You don't have to post questions directed only at me, lots of guys out here have 5 strings. Generally speaking, the thicker the string the higher the tension tuned to the same note for the same scale length. See my post above from May 14. If your E string is too tight and you're using a .011, try a .0105 or a .010.
If your C string is too loose, figure out what it is and go a little bigger. I think I have a .051 or a .052 on mine. Easiest to play in tune depends on how much you are bending the notes. Individual guitar strings are pretty cheap. Buy .048, .049, .050, .051, and .052, and try them. play single notes on the C string with a tuner and see if you can fret them true. Then try playing barre chords (2245x from low to high is a D chord) and see if you can play them in tune. Then try playing more complex chords (20023 is the classic G Chord with a D on the bottom) and really make sure that you are fretting the D cleanly.
You have to find your own trade-off. If you, for example, tried putting a string from an electric bass on your emando C string to make it less floppy, it would be so big that it would feel funny and respond differently to all the other strings. You have to find a string that is thick enough to create enough tension that you can fret it close to in tune, but that also responds and feels like your other strings. After you figure out what gauge you like, you still have to really work on fretting cleanly. You can push really hard on an 8 sting mando, and not play out of tune. You can push kind of hard on a 4 string mando, and still get away with it. You just can't get away with it on the low strings of a 5 string emandola-mandolin.
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Originally Posted by (johnrhaupert @ Aug. 08 2006, 14:42)
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