Figured out my strings...

[zedmando]

Hmm, I bought a solidbody mandobird which needs electric strings for the pickup.
I have left the strings it came with so far--but it is time to change them.
The bass was sued--and so were the strings--I'm surprised I left them this long--but I hate changing strings.
Being a guitar player I have lots of guitar strings--so as I went through this site and other places online to look at possible gauges I finally narrowed them down.
I want something lighter than what's on it--I may go back to a heavier gauge later.
When I was learning on an electric I wound up with seriously heavy strings and while it built up my finger strength it was frustrating--the gauges were 13-50.
Ironically I now use the same guitar for slide and without realizing it until afterwards I put 13-50s on it...

In any case I have some Fender strings I got free at a guitar event--real actual strings--not generic ones. I use different gauges on each guitar based on what I sue the guitar for and the qualities of that guitar--so one guitar has 5 sets waiting to be used on it.
As I don't gig the strings will last a s long time.
As I mostly use GHS Boomers on electric guitar I will use the two fender sets for my Mandobird and keep the two strings from each set I don't use on the Mandobird as spars for my guitar.

Anybody else go through some long process to decide on strings?
Or did you just pop down tot he music store & buy a set?
Or buy them online?

I haven't seen an electric Mando set in a store--so I'm doing it this way--maybe later I'll search online.

[Ron McMillan]

On my mandocaster I use generic D'Addario electric guitar steel strings on the 1st and 2nd - 0.010s and 0.014s. On 3rd and 4th, I love D'Addario Chrome Flatwounds, which I think are 0.024 and 0.038. I find the Chrome flatwounds are way better than regular, round-wound strings, which seemed to make slides far more difficult.

[Nick Eanet]

Check out emando.com - they sell a wide variety of strings for electric mandolin...

[mandroid]

Measure the Gage (thickness) , any ferrous nickel wound string will do ..

Pick then by the each if you dont like the choices someone making up a set did.

yea Slides on flat ribbon wounds are easier , there are half flat , ground after round winding ones too.

[zedmando]

On my mandocaster I use generic D'Addario electric guitar steel strings on the 1st and 2nd - 0.010s and 0.014s. On 3rd and 4th, I love D'Addario Chrome Flatwounds, which I think are 0.024 and 0.038. I find the Chrome flatwounds are way better than regular, round-wound strings, which seemed to make slides far more difficult.

Those are close to the gauges I will be trying next...10, 13, 26, 36

Maybe after that I'll try flatwounds--but I've been playing roundwounds so long--I'm used to them--so no problem sliding on them, but I may still try them--especially if the next idea doesn't work as well as I hope it does.


Thanks for all the info everybody!

[Ron McMillan]

Those are close to the gauges I will be trying next...10, 13, 26, 36

Maybe after that I'll try flatwounds--but I've been playing roundwounds so long--I'm used to them--so no problem sliding on them

It may be because I am used to coated strings on my acoustics (Elixir Nanos), but on the electric I found the regular strings very difficult to do basic slides on, and I'm glad I tried the flatwound Chromes, which are wonderful, and not too badly priced.

ron

[zedmando]

It may be because I am used to coated strings on my acoustics (Elixir Nanos), but on the electric I found the regular strings very difficult to do basic slides on, and I'm glad I tried the flatwound Chromes, which are wonderful, and not too badly priced.

ron

Could be related.
I'm not fond of the feeling of coated strings on guitar--but I'm okay with them on my bass.

[UsuallyPickin]

Zed ... Juststrings.com has a good variety of single loop end nickel strings so you can assemble a set or three of varying gauges. Do keep in mind the shipping charge.... R/

[zedmando]

I have looked online as well--most of the US based sites kill me with the S&H charges since I'm in canada--but there are Canadian based options--and I could order bass & guitar strings at the same time.
One time I was going to order some strings for my 12 string acoustic online--with an order involving other guitar players--but then it never happened, but I'd be up for trying that in the future as well--to help with S&H.
Some sites reduce or eliminate S&H if you order over a certain $ value.