strings on my ellis a

[varmonter]

Just got my new ellis a5 special from tom.
I was wondering as i have read here that tom recommends ghs a270 strings.i was curious
If he ships his mandolins with these strings..?

[Tobin]

Yes, when he strings them up at his shop to send them out, he uses GHS A270s.

[Mark Wilson]

Congrats on the Ellis A5 special.
Those strings work - tried a few others but overall pleased with the A270s
Once bought the GHS bright bronze 270s by mistake - package looks close

[George R. Lane]

I have been a fan of the A270s for many years now. I have been using the cryogenic strings and find they last longer on my Weber Yellowstone. You might want to give them a try.

[pops1]

If you like the A270's try their new N270's. I just put some on my mandolin and they sound great. You may also like the GHS silk and bronze, they sound similar to the A270's. Some folks feel the need to experiment, obviously I am one. Enjoy

[varmonter]

The reason i ask is because i am not real fond
Of them and wanted to try a dif set.

[jmkatcher]

J74s work just fine on mine...

[Tobin]

The reason i ask is because i am not real fond
Of them and wanted to try a dif set.
Go for it! Nothing says you have to stick with his preference. He chose that set a long time ago because it was one of the only options at the time which had a 0.016" A-string, and he thought it was a more robust sound. Over the years, I'm sure that's what he has gotten used to sounding "right" on his mandolins.

But, like you, I was not impressed at all with GHS strings. The sound is decent, but the playability of the wound strings was terrible for my fingers. I tried many different makes/brands and gauge sets before landing on the D'Addario EXP75CM set. It still has the 0.016" A-strings, but also has a 0.0115" E-string course. I like the sound, I like the playability of the windings and the coating on the strings, and they last longer under my corrosive sweaty hands. If you experiment for a while, you'll land on a set that gives you what you need. But I do think it's worth keeping in mind that his instruments are built around the A270 gauges. So the compensation at the bridge is pretty specific to that, as well as the slot sizes at the nut and saddle. It won't be the end of the world if you notice slight changes with other gauges or brands, and in fact you may not notice any intonation differences at all. But if you do, that's likely why. So I would recommend starting in the same general territory, gauge-wise.

[pops1]

The N270's I spoke about are a completely different sound being pure nickel. If you don't like the A270's these would also be a good choice.

[Josh Levine]

I like the EXP75CMs and the straight EXP75s. I just got some of the Daddario Nickel bronze 75 and 75cm and was going to give those a whirl. By, ya those A270s were not my cup.

[varmonter]

Ive ordered a set of dr dragonskins and a set of md11s..i really like the dragonskins on my guitars.
So well see..

[Ivan Kelsall]

When i bought my 'used' Ellis "A" style i contacted Tom re. info. about it,& i asked if he had any string prefs.. He told me that he'd tried most of the popular string brands on his mandolins & liked most of them,but that the GHS A270's seemed to suit his instruments the best. I've had DR MD11's & EJ74's on mine,but i must agree with Tom Ellis that the A270's seem to bring out the best tones.

The MD11's although they sounded good,had a harder tone than i think suited the Ellis,the EJ74's sounded very nice,but not as 'sweet' as the A270's,but they're a good option. However,the A270's did NOT suit my Weber "Fern". The .016" A strings were way too bright,
Ivan;)

[Willie Poole]

Varmonter....I contacted DR and they sent me a set of Dragon Skins to try and report back to them as to what I thought about them....I am sure they didn`t like what I said about them, they are suppose to be coated strings but I couldn`t tell any difference, they did sound real good for about a week or so and then they just died, but then again I never liked any of the DR strings on any one of my mandolins, I have three and GHS A-270`s seems to be the best on all of them, it is all subjective as to what sound you may like, but as it has been stated above try as many different brands and gauges as you can and you will find the ones that suit you the best...Don`t forget to also try different picks with all of those strings, they also make a huge difference in the sound, I have settled on Prime Tone 1.5 rounded picks for what I like a mandolin to sound like, no shrill sounds from the A and E strings...

