Re: Stupid string question
Well .... I have hated a set of strings so much when I put them on I immediately removed them. Maybe I missed a good set by lacking patience. Who knows. Keep us posted. R/
Re: Stupid string question
The G and D strings always sound "brassy" when I first put them on, but after six or seven hours of playing on them they mellow out to a good tone. Presently using D'Addario monels.
Re: Stupid string question
I played a really nice, well set up mandolin that had been strung with Stainless Steel D'Addarios. I didn't buy the mandolin (although I should have) but I did buy a set of the exact same strings. I went home re-strung my mandolin with the Stainless set and... it was soooo bad!!! I waited a day, like you. And, it was still really just the most awful thing. I wish I had the same experience as you :)
Re: Stupid string question
I switched from many years of using PB strings (J74 D'Addarios) first to monels then to D'Addario Nickel Bronze and never get that brash sound when I restring. I now use them on all my guitars and carved top mandolins. Still, if you like the sound of PBs they sound better after a day or so of playing.
Re: Stupid string question
Where do you buy your strings? Sometimes strings sit on a shelf for y e a r s, before they are sold. Phosphor Bronze seems to be most effected by oxidation.
Re: Stupid string question
I just restrung my oval hole with La Bella silvers yesterday, and I also hated them at first. I think they're starting to open up, so I can't really tell which way it's gonna go.
In my experience, I don't really know how strings are going to sound until I've been playing them for a week or two.
Re: Stupid string question
Quote:
Originally Posted by
standing.wav
In my experience, I don't really know how strings are going to sound until I've been playing them for a week or two.
Yea, at least a week. Sometimes what you discover is that after a week they sound just like the day you put them on, but more likely not.
Re: Stupid string question
I had the reverse experience (on my beautiful guitar). I put on new strings on the evening before a show. I played the guitar for about two songs on the show. I met up with people after the show in their home for a coffe and a little jam. I took out the guitar, wating to play it and found out that the strings were deader than a door nail. Talk about intensity. It took me two songs to kill a perfect set of strings. That makes me better than David Grisman right (whose strings last for one show and who puts new strings on his mandolin before the show).
Other than that I am a person of limited tastes. I found out what I like in strings long years ago and I am not willing to try out anything new except out of necessity.
Re: Stupid string question
Yes, always true, at least with PB strings on acoustic instruments.
I put them on, stretching them 3x as I replace each string, getting everything up to pitch and then put it away in the case until the next day. Always change strings at least a day ahead of when you need the instrument fro a performance.
Re: Stupid string question
Curt Mangan strings sound great from the moment I put them on ! Stretch some first day but after that very little stretching !
Re: Stupid string question
Quote:
Originally Posted by
yankees1
Curt Mangan strings sound great from the moment I put them on ! Stretch some first day but after that very little stretching !
+1 on the Curt Mangan strings. I find them to have excellent quality and consistency, great sound (particularly the Monels which I really like) and they last a long time too. And they're not overpriced, AND a member on here (not me) has posted a nice discount code for the CM website at least a couple times. Hard to find anything wrong with that.
Enjoy!
Re: Stupid string question
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Heady
I know new strings stretch and sometimes it takes a day or two to stay in tune, but is it common for strings to... idk how to say it but like stretch into their tone?
I put these new strings on last Thursday and HATED them and IMMEDIATELY went online and ordered a new set.
By Friday night I LOVED them.
They were DEAD - you could not hear a thing - it sounded like I was inside a fort made of mattresses - DEAD - no charm - no volume - just total crap.
By Friday they were my new favorites.
Is this normal?
Were they a different gauge or material? Sometimes I feel my mando needs time to acclimate to the different tensions of different sets of strings. Even when the same gauges are used different materials can have different string tensions (eg. PB vs Monel)
