Buying individual strings?

[Scott N.]

Blew an E-string the other day for the first time. I figured it was going south when it stuck at a D# and the pitch stopped changing with tuning. Sure enough, "PING".

So I swapped on one of the old ones that came with the instrument, and got back to playing.

My question is can you buy packs of just E-Strings or A-Strings, or do they all come in a full set? Do you typically replace all the strings even if you just break one? Or does everyone have a drawer-full unused G's and D's?

Thanks, Scott

[Tobin]

I keep spares of A and E so I can replace these courses in between full set changes, not because I break strings. You can buy individual strings from lots of places. I use juststrings.com.

[mandroid]

I get a few Individual strings each , locally.

You can break the brass balls out of guitar strings and the Loop remains.

[Jackgaryk]

in my first few months picking the mandolin...I broke several "e" strings while trying out different brands. i had several sets missing 1 or 2 strings. i took some advice from the mandolin café members and bought some single strings from juststrings.com and spent some time reading about changing strings. things like a little graphite in the slots and tuning up slow worked for me. ain't broke a string since. tons of threads on this subject to search thru. good luck. changing strings still ain't fun to me.

[Jacob]

I buy mine from Cafe sponsor JustStrings.com.
Fast shipping and good prices.
NFI, just a satisfied customer for years.

[bingoccc]

Another Just Strings satisfied customer here.

[Paul Busman]

I get individual strings from a local music store. They're like one buck, no shipping, and I have them right away. Whole sets are another story-- the local shop doesn't have much selection in mandolin strings.

[Scott N.]

Good stuff. Thanks for the advice. I'm glad I can get just e-strings. I think I'll gravitate toward D-Addario - seems like lots of people like them, and they seem to be pretty available.

I need to swing by my local shop to see what they carry. We buy stuff for the kids' violin and clarinet there, so I should check out their selection too.

[Willie Poole]

As far as changing a whole set when you break one string, for me it depends on how old the other strings are, a new string will most likely intonate differently from one that has been on for a while, If I don`t change the whole set I at least change the pair....If you change only one check the intonation and if it isn`t correct then change the mate to it....

Willie

[kkmm]

I do buy 0.010 and 0.012 strings separately from local GC and keep them as spares. Very handy when they break.
The ones I bought are ball end but one can turn into loop end quite simply. (The other way around is hard though).

[mandroid]

John Pearse 'string wizard' a rapid loop winder includes a bag of balls ..
http://www.jpstrings.com/braccess.htm

[pianoman89]

Do you typically replace all the strings even if you just break one? Or does everyone have a drawer-full unused G's and D's?

Thanks, Scott

So the strings I buy were packaged by a local guy, who includes an extra set of A's and E's in each box. He says that the A and E strings are the first to go bad, so he wanted sets to come with replacements so you dont have to buy a full set every time your ready to replace the treble strings. I'm only a weekend player, and more a buy-and-seller, so I have a drawer-full of extra A and E strings lol.... If you want I can drop a set of E's in the mail to you. PM your address if your interested.

[Eddie Sheehy]

I had a few packs of strings missing E strings that I had salvaged for breaks... so I ordered a pack of 12 Bulk .011 guitar strings from GC and will pick them up from a local GC with no shipping charges... total cost $2.45, plus $2.45 for another pack of 12 x .010 for my tenor guitars and banjos... Clipping the balls is no problem...

[kkmm]

Do you typically replace all the strings even if you just break one? Or does everyone have a drawer-full unused G's and D's?

The G and D strings seldomly break, if I have to replace them , I replace the whole set.
I only replace the E single string if it breaks.

[Hadji36]

I wish I would have seen this thread a couple of months ago. Reason being:

I was restringing my mandolin yesterday with some medium-gauge strings. All was going fine until I got to the second E-string. As I was tuning up to pitch the string broke. Now I was on my last pack of strings (I know...poor planning on my part). That's when I had an idea, and unfortunately my voice of reason (a.k.a. my wife) wasn't home. So I went into my garage and grabbed my safety wire pliers and promptly spun a nice, tight new loop end on the .011 string. I attached it and started tuning. I was feeling pretty good with myself until I was about a half step from pitch, when, "P-WAAAP!" (or something like that). Needless to say, I wasn't playing my mandolin last night, so I was looking around on the forums and saw this thread.

I now have 4 packs of strings, 3 individual E-strings and 3 individual D-strings coming straight to my home from JustStrings.com.

It should have worked though...it should have worked.

[JeffD]

My question is can you buy packs of just E-Strings or A-Strings, or do they all come in a full set? Do you typically replace all the strings even if you just break one? Or does everyone have a drawer-full unused G's and D's?

I change my strings 3 or 4 times a year. But if one breaks I replace that one right then, and the other 7 that night when I get home.

[GTison]

I used to buy individual strings back when I used to break strings a lot. But later on I figured the cost of the singles, and to buy 4 was about the same cost as a whole set of strings. So, now I have MANY G and D strings.