!940's Orpheum 2 Point. String Recommendations?

[mandrian]

Hi,

I was lucky enough to take delivery of a nice 1940's Orpheum two point mandolin today. I usually string my modern mandolins with Thomastik Mediums (.009, .014, .020, .031). I presume that this mandolin should be able to handle these OK. The mandolin looks in lovely condition and I'm looking forward to playing it.

What do you Stradolin experts think. Thanks for all advice received.

Regards.

[MikeEdgerton]

Nice catch. I had that exact same model without the points a while back (branded Orpheum as well). I use J-74's on mine with no problem, I don't think you'll have any problems with those strings. Make sure you post pictures on the Strad-O-Lin Social Group. Finding one with the matching tailpiece cover still on it is a real treasure.

[mandobassman]

It should easily handle the Thomastik mediums. Actually, it should easily handle the Thomastik heavy as well (assuming it is sound structurally). The TI flatwound strings are lighter in tension than comparable gauges of roundwound strings.

[DerTiefster]

I'm getting more familiar with one I just received a few weeks ago. Yours has what I think of as a more modern bridge, fully compensated. My Strad and the matching Orpheum 2ptrs have the straight (uncompensated) bridge. Your Orpheum is in absolutely great-looking shape. Its f-hole geometry matches that of mine, but yours shows much less wear. I'd be curious abuot the case details if you received one with the mandolin. I am puzzling over date of manufacture and I suspect the case carries some of the details but isn't telling them clearly. There are various catalog pages which have been posted on the cafe but without clearly attached sources/dates. It appears that A-body mandolins like these were being marketed in the 50s. I still have seen no such catalog pages posted with the 2-point mandos. I'm puzzled over these things. May stay that way.

Beautiful mandolin. I"ve enjoyed both FT74s and (I think) J74s. I'm sure the Thomastiks will do well, too, but it all depends upon your personal taste in tone. I'll mention that it's much cheaper to put J74s on first and then the TIs for the long haul than to put TIs on and take them off prematurely after only a year or two to try J74s....

[Ron McMillan]

Wow what a nice find, Mandrian. Did you turn that up in Scotland?

ron

[DerTiefster]

I meant to ask: is that the Orpheum that was on ebay UK some days ago? That one looked -very- nice, too. Hmmm. as I look back at it, it looks a -lot- like yours. I could believe 40s.... Makes you wish some of these old things could tell you their stories from past decades.

[mandrian]

Hi,

Yes, I did buy it on EBay UK from a seller in England. It came with what was described as the original case. It is black chipboard case that has an old sticker on it for City Music Centre, Union, New Jersey. Very basic old case with not a lot of protection, but nice looking case anyway. The case also contained what was described as the original bridge. This is an adjustable bridge and might be rosewood?

I am very happy with the tone, playability and looks of the mandolin. The only downside so far are the tuners which although the work well enough in terms of holding key, are hard work to turn. They look in good shape and have a whiff of oil about them, so look to have been attended to recently, but I'll service them when I next change the strings. They have no bushings that might be a factor?

Regards

[Givson]

Very nice mandolin. I have owned four Strad-O-Lins. They tend to be lightly built and responsive. Being as they have no truss rod, I would not recommend J74s, which have a .040 G string. My Strads sound plenty loud with D'Addario J62 strings, which go from .010 to.034. I do not believe the compensated bridge is original to the instrument. Enjoy your new friend!

[DerTiefster]

Interesting... History still lives, at least a little.
http://www.citymusiccenter.com/
You know, they -might- be appreciative if you were to send them a note, possibly with a photo of your case sticker, telling them that they have had an impact (a little one, anyway) all the way across the Atlantic.

My Strad's bridge is shown here, dead straight and uncompensated. By the way, I -think- that I had the bridge reversed from its original configuration, resulting in a slight offset of the feet. Some other Strad photos I have seen -appear- to have the steep side of the bridge on the tailpiece side. I speculatively interpret this as an attempt to reduce the tendency of the bridge to tilt when bringing the strings up to tension. This is a guess only.

[bmac]

You are making some of us folks jealous. My two f hole Strads need a playmate. An Orpheum might be perfect.

[Ivyguitar]

D'Addario J67 Nickel Mandolin Strings

I've got a couple Orpheums and in fact have a twin sister to your mandolin. The nickel seems to last a lot longer and is a plus because string changes on Stradolins is a pain. Also they are a little mellower and the ladder braced instruments in general can get choked down by heavy strings.
You got a good one there, the 2 pointers have the most bark out of all the Stradolins I've played.

[mandrian]

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies. I finished up putting Thomastik Mediums on it and am happy with the result. As you say the tuners can be a bit stiff so I serviced them to get them working as best as they could and also fitted tuner ferrules. This served to make them a lot easier to use. That's also the benefit of the Thomastiks, I've got a few mandolins so the strings will probably last well over a year which ia always a big plus for me. Don't like changing strings!

Regards,