A - the troublesome string (rant)

[Bren]

You have to be careful with FW As.

On my current mandolin they buzz either at the nut or on the frets. I don't want to change the nut or the action to suit flat-wound just yet so I've stuck to plain.

[Shelagh Moore]

I generally find A strings the most troublesome too.

[bobby bill]

It is a thing. This is a job for better searchers with more time on their hands, but I believe this question was addressed to my satisfaction in a previous thread (or two). If I remember correctly, it had to do with the A string have the least amount of tension of all the other strings (due to the nature of the string gauges used?) and that just makes them more squirrelly.

If someone can find that thread, I'm pretty sure it was stated better than I just did.

[mandomurph]

I believe I play the A and D strings more than any other strings. They are both part of most chords, even the 3 note ones. They also are used more than the G and E in double stops. I also play more down strokes than upstrokes and seem to strike the top A string harder then the lower one. So combine those conditions with the lesser tension on the A strings and I expect to have more trouble keeping the A strings, especially the top one, in tune.

[James Rankine]

It is a thing. This is a job for better searchers with more time on their hands, but I believe this question was addressed to my satisfaction in a previous thread (or two). If I remember correctly, it had to do with the A string have the least amount of tension of all the other strings (due to the nature of the string gauges used?) and that just makes them more squirrelly.

If someone can find that thread, I'm pretty sure it was stated better than I just did.

I remember one of the builders giving an eloquent explanation with a bit of physics thrown in which I can't remember. The gist of it was that the A string is the thickest string - the wound strings have a thinner core. The thickest string on a guitar suffers the same - the G string if it is an unwound electric guitar string

[JeffD]

I've noticed it across several mandolins. The upper A will go out of tune more easily than the lower..

I have experienced his as well, and I have always chalked it up to the corner tuner being exposed to more jostling.

[chuck3]

I generally find A strings the most troublesome too.

add me to that list ...