Anyone know of any nickel-free mando strings?

Hey all, so I'm looking for any mandolin string suggestions that don't contain nickel, I'm allergic to nickel so my string choices are pretty limited. I use Elixer PBs on my guitars and I'm normally pretty happy with them on most guitars, but their mandolin strings don't sound too good to me. I just bought a 1999 Flatiron Festival F that had a new set of D'Addario strings in the case, and since I didn't have any Elixirs on hand I put them on the mandolin. WOW! The difference between it and my other mandolins strung with Elixir is no contest! I kinda always knew when I first put the Elixirs on my new mandolin I lost some tone, but now I see how much I actually lost! So I need to find some good sounding (for bluegrass style) strings that contain no nickel. Any suggestions welcome,

If you like the sound of the D'Addario strings then why not use those? There are lots of phosphor bronze strings and AFAIK they never contain nickel. All the major stringmakers have PB strings.

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Originally Posted by Jim Garber

If you like the sound of the D'Addario strings then why not use those? There are lots of phosphor bronze strings and AFAIK they never contain nickel. All the major stringmakers have PB strings.

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The problem isn't with the wound PB strings, its the High E and A strings that are pure nickel that break me out, otherwise I would use those. Even the frets on mandolin break me out, moreso than on guitar, which I think is because with the frets being so close together I touch them more than I do on guitar (which is why my main mandolin has stainless steel frets).

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I believe the plain D'Addario strings are steel. They sell separate packs of pure nickel strings. You can certainly check their website.

Mapes has stainless steel strings. I realize that some stainless has nickel, it's usually less than 1%. They might be able to tell you about the composition.

In a quick search I see that Ernie Ball states on their site that their strings are nickel and cobalt free. And both Ernie Ball and Curt Mangan state that their plain strings which they use on all instruments are "tin plated high carbon steel."

If you like the way the D'Addario strings sound I would contact them and ask them what the composition of their PB strings—both the wrapped and plain—are. Their customer service I have found to be excellent. In fact most of the string companies will give you the info you need if you just ask. That would be your best bet. There is lots of knowledge here but the companies know what metals are in their strings.

GHS is the same with the plain strings, they are a quality carbon steel. I would assume like Ernie Ball they are tin plated