GHS Strings PF140 J.D. Crowe Signature Series (Studio), 5-String Stainless Steel Banjo Strings, Light (9 1/2-20)

I have use these strings for years and years on all of my banjos.. I've not found any I like better.

I use these all the time and have determined they work best for my banjo and style of playing.

Strings sound great when new and hold up well over time.

Great strings I've been using them for years and they haven't let me down yet

Let me be clear: I purchased the PF 180's which are 011-013-016-024w-010 . The strings themselves are fine, nothing wrong with them. I purchased them to use on a Huber Maple Workhorse. I noticed a distinct downgrade in tone--again, don't get me wrong, they're great strings--and will probably be changing them out for the PF 135 or the J.D. Crowe stage set. What I DO like about these heavier strings is that they sound "true" when you're really digging in to a tune, no "strong presuure" off-tones or the like, but again, the crisp, sparkling sound of the Huber was noticeably diminished, to my ears. So I suppose I'll follow Jack Hatfield's advice and learn not to use more pressure than I actually need to make the chords, runs, etc. I'm going to be experimenting with mdium-lights. If this experiment fails, then I'll just buy my strings from Huber. At 30.00 for six sets for the Workhorse, they'll come close to GHS, cost-wise, anyway. UPDATE: I purchased the J.D. Crowe Stage set and they work great. Not too light, not too heavy. In fact they're really close in size to the HUber strings that came with the workhorse. As far as I'm concerned, I've found my strings (the J.D. Crowe Stage strings) and I'm going to stick with them. By the way, I had three stars for the original review, upped it a star for the Crowe's. No five star review because, hell, nothing's perfect.

I know most bluegrass players prefer light gauge strings, but I love the sound and feel of these medium gauge strings. It could be because I play on an archtop, but I remember these sounded just as good on the flathead that I started on. Granted, they might not be the greatest for a gig or jam session, but for playing at home (which is all I ever want to do) I don't think they can be beat.

These reviews are for 5 different sets of strings. So what someone says may be irrelevant to you.GHS are quality strings. The only difference is in the gauges and metals used (nickel, Brass). Find the gauges that work best for you and there is not much difference between the brands. I use 10-12-13-22-10 on a Gold Tone OB-150. You can't beat the price of GHS strings.

I chose to give this seller and set of strings 5 stars. You will get you order as promised and it was actuall fast too. As far as the strings go, they are GHS and they make great strings and J D Crowe is one of music's finest banjo pickers. I use this guage on my banjo and since I have been using GHS strings on my electric guitars with no problems, i wne with these banjo strings. I play a lot of music and banjo is a part of that. If you play bluegrass like i do at jam sessions, you want strings that last a long time because a good jam session can start in the early evening and last till the sun comes up and sometimes longer than that if the festival is a 3 day or a 10 festival. That is a lot of jamming and you need a good set of strings to hang in there. Price was great too. This seller will take care of you too.