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adgefan
Feb-21-2005, 9:11am
I love D'Addario J74s but the tension is too much for my fretting arm (I have a bad elbow which doesn't like them, unfortunately). I've tried GHS A250s and they're much easier on my arm and I like them but such a light guage is still too tinny for chop chords.

So I was wondering about the A260s which seem to have a guage inbetween the lights and the J74s. Has anyone tried them? Are they any good for bluegrass? How do they compare soundwise to J74s?

Thanks.

mandowilli
Feb-21-2005, 11:05am
I have used the A260's recently and I like them. I was using A250's but was changing out the ee to an .011 because I thought the high end to be thin and these saved me the trouble of splitting up sets or buying singles.
I am using them for lower tension on my old mandolin, not because of hand or finger problems.

willi

Brian Ray
Feb-21-2005, 11:28am
Sure, I'd give 260s or 270s a go. They're the same guage on the upper strings which is usually where fretting difficulty usually lies... I also find WebStrings (http://webstrings.com/mandolin_strings.html) to be very similar to GHS and have been using them instead for many months.

You might also consider lowering the nut if fretting is so difficult... a good setup is worth every penny when it helps your playing.

Michael Lewis
Feb-22-2005, 1:23am
Dasspunk is correct regarding the set up. Most mandolins can be made easy to play even with J74s.

GHS A260 strings have the most even tension of any set I have come across. There is about 2 lbs. difference between the highest and lowest tension strings, and most other string sets vary more than 5 lbs. These strings are the gauges that Bobby Osborne uses, so yes, they are good for bluegrass, but they don't sound like Bill.