favorite strings for banjo ukuleles..?

Hello there -
I have an old 'NMS Co' banjo ukulele, soprano size, which I had fixed. Now I wonder if anyone here at UU could tell me whether they have favorite string brands for banjo ukuleles. After all, the construction of banjo ukes is very different from that of the 'regular' ukes, so strings that sound good on one may not be the best for the other.
Anyone?

I have been told on several occasions that fluorocarbons are best because of the way they resonate with the head of a banjo uke. I have a Rally and put Martin fluorocarbons light on it and she sounds great, although I've never tried any other type to compare. Best thing you can do for yourself is buy a few different kinds and experiment. Then go with the set that appeals to you the most! Good luck!

The problem with this question, Doc, is that there's likely to be more diagreement over what a banjo uke should sound like than what kind of tone an ukulele itself should have.

Should it sound like an ukulele? an open back banjo? a resonator banjo? an old time plunky gut strung banjo - maybe the kind with a gourd body? Whether you have an open back or closed back determines a lot of it, but the strings can then push it one direction or another.

Got a particular sound in mind?

HI, Dirk - thanks for the answer. I suppose it'll have to be a mix of the open-back and gut string banjo sound. For a 'regular' ukulele sound, I'll grab a ukulele. Likewise; if I wanted a resonator sound, I'd get such an instrument. The one I have now is from the 20s, well kept by whoever owned it over the years. It's a very simple, basic instrument. I'm not planning to play it much, but it IS kinda cool, in an offbeat weirdo way, and I enjoy it. Best to play it when no one's around though - seems my family doesn't really take to it

I have an old banjo Ukulele from the 20's. I tried the Aquila Banjo Uke strings and did like the sound... way to loud for my wife... I tried Worth clears and got a little more mellow sound.. I have a wood back on mine so I cut a 1' piece of foam to fit inside and it is a really nice instrument to play on occasion. The grand kids love it!

Actually, my favorite set-up on my Tenor banjo is reentrant with Nylguts - the sandard sets, not the Banjo Uke. To me they give a nice combination for a sort of old time sound. They're not the most balanced sets in the world, but neither was gut, and that's what Aquila's going after. You get a nice, bright cutting sound from the ouside strings with more of that plunky old time sound from the insides.

I can't remember for sure about lenghts on their standard sets, and I don't know about how much, if any, extra length you might need on your banjo-uke. The Sopranos will be brighter all throughout, but the Concerts will work too, and are probably a little longer. In contrast with the Sopranos, they'll have a litlle plunkier bottom end and a bit more overall volume - the volume not something you usually worry about with a drum body.

Hope that helps - maybe someone else can be a bit more definitive on the lengths.

Actually, taking a quick look at their quages, the All Nylgut Banjo Uke set is the same as the Concert, but they probably make it a little longer. Sounds good to me!

And by the way, for folks in the US (sorry, Doc) with (short scale) Tenor Banjos, if you want to give this a whirl, go here for long strings:

http://aquilausa.com/ng_strings.html

I like the Aquila banjo uke sets on my old closed back banjo uke, and they sound pretty good on my open back NuWay, but just put a set of Martin fluorocarbons on it a few days ago haven't been able to play it much since the change and had carpal tunnel surgery on both hands yesterday so may be a while before I can really see how they work