Mixing monel and phospher bronze strings..

[mandotool]

I’ve been very happy with the exp74's for the past year or so but finally got around to checking out the Gibson/Bush Monels...
I played them for a few days but the monels didnt quite do it for me… so i decided to switch back to the expJ74s..
half way thru switching back to a fresh set of 74s i decided ...Just for laughs....to try half and half..one string from each set on each course..
That was a month ago and I'm still strung up that way .

Phosphor bronze and monel seem to compliment each other pretty well …and the mixed string gauges on the A, D and G give things a whole other feel….a good one I think….

Curious to hear some other recipes ..
I recommend this one ..
no financial Interest

[mandolooter]

quite a concept but I haven't tried it and probably will not. My newest test is working out really well tho, I finally got around to putting the GHS Silk n Steels on my Givens A and Im loving the tone! They are already my fav's on my old Gibson oval hole and may be my strings of choice on this after I test the Silk n Bronze ones that are supposed to last longer from what I have heard around here. I did love the Monel's on the Givens too but decided to give these a go since they were what I had laying around after breaking my first string ever on a mandolin. I broke the one of the G's right at the bridge, it was a GHS Phosphor Bronze about 2 months old.

So how different in gauges are those 2 sets?

[mandotool]

Exp 74s .011 .015 .026 .040
Monels .011 .014 .025 .041

Here’s the differential on the gauges…
I haven’t actually put a micrometer on them yet but I would suspect that the EXP’s are actually +.001 “ or so with the coating…

I would tend to push the differential on the gauges even more and see what that produces….we’ll see..

I’ll try to find the GHS Silk and Bronze threads you mentioned..Thanks for the tip

[Walter Newton]

No problems with the mixed guages playing in tune correctly up the neck??

[mandroid]

Ds would last longer , as Monel is a bit harder than Phosphor-Bronze

winding wire is thicker on the G, so fret hammering is less evident, for longer.

no harm in experimenting.

[Twango]

This is a fascinating idea! I may just have to try it.

[Chip Booth]

I didn't like the Monels myself but I recently tried the JS74 stainless set from D'Addario and like them much better. Same gauge as the J74s I'm used to. Not so sure about mixing, but whatever works...

Chip

[Ken Olmstead]

I have always played on J74s. I have embarked recently on a quest to audition 6 or 7 different string sets and am making notes and recoding them under somewhat controlled conditions to see how they all perform. The first set I tried was the Bush set. I dislike the light A string but it works well for the "Last Days on Earth" tuning. The monels gave my Weber Fern a more bluegrassy edge. They also are not getting sticky like the 74s which sucks for sliding. I love the 41 in the bass and the monels are generating tighter/woofier chop. In the end, with all fualts considered, I think I still prefer the 74s but it is nice to know the Bush set would give some predictable results for certain activities. Next up...Silk & Steel!

[mandoplyr70]

I,m with chiptooth been using JS 74s for over a year Very satisfied with them !

[Willie Poole]

I think I have tried all brands and gauges and found GHS silk and Bronze to be the best to my ear and for what I am looking for in a bluegrass sound...Mixing gauges don`t work if you have a good ear for tones, thats my story and I`m sticking to it....Willie