Jim Nollman
Jun-12-2009, 11:22am
I've been experimenting with strings lately on a rather unique sounding BRW mandolin that has exceptional pop and balance across the entire fingerboard. In the past six months I've tried 4 different kinds of strings.
A few night ago, I took off my jazzmandos, and put on some Dean strings, which I bought because they used to be my favorites when i was playing a lot of electric guitar. I notice, with some surprise, that these strings have almost never been discussed on the cafe. Another reason I was so interested in them, was in response to a recent Cafe thread about string tension, and that the common problem of the A strings going out of tune may conceivably be solved by using .16 on the A rather .15. The Deans have a .16 A.
I conclude that these strings seem to be something special, at least for my mandolin. They add an incredibly loud pop, which is what I seek. And the treble is noticeably stronger than the jazzmandos or the J-74s i was using before that. And best of all, they really stay in tune, which was not the case with the jazzmandos after the first month. I also have to say, that I do miss the flatwound G and D of the jazzmandos, for the easy way they let my barred chords slide up the fingerboard.
I'm curious if anyone else is using Deans. What do you think?
My next set, probably in about 2 months time, will be J-75s.
A few night ago, I took off my jazzmandos, and put on some Dean strings, which I bought because they used to be my favorites when i was playing a lot of electric guitar. I notice, with some surprise, that these strings have almost never been discussed on the cafe. Another reason I was so interested in them, was in response to a recent Cafe thread about string tension, and that the common problem of the A strings going out of tune may conceivably be solved by using .16 on the A rather .15. The Deans have a .16 A.
I conclude that these strings seem to be something special, at least for my mandolin. They add an incredibly loud pop, which is what I seek. And the treble is noticeably stronger than the jazzmandos or the J-74s i was using before that. And best of all, they really stay in tune, which was not the case with the jazzmandos after the first month. I also have to say, that I do miss the flatwound G and D of the jazzmandos, for the easy way they let my barred chords slide up the fingerboard.
I'm curious if anyone else is using Deans. What do you think?
My next set, probably in about 2 months time, will be J-75s.