1917 Gibson A model- string question

[gmando]

MY friend lent me his pre-wwII gibson, and it sounds beautiful, but i'm pretty sure the strings on it are about 20 years old. what kind of strings should i get for it? ive used GHS on my other mandolins but am not sure if these are good enough for this mandolin. also, should i get light, medium, or heavy? one more question- im having a hard time removing the tailpiece, any advice?
thanks yall
-g

[Strado Len]

Does this mandolin have an oval sound hole, or f-holes?

The older, oval hole Gibsons can handle light or medium gauge strings. Some people prefer to use light gauge strings on these instruments, but if the neck is straight and there is no top sinkage, mediums are also ok. Since you are borrowing the mandolin, you might want to play it safe with lights, with gauges ranging from .034 to .038 (low G) to .010 (high E). GHS strings are fine; I prefer D'Addario.

If the tailpiece is the standard rectangular Gibson type, slide the tailpiece cover straight back, toward the end pin. It should come off.

Have fun!

[mandroid]

My pre trussrod '21 A has found GHS A250 (.010"-.036") a good sounding, comfortable combination.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[danb]

D'Addario medium gauges would be J62- .010, .014, .024, .034.

That set is also made by Martin in a purple box

[Salty Dog]

I found that my '21 oval hole sounded best to me with Stewart McDonald strings. #I'm not sure who makes them but they are medium and sounded fine on the A. #BTW, I didn't like their sound on the two Fs that I have now.

[John Rosett]

i have d'addario j-74's on my '13 A, and they're fine.
john

[fatt-dad]

I'm pretty sure that BigJoe said that the J-74 gauge strings were just fine for the teens and twentys Gibsons. Maybe he recommended the Bill Monroe Gibson strings. Either way, I do not think you need to "baby" a Gibson (unless you know of structural issues).

f-d