Good luck with the adventure....:mandosmiley:

Willie

[Mark Christensen]

I prefer the EXP 74cm over the ghs on my Ellis A5. I like the .16 A string and 11.5 E.

[varmonter]

I will try other strings on this mandolin. The a270 seem a bit harsh..my fear will be others will sound
Worse...but nothing ventured nothing gained..;)

[pops1]

I will try other strings on this mandolin. The a270 seem a bit harsh..my fear will be others will sound
Worse...but nothing ventured nothing gained..;)

I find when the intonation isn't perfect the sound can get harsh, check you intonation. Raising or lowering the bridge, humidity and a slew of other things change it and I check mine often. Keep the highs sweet and the lows solid.

[Timbofood]

Strings are cheap, try them all until you find the one that YOU like! It's your preference, not what someone tells you, is better.

[Glassweb]

Strings are cheap, try them all until you find the one that YOU like! It's your preference, not what someone tells you, is better.

Like Timbo said...

[varmonter]

I find when the intonation isn't perfect the sound can get harsh, check you intonation. Raising or lowering the bridge, humidity and a slew of other things change it and I check mine often. Keep the highs sweet and the lows solid.
Brand new mandolin..i checked the intonation and it is spot on.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From above - "......i checked the intonation and it is spot on.". Well, mine was bought 'used' 3 years ago. It's now 7 years old & the intonation is still 100 %. I found out that Tom Ellis makes his own bridges,& i suspect that being custom made for each mandolin, they contribute more than a bit to the accuracy of the intonation - awesome mandolins by any standard,
Ivan

[jshane]

The reason i ask is because i am not real fond
Of them and wanted to try a dif set.

I have a Pava-- so a kissing cousin to your Ellis. Ive messed around, and currently am enjoying the Elixir nano webs on my Pava. Give 'em a try.

[rfd]

strings are the gateway to yer tone. i dislike all coated strings for mando and guitar. they're dull, lackluster, and near dead from the get-to, which makes no sense to me. i want a vibrant, clear, lively acoustic tone, and for at least in this day and age that means a phosphor-bronze wound string set. just need to trial out the brands to find a set that satisfies, which may be diff'rent for each instrument.

[Mandobar]

The Pava's have a bit of a darker tone than the more recent Ellis A's that I have played. They seem to need a brighter sounding string. If you want to tone down the sound, you might try some monels, although sometimes strings settle in and sound better over time. It's a new instrument and the transition from Texas weather to Vermont it may take some time to settle. Especially this time of year in what seems to be the wettest Spring in New England that I have seen in years.

[rfd]

another major concern with coated strings is wear and intonation. as the coating wears and fuzzes, don't think it won't affect intonation as well as tone ... i've both seen and proven this more than a few times with customers' guitars and mandolins.

[DougC]

Ellis says that he liked most of the popular string brands. Now if I had an Ellis mandolin I'd start with HIS favorite set of strings and try to figure out what he hears.


When i bought my 'used' Ellis "A" style i contacted Tom re. info. about it,& i asked if he had any string prefs.. He told me that he'd tried most of the popular string brands on his mandolins & liked most of them,but that the GHS A270's seemed to suit his instruments the best. I've had DR MD11's & EJ74's on mine,but i must agree with Tom Ellis that the A270's seem to bring out the best tones.

The MD11's although they sounded good,had a harder tone than i think suited the Ellis,the EJ74's sounded very nice,but not as 'sweet' as the A270's,but they're a good option. However,the A270's did NOT suit my Weber "Fern". The .016" A strings were way too bright,
Ivan;)

[Josh Levine]

I like coated strings on my Ellis (Exps). And in my experience they last longer than J74s. Although I have some nickle bronze strings I want to try on it. I like the nickle bronzes on my Duff, but I think they wear down faster than EXPs. Not sure yet. Give it a little time to adjust and for your ear to adjust to the new mandolin. That takes time too. I did not like the A270s personally. I think if you are hearing harshness, EXPs tend to be a little more mellow.

[nickster]

I also like the D'Addario EXP74cm's on my Ellis A. I tried a set of the original GHS that Tom recommends but they didn't suit my taste. Also they go dead a lot faster than EXP's. My two cents worth.