String guage for 1917 Gibson

[jnation]

I just bought a 1917 A style Gibson mandolin and need to know what guage is proper for this. I use J74's on my new mando but believe these are too heavy a guage for this old fragile mando. Can someone suggest a lighter guage that would work well. Thanks, Joe

[Chris Keth]

I can't speak to your mando in particular, but regular J74s aren't too heavy for the design of the instrument. If it's in good condition, those should be fine.

[mrmando]

Use J62s if you want something a little lighter.

[Dave Hanson]

I've used J74s on my 1917 Gibson 'A' since I bought it 4 years ago, no problems whatsoever.

Dave H

[jnation]

Thanks, PanaDP, mrmando and Dan. Joe

[Michael Gowell]

An alternative would be to try a set of Silk & Bronze strings - a nice deep tone in the bass, clarity in the trebles, and good volume at fewer pounds of string tension. I use a GHS set.

[KanMando]

I had the same concerns with my 1914 A. I used light gauge GHS strings on it for over thirty years, but decided to give the GHS Silk and Bronze strings (which are medium gauge) a try about six months ago. No ill effects on the mando so far, and I like the sound of the strings better than standard bronze strings.

Bob

[journeybear]

I've used J74s on my 1917 Gibson 'A' since I bought it 4 years ago, no problems whatsoever.

Ditto on mine, though I've had it just over a year.

Imagine there being this many 1917 A's herebaouts! Mine's a pumpkin, too.

Geez - maybe we should start a social group ... or not!

[Gail Hester]

I recommend J73s. J74s will pull 182 pounds of tension while J73s will have a tuned tensionn of 157.4 pounds. Your mandolin may be able to handle the extra tension but generally these old mandolins don't need that much top loading and may actually sound better with a little less tension. It's like taking about 5 pounds of down force off of the top of your mandolin.

[Fretbear]

An alternative would be to try a set of Silk & Bronze strings - I use a GHS set.

It would have to be the GHS set (LSB250); they are the only ones that make them.
They are excellent & sound great and seem to exert a little less tension than their Phosphor Bronze counterparts of the same gauges. Gail knows all about those vintage Gibson A styles, and what works best with them. Like she says, you may get more response from less tension, you have to see what your particular instrument responds best to.

[mandopixie]

LSB250's rule (except for their .011" E which I replace with a .012" wires)!

[woodwizard]

My new 1919 A4 came with light gage bronze strings on it and they sound pretty good. I only had this baby for a tick over a week now. It could handle med. strings but just to be save I think I'll stick to the light gage for now.

[Jack Roberts]

I use J74s on my 1918 A1 pumpkin. I've tried everything else and gradually moved to and stayed with the J74s, as the sound is terrific.

BUT I did have it checked for structural stability when I first bought it, and I've seen enough sunken tops to know that it's a good idea to discuss individual instruments with someone who understands the potential problems. I suspect that if the top hasn't sunk by now and if the tone bars are still solidly in place, you should be O.K., but if there is a luthier nearby who understands old Gibsons, it is worth a consultation.

Also, the kind of sound matters as well. I originally used the A1 for classical music. At that time I switched back and forth from TI Mittels to light gauge GHS. But I never thought the sound worked for classical, and I use another instrument for that now.

I use the A1 in our band as with the J74s the sound carries to the back of the room when I want it to, but I can also play "softly and tenderly." Maybe for my next set of strings I'll try Gail's recommendation of J73s.

[mandroid]

I like the equivalent of j73, on my pre truss rod A_0. .010,.015,.024,.036, happen to be GHS A250,
but other than brand name, same thing .. p bronze wrapped on the D&G

[gibson mandoman]

I like JazzMando strings on my oval-hole Gibsons.

[danb]

Top sink on a vintage oval-holed Gibson mandolin is usually a result of a loose lateral brace. Frank Ford taught me to always reach inside the soundhole and feel the edges of the brace to make sure it's secure. I've had several of the various gibsons I've horse traded over the years need a little bit of glue there.

Just about every old gibson oval I've tried sounds best with j74s, to the point that I've stopped experimenting with any other gauges. Some time ago we micrometered vintage strings from the original packets here too.. worth a search!

[Youda]

I don't know how much tension the vintage A's can take or not take. I use lower gauge strings on my Gibson 1921 just because I get much better intonation on the G and D string sets with a lower gauge. It also has better tone. I use 9-12-26-32. No, no one makes that combination (TI comes close, but I like phosphor bronze), so I buy singles to get the mixture I want.

