpiece? or am I missing something obvious?

Any advice appreciated!

Regards Pam

[Mike Moss]

The 4th is wound; you'll find that the 4th does a lot of work in Classic banjo and it wears out about twice as fast as the trebles, so if you change your trebles every 6 months I would recommend changing the 4th every three or so months to get a good tone.

I don't tie my nylons using knots, I just loop them like classical guitar strings; I loop the unwound strings about three or four times and the wound once or twice, depending on thickness (Sands 0.28 heavy 4th twice, Clifford Essex 0.30 heavy 4th once). It's very easy, the loop tightens under tension, and once they're up to tension they don't slip.

[Pam Tointon]

Thank you Mike for your reply. Once again you have furthered my CB education its appreciated.

 

regards Pam

[thereallyniceman]

Hi Pam,

I differ from Mike here in that I DO tie a knot at the end of my strings. I just fold the last 3" of the string back on itself and then tie it in a simple knot as near the fold as I can. This leaves a small hoop at the end which will hook over the peg on the tail piece. The knot does not slip and will tighten up at the strings are tensioned.

Regarding the 4th string, it  IS nylon and contains hundreds of thin strands which are then tightly wrapped with a thin bronze or copper (or similar) wire. This adds mass to the string to make it  vibrate better giving the full bass sound at the correct string tension.  Check out my set up video and you will see how to wind the strings at the peghead end too.

When tightening nylon strings it may take a few days for the knots to tighten and for them to stop stretching, so don't worry if they go out of tune!!

[Pam Tointon]

Thank you Ian for your reply, great to hear another option and further info. Think I will be experimenting to see which works best for me. Much appreciated!

Regards Pam

[Mike Moss]

@Pam: Thanks! I've been trying to take a picture of my tailpiece but I can't seem to get a decent picture which shows how I loop the strings.

@Trevor: here you go http://youtu.be/GmshkOTd5JQ

[Trevor Boyd]

Mike I just found it so deleted my original request (in case you wondered where it's gone) but thanks anyway for the link.

I have been away from banjo for a while due to other commitments but I am just getting going again

Trevor

Mike Moss said:

@Pam: Thanks! I've been trying to take a picture of my tailpiece but I can't seem to get a decent picture which shows how I loop the strings.

@Trevor: here you go http://youtu.be/GmshkOTd5JQ