Strings for Bowlbacks

[David M.]

I was given an old bowlback yesterday from my wife's grandma. It's a Montgomery Ward "Victor" or "Victory", can't remember and it's not handy to look at the label since I'm at work.

I'm going to attempt to string it up, but I'm a bluegrasser with an F style, so I know nothing about lighter strings, or these bowlbacks for that matter. What recommendations? I wondered about the Thomastik lights or some other brand's extra lights. I don't know if the tuners work or if it'll stand up to the tension. But I'm willing to give it a try.

Thanks for any guidance.

[Jim Garber]

All this was just discussed yesterday on this thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=13;t=23303).

Jim

[David M.]

I appreciate it. I'll look at those Dogal Calace.

[vkioulaphides]

You may also follow the link (posted on the thread referenced) to Hendrik van den Broek's eBay-store, from where you can order Lenzner strings. These are bronzewound, unlike Dogal carbonsteels; they yield a totally different sonority. They are also polished and feel wonderfully pliant under the fingers, as opposed to the rough, round-wound feel of the Dogals. (To clarify: both Dogals and Lenzners ARE in fact round-wound, i.e. not like the flat-wound strings appropriate for modern German instruments; my point is simply that with Dogals one really feels the roughness of the ridges on the UNpolished winding.)

You may wish to get a few sets of GHS ultralights by way of introduction to the sound of bronze; if you factor that type of sonority, times 1,000 upwards in quality of tone, accuracy of intonation, and overall longevity, you can imagine what Lenzners sound like.

Beyond that, of course, no accounting for taste. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif