Nylon strings for a mando?

[Bartleby]

Recently, I have really gotten into playing a lot of Latin music, like boleros. I have a Mexican-made Espanola mandolin with a sound hole and classical guitar style tuning machines. It is a beautiful instrument with a deep, resonating sound. I have had GHS Silk & Bronze strings on it for a long time, and I recently changed the strings and put some regular GHS strings on it- I really don't like them on this mandolin. The tension just feels way too high, even though they're light gauge. My mandolin has a fat neck, which I like, but no truss rod, so I am also concerned about the neck warping with steel strings.

Because I don't know of anyone who makes nylon mandolin strings, I was thinking about trying some nylon guitar strings on my mandolin; has anyone ever tried this? How did it sound? I know I will lose volume, but I think it might fit with the music I play. What would be the recommended strings to use? I was thinking about maybe using a pair of wound 5th stings for G, 4th strings for D, and 2nd and 1st strings for A and E. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks!

[John Flynn]

I have a uke with a 14.5" scale tuned like a mandolin. I use the wound 4th and plain 3rd and 2nd strings from a classical guitar set for the G, D and A strings and, I am not joking, 4mm monofilament nylon fishing line for the E string. I got the hint from the uke manufacturer and it works pretty well. You could try it.

Personally, though, I think it is not going to work out well on your instrument. The uke is designed for nylon strings. The mando is not. What I recommend that I would do in your place is get a luthier to look at the instrument and see if it needs setup work. When light gauge strings feel like they have too much tension, I have to suspect your setup is not optimal. My guess is that the action is too high and/or you have too much nut relief. BTW, I would not worry about the neck warping with light gauge strings. I have had a mando with no truss rod for many years. I have played it a lot with all kinds of strings on it and the neck is still straight.

[Jim Garber]

Why not go back to the GHS Silk & Bronze?

Jim