My thoughts on FW-74's

[Willie Poole]

Dave... you are right I didn`t do my homework , thats why I asked if they were the same....I didn`t know the difference because I have never looked into D

[Crabgrass]

I liked the FW74's MUCH better than the JM-11's....but they just aren't as good as the TI's IMO....a little too stiff and too bright for my tastes...went back to using TI's on my Phoenix.....YMMV.

Uh oh. "Stiff" is not good; I was looking for a "soft" string. Looks like I'll be doing an exchange as soon as they arrive from Elderly....bummer.

[Dave Weiss]

Willie, sorry if I came across as being rude. I guess I just assume that everyone is as anal as I am about their purchases .
Crabgrass, you should try the FW-74's. They didn't work out on the M-0 (jazzmando's for that one), but sound great on the MW. They are a little stiffer than the jazzers, but very smooth and comfortable. The TI's sounded ok on the M-0. I've tried TI's on both and they sounded ok, but I broke a string on each set and can't afford that. In both cases I had overtightened the strings and broke the loops...

[Willie Poole]

No hard feelings Dave, my computer for some reason posted my last post before I wanted it to...I was saying that I have never really used any D`Addario strings so I never had the chance to compare the different names and styles they have...I usually use GHS strings but have been reading about the flat wounds and will try some soon, many years ago I did try one set, don`t know what brand , and they went dead after a recording session of 15 songs....

[mandobassman]

Willie, sorry if I came across as being rude. I guess I just assume that everyone is as anal as I am about their purchases .
Crabgrass, you should try the FW-74's. They didn't work out on the M-0 (jazzmando's for that one), but sound great on the MW. They are a little stiffer than the jazzers, but very smooth and comfortable. The TI's sounded ok on the M-0. I've tried TI's on both and they sounded ok, but I broke a string on each set and can't afford that. In both cases I had overtightened the strings and broke the loops...

I'm always interested when I hear of someone who had a problem with TI strings breaking. Prior to my switching to the FW-74's I have used TI's for 14 years and have never broken even one string. I tried a couple of sets of JM-11's when they first came out and broke two of those, I tried a set of flatwound Fisoma strings and broke two of the first and only set I used. But I have never,ever broken any of the TI's (and they were usually on the mandolin for 9-10 months on average). I always thought of them as one of the most durable strings available. Did yours break while playing or re-stringing? How long had they been on? Just curious!

[Dave Weiss]

I broke both while tuning. The first was buzzing badly and I was making adjustments without loosening the strings and popped it. The second popped while I was tuning. Nothing I hadn't done before. I'd never had strings pop like that before, it was probably my fault and I'm not faulting the strings at all, but... at forty bucks a pop, I'll stick with the less expensive alternatives.

[mandobassman]

I used the FW-74's for a second show Saturday night. We played for a large wedding reception in an enormous hall with concrete floors. The sound was difficult and I had to play rather hard. I was really impressed with the strings. I had tuning issues the first live show I played with them and now I'm convinced it was because they were still somewhat new. I had none of those issues this time and the strings sounded great. The chop on my mandolin never sounded better. Great job D'Addario and great job to Ted Eschliman as well.

[terzinator]

The d'Addario ad copy says the FW's were created for jazz, Celtic, folk, etc... But you say your chop sounded great... Anyone try these in a bluegrass setting?

[mandobassman]

I think the FW-74's were created with primarily the jazz, Celtic, and folk players being the target buyers because they are usually the main users of flatwound strings. I think an overwhelming percentage of bluegrass players use some sort of bronze roundwound string. There is a small percentage of bluegrass mandolinists that use flatwound strings. I know a few and many use of them Thomastik, mainly because that has been the most widely known flatwound string. What Ted Eschliman has tried to do is bring the flatwound string to a wider audience by helping produce and promote a flatwound string that is significantly cheaper than Thomastik. As far as flatwounds being used in bluegrass, you don't have to go any further than David Peters' "Art In America" to hear some really excellent bluegrass playing using flatwound strings. David used Thomastik strings and was the reason I started using them myself. I play nothing but bluegrass and have used flatwound strings for going on 15 years now. How well they work in a bluegrass setting all depends on your mandolin, playing style, and the volume of the other players around you. You generally do lose a little volume with flatwound strings, but I have found the difference is very minimal with the D'Addario's. These strings are much closer in tone to a typical roundwound string. Maybe not bronze, but perhaps the GHS Silk and Steel. I have a pretty loud mandolin, play pretty hard, and my band doesn't beat their instruments, so I don't have any problem being heard. To summerize, while I think the jazz and Celtic market will be D'Addario's main customers for these strings, there's no reason why they can't be used for bluegrass. Try 'em, you just might like what you hear. I have used Thomastik for 14 years and I am really liking these FW-74 strings a lot. I just used them for my 3rd live show last night and I am still mighty impressed.

