Aquila Red Series AQ-11B Banjo Strings – Medium Tension DBGDG-Set of 5

I immediately fell in love with these strings. I've struggled in my attempt to move from steel strings to nylon on my circa 1910 open-back, but these did the trick.I like to tune low, and I was able to get these down to open E with only a very slight buzz on the 4th string when playing it open a bit too aggressively. Barely an inconvenience!They feel and sound great, like the perfect middle ground between steel and nylon. Just an absolute blast to play.Sadly, I wasn't taking good care of my clawhammer nail, and the jagged edge caused the 1st string to begin fraying after about nine days of playing every day. It broke on day 14, and that was that!I'm definitely purchasing again, as I believe better nail care will allow these strings to last a lot longer. Most banjo players aren't filing their nails to a smooth polish, so I think these break for a lot of people which is why that's such a common complaint.

As so many have reported the 1st and 5th strings broke for no reason about midway. 1 hour after after I posted this the 2nd string broke.

My partner, the old time clawhammer banjo player, just bought a new open backed, handmade banjo from a very small company, and it came with these strings. She's used to steel banjo strings, never tried any sort of nylon or nylgut.The bad: when the banjo maker handed her the banjo for the very first time, she broke the first string while tuning.The good: She's been playing on it for a month or so, tuning between standard tuning, and also double-D and A tuning (AEAC#e) with no capo. No more strings have broken. The strings did stretch a *lot* when she first got the banjo. They would be down more than a half step every day.The great: these strings sound terrific. Very plunky and woody, on an all wood short scale banjo. Lots of complex overtones. But when played next to a fiddle, the individual notes are clear and just pop out.I was originally thinking this review would be "they sound great but break all the time" but so far we've not had any breakage. Much of that is probably due to the very short scale of the banjo, there's plenty of stretching room. On a standard or long scale banjo, we might have more problems.

I’m a beginner clawhammer player, and I’ve restrung my banjo twice before with nickel plated and stainless steel strings. It’s been a bit finnicky, but I can do it. These strings though, I kid you not, these took up three hours of my time to try and string on, and every single one broke either while tuning or while playing. It was the most frustrating experience, especially because I know how GOOD these strings can sound when done right. I followed the instructions listed in the QR code link on the package, but it didn’t help. Overall, it was wildly frustrating and put me in a grumpy mood. So if you’re a beginner, don’t expect an easy stringing process with these guys. Maybe ask your cool banjo mentor to teach you. I for one, don’t have a cool banjo mentor, so I am complaining in an Amazon review instead. Cheers!

First off, these strings are certainly not as sturdy as steel and you need remember that when stringing it up and playing it. As long as you're careful and slow, they shouldn't break on you when stringing it up and tensioning. I bought 2 packs in case of a popped string but had no issues while string it up. No breaks! Just need to have a little patience while stringing it up, be sure to gently stretch the strings while tensioning. These strings are not looped at the end so you are going to need to be a little creative depending on the tailpiece on your banjo. They make my 12" Ome Tupelo banjo sound amazing. I'm amazed at the quality and tone and wonder why I haven't bought these sooner. Although they may not look long enough initially, the strings will stretch significantly while tensioning. If you're a clawhammer player, you really can't go wrong with these!

I use these on a goatskin head mountain banjo and they give a great old-time sound with a surprising amount of volume and hold pitch very well. They have a good playing life though I change strings once a month whether they need it or not so I can't say how long they really last. I have read other reviews that say they break easily but I made sure that there weren't any rough edges on my tailpiece, bridge or nut and haven't had any problems. They will stretch a good bit when first installed but if you bring them gently to pitch, let them sit overnight and then repeat the process the next day you should be good. I recommend them.

Package is also marked: BS 9/2020. Likely date? As reported here by others, the 1st string snapped, mid string - at about the 5th fret length location - while still well below the stated pitch during tune-up. The 5th string broke - mid string - while sitting overnight. To finish tuning, I had to add the 1st and 5th strings from the AQUILA Classic Banjo String Set, 2-B, Light Tension, package I bought at the same time. I don't like the mix for feel and sound, but the latter have not broken - yet. My guess: you might still be out of luck even if you bought 2 of the Aquila 11B Red sets in hopes of getting one good batch from the two. That's because the red highs _broke_ mid string. I hate returning things -- anyway, how do you return two fifths of something to Amazon? So I'm just sucking this one up. Wish I could buy individual strings and go through them until I found a good one....

After reading several articles about the dangerous nuances of switching to nylon strings, and the necessary filing of nuts and bridges and specific tailpieces to accommodate them without guaranteed failure, I impetuously disregarded all warnings and bought them. I’m stoked that I did. After a month, they’re still holding strong, and I changed literally nothing about my gold tone banjo for their sake. You will have to learn to tie a knot to attach them at the tail, and you probably should exercise patience in tuning them up, (I got up to standard G over the span of about 24 hours) but the feel and sound of nylon over steel is a game changer.