I was actually thinking about your Stewart the other day. I stumbled on an 1888 Gatcomb banjo at an estate sale. The action was ridiculously high with steel strings. However, I strung it up with nygluts and it plays well. I was told that the pre-1900 banjos were made to have a very high action. Because nygluts have much less tension than steel strings, high action isn't a problem for playing and the intonation is good up the neck. I'm not sure if I got lucky or whether that's the nature of the pre-1900 beast.
Nygluts have a nice mellow sound that I suspect would be good for a solo performer accompanying himself/herself on the banjo. I'll be curious to see what Josh says.
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