[Tavy]

Quick update from me:

I've used these strings twice in (unamplified) pub sessions now, and while I had to play pretty hard to be heard, I thought the strings held up very well. Indeed in the second session I was playing (unamplified) alongside an amplified acoustic guitar, and still managed to be heard very well. So job done D'Addario I'd say....

[Perry Babasin]

So my experience with EXP-74's is that they are very bright and brassy when you first put them on but after a bit of playing, the next day they settle in to a great sound that lasts until they go absolutely dead, (time to change).

How do the FW-74's compare? I see a lot of people commenting that they are bright, maybe too bright. Do they calm down and settle into a groove, given a little playing time... or???

[mandobassman]

They're certainly not as bright as EXP-74's. They're slightly brighter than most other flatwound strings. Maybe that is what people are referring to. But flatwound strings are generally warmer than most any roundwound string. The thing about flatwound strings in my experience, is that it may take as much as a week for them to settle down, but once they do the tone remains the same for a VERY long time. They never go completely dead as roundwound strings do. I leave mine on the mandolin for as much as a year before I replace them, and that's only because the under side of the windings start to wear from the frets and causes tuning and intonation issues. But they never go dead.
The main reason I use flatwound strings is because I can't stand the metallic brightness of bronze.

[John Hill]

Could anyone post a vid of them for a demonstration?

[mandobassman]

I would love to do that, only I don't have any video capability.

[Tavy]

Could anyone post a vid of them for a demonstration?

I'm sure whether it would tell you more about the strings or the instrument.... anyhow not a video but a sound clip of one I've just strung up in the white... brand new FW74's on an instrument that's never had strings on before, and probably doesn't have the components tuned quite right yet... not sure what you can tell from that, but here goes anyway:

first stringing.mp3

[DerTiefster]

Now that's real pretty, Tavy. I have a set of the FW74s at home and I may just have been persuaded that one of the instruments there is now in need of new strings. I hadn't even guessed that until a few minutes ago.

Thanks for the clip. Was that a mandola? I don't have perfect pitch, but the bass notes seemed to be lower than the G of a mandolin.

[Tavy]

Now that's real pretty, Tavy. I have a set of the FW74s at home and I may just have been persuaded that one of the instruments there is now in need of new strings. I hadn't even guessed that until a few minutes ago.

Thanks for the clip. Was that a mandola? I don't have perfect pitch, but the bass notes seemed to be lower than the G of a mandolin.

Thankyou Michael, no not a mandola, just a straight GDAE mandolin. However, one of the components not yet tuned right is the body-air-resonance (helmholtz) which is resonating on the bottom G or just below (so nice and thick sounding there) but leaving everything from middle C to the E above just a touch weak in comparison.... so I need to push that resonance up and pull the back's resonances down to fill in that gap a touch. Hope that makes sense, John.

[Eddie Sheehy]

Sounds like it needs a Helmholtz Maneuver...

[Tavy]

Sounds like it needs a Helmholtz Maneuver...

Yep, just got to bash a bigger hole in the thing

[Douglas McMullin]

Used to be a TI fan, but ditched them because of cost. I also did try a couple of sets of JM11's as alternatives with no success. Just ordered a couple of sets of FW-74's and I have high hopes after reading this thread.

[mandobassman]

Douglass,

I have used the TI's for a very long time and swore I'd never use anything else, but these D'Addario's are nice. My only issue with them is keeping them in tune. It is not a huge problem, but I never had any tuning issues with the TI's. I feel certain it is the lack of the silk winding at the end of the string. They are still wonderful strings. They are a bit heavier than the TI's and provide a little more volume and punch.

[Douglas McMullin]

mandobassman,

Thanks for those thoughts. It sure sounds like I will like these and now I can't wait for them to arrive. Will report back once I test drive.

[terzinator]

For those of you who switched to FW74's from J74's, was there much of a setup issue? Looks like the G is .036w, and on the J74s it's a .040w... did it sit too low in the nut slot? Ya get any buzzing?

(the D-A-E strings appear to be the same gauge/size/diameter...)

[mandobassman]

For those of you who switched to FW74's from J74's, was there much of a setup issue? Looks like the G is .036w, and on the J74s it's a .040w... did it sit too low in the nut slot? Ya get any buzzing?

(the D-A-E strings appear to be the same gauge/size/diameter...)

I did my switch from Thomastik flatwounds, so my change was actually to a slightly heavier G string. My biggest concern was going from a wound A string to a plain steel. I haven't had any problems with either.

[i-vibe]

went from J74's (and similar RW's) to FW74's on my EPI BG440....no problems at the nut or bridge.