You might pay attention to tone and intonation, too, to see how much the gauge affects yours.

[morgan]

I've generally used GHS Bobby Osborne Medium Light Phosphor Bronze, which are a little heavier than the A250s but lighter than the J74s. I recently have had two different sets of Newtones on, which are also lighter strings. The Newtones and the GHS both sound good but they're different, whether either sound is "better" seems to depend on the day and mood. I was suprised that the lighter set of Newtones also sound good; I had bought them for a different mando but needed to change the strings and had nothing else handy. So maybe I should try the A250s

I'm too paranoid to put heavier strings on and see what happens.

[Gail Hester]

Here are a few more of my comments on the subject which I approach from a different perspective than most other so take them for what they are worth and then I'll shut up.

With so many strings available today, the question of which strings to use is a very personal decision for each player and is one of those areas where each player can make that decision as a part of their artistic expression. I read with interest but never participate in the “what strings do you like” threads for that reason.

When vintage Gibson mandolins are part of the equation I participate because of my involvment with so many of these mandolins over the years, around a couple hundred of them so far. If you are knowledgeable and can find and afford some of the best examples of these mandolins then they can likely handle most mandolin strings made today or in the past. I like D'Addario Strings for their consistency and low price because I buy a lot of them and find that across the board all of their strings are predictable. That does not mean that I don’t recognize that there are other great strings available.

I tend to use J75s on my new instruments because I know they can handle the tension. J74s are fine for most instruments and most pro players would not want to go lighter than that. J73s however, are appropriate for many of these old Gibson’s from my prospective as many of these mandolins come to me originally with structural problems. Not only with loose braces but many of them where originally carved too thin. Some of them have been abused in hot attics or have sustained other damage as well. I think J73s are a good rule of thumb type of string to recommend to those who get a new old Gibson while they get used to it and have the time to evaluate its condition. Try other strings if you are confident in your instrument but you may find that J73 sound just as good or better while being a little kinder to your eight-plus year old instrument.

The J73 set of strings was only introduced in January of 2006 so many who have tried everything before that may not have tried these. J73s are also a little heavier than most light gauge strings since the Gs are .038 vice .036.

[woodwizard]

Sounds like good advice that's coming from a person with tons of experience. Thanks Gail

[Martin Jonas]

I tend to use J75s on my new instruments because I know they can handle the tension. J74s are fine for most instruments and most pro players would not want to go lighter than that. J73s however, are appropriate for many of these old Gibson’s from my prospective as many of these mandolins come to me originally with structural problems. Not only with loose braces but many of them where originally carved too thin. Some of them have been abused in hot attics or have sustained other damage as well. I think J73s are a good rule of thumb type of string to recommend to those who get a new old Gibson while they get used to it and have the time to evaluate its condition. Try other strings if you are confident in your instrument but you may find that J73 sound just as good or better while being a little kinder to your eight-plus year old instrument.

I think that's good advice, and it's more or less what I did. When I got my late-1921 Ajr I wasn't sure about the integrity of the neck joint and initially strung it with J73s. It sounded very nice with those, but the G strings were a bit muted. After two years or so, and with much more confidence in the neck joint, I switched to J74 with no ill effects and a subtle improvement in the evenness of tone and volume of the G string compared to the others.

The newish J73 is a very useful set for experimenting -- a phosphor bronze alternative to J62, with a slightly heavier G string. That way you can go lighter than J74 without having to change alloy at the same time.

Martin

[pops1]

I have used the GHS silk and bronze 11-40 on several older mandolins for years now and love them, gives a nice bass with the 40 gauge without the tension. of all my mandolins my old Gibson is my favorite and all other mandolins are compared to it for sound and all come up short.

[Joe Desperado]

Who makes J73 or J74?

I think I will run out to my local store and pick up a set for my 1914 Pumkin... which will be strung up for the first time in about 20 years.

Structure is good and no loose bracings.

J

[Joe Desperado]

Never mind...I figured it out on my own.

[mandopaul]

Hi - on my 1920 A, I tried (still have them on) LaBella Jazz Mando strings. You can get them from a regular on this forum. (whose name escapes me now) I really like them, and the strings don't make that new string noise, very smooth. Much better than all the other strings i had on it.