I mistakenly ordered a bunch of wound strings for low G that were more suited for the third string. Was a time when it was common to see the third string wound - anyone using this set-up? I currently have in place a 0.022". I have ordered some 0.019" and 0.021" to test and experiment with the tension. Using .030" for the low G...
I've experimented with a steel wound 3rd. It seems like a good idea and there are people who play with a wound 3rd tuned to low C and really like it. I didn't really care for the sound but I really like a low 4th wound G string and string with nothing else now. Too bad they wear out almost instantly. Oh well. Cheap enough as single strings from Strings.com.
I have strung my reentrant tenors with a wound third and really like the sound. I had a Collings and a Mya Moe strung that way and that was the best sounding set up to my ears.
With low G (my tuning of choice on tenors) I always have a wound G and a wound C, it sounds much more balanced. I use a diameter of approx. .027", depending on the manufacture for the 3rd.. D'Addario has them as NLY027 or their Lightly Polished Pro Arte J4504LP= .027"and as stated above the Thomastik CF27 . Naturally these would work well as just the wound 3rd in reentrant tuning
Both my recent (Fluke Firefly) and vintage (Stella) banjo ukes have wound third strings. Never really thought about it, other than that was how I received them.