String journey on a Collings MT

[Caleb]

I've got a nice pile of strings here with the BOGO that Strings and Beyond has been doing all month: enough in fact to get me through all of 2016.

Update on the CURT MANGAN meds. These have been on for a while now. They feel great under the fingers, even a big lighter than standard meds for some reason.

Man, they are bright! I had to get out my Wegen to darken things up a bit. If you need a volume boost, consider these Mangans. My MT is already loud and is really a bit too loud with these on. I was going to take them of last night for the heck of it and get the EXP74s on, but the Mangans show ZERO signs of wear and I just hate being needlessly wasteful.

The Mangans are great strings. I recommend at least trying them.

[pops1]

I have GHS white bronze on my mandolin to brighten it up, wound strings only, are the Mangan's bright on the wound or on all the strings? You have to order guitar singles and take the ball of the end to make it work for mandolin for the white bronze, they are a nice string tho and I wish GHS would make them in loop end.

I am editing this to say the white bronze are not as bright as phosphor bronze, but they hold their sound much longer and don't go dead as fast, not that they are brighter at the start.

[Caleb]

Mangans seems bright overall, but particularly on the wound strings. And an overall volume boost is there too.

[lflngpicker]

Mangans seems bright overall, but particularly on the wound strings. And an overall volume boost is there too.

Hey Caleb, Glad to hear about your string journey and the results it has brought. I am in wait for my new Collings MT GT and I will keep these Mangans in mind. Keep us posted.

[DougC]

I have those on my Lyon and Healy. It is a very "classical" sound to my ears. For that instrument they are really great. They are not very bluegrassy. The other thing is they seem to last for ever.

There are two types it seems, bluegrass strings and classical / jazz strings. I use D'Addario EFW74 when I can't afford the Thomastics. And does anyone know if the Jazz Mandolin JM11 strings are now a LaBella model?

It seems that for bluegrass the D'Addario J74 and Curt Mangan bluegrass strings and GHS are tops. And then there are Straight Up strings and Dr strings and ...

[Caleb]

Hey Caleb, Glad to hear about your string journey and the results it has brought. I am in wait for my new Collings MT GT and I will keep these Mangans in mind. Keep us posted.

Wow, I'd love to hear about your incoming Collings.

[lflngpicker]

I'll keep you posted, Caleb. Thanks for your support!

[Caleb]

The string journey continues...

Last night my curiosity got the better of me, so off went the Curt Mangans and on went the D'Addario EXP74s. The Mangans were bright and jangly, and the EXPs are warmer and darker. I think they sound better on my mandolin, but that is my preference. My MT is still very green and at this point favors a string that darkens up the tone and pulls out more of the sound of the wood. With the Mangans I felt like I was hearing more string than wood.

The EXPs feel stiffer (as did the set of plain J74s that the instrument came strung with). I don't understand this at all since most "med" gauge strings are pretty much the same dimensions, or maybe I'm off on that? The EXPs feel great under the fingers, as far as touch goes, but make playing a little harder. I think the best "feeling" strings so far have been the GHS Osbornes since they are sort of a light-med gauge.

I have some Elixir meds that I'll prob try next. I'll likely play the EXPs through the Holidays and end up taking them off way before I need to (like I did the Mangans) simply to get to the Elixirs. I'll allow myself to be a bit wasteful since it's Christmas. In the words of Bob Cratchit to Scrooge: "It's only once a year, sir..."

[sturob]

I went nuts yesterday and put Thomastik-Infeld "strong" mando strings on my MT. I got all crazy. I actually really like Mangan strings for everything, but thought it might be fun to put on the TIs.

Very different, but man, such a nice feel. It's like all the edges of everything have been smoothed off. Kinda fun.

Stuart

[lflngpicker]

Great tips, guys. I appreciate you letting us know how these various strings are working on MTs. I am going to see mine in the next 24 hours. Can't wait.

[kenny boy]

CALEB . When you try the Elixirs give them a few days to clam down . I'VE used them on 4 mando's in the past & like them a lot thinking about trying the mt also. thanks aka

[Caleb]

EXPs have been on a few days. WOW - seriously nice strings. Big beefy sound and plenty of volume. I guess I was expecting them to be sort of muffled due to the coating: not the case at all.

[FrDNicholas]

Do EXPs come in different brands, or is that the brand name for them? Also, does that type of string come in different gauges? I use D'Addario J75s. What would be the equivalent strings in the coated strings?

[Caleb]

Daniel, EXPs are D'Addario's coated string. EXP74 = a coated J74; EXP75 = a coated J75.

[FrDNicholas]

Thank you. Do other brands make coated strings?

[Caleb]

Elixir, I believe was/is the original. DR has their Dragon Skins (never used them), and D'Addario. There may be others that I'm unaware of.

[pops1]

I think there are more coated strings for a guitar than the mandolin.

[Gary Leonard]

Caleb, if you like the EXP74s, you should try the EXP74CM next. 11.5, 16 vs 11 and 15 on the E and A strings.

Stuart, glad you like the TIs, I went with them a while back on my MT, and I will stay with them for ever. I liked them so much on the MT, I put the TIs on my Bitterroot F. I did this purely for the playability of the strings, as I pick the Bitterroot for practice more often than the MT. I have since changed the TIs for EXP74s on the Bitterroot, so I have a more varied sound. Bluegrass, fiddle tunes on the Bitterroot w/ phosphor bronze, and the MT with Thomastiks for celtic, choro and anything else.

[Caleb]

So the EXPCM is slightly heavier? The benefit being slightly beefier sound with about the same playability?

[Gary Leonard]

Yep, I guess that is the goal of the set. I just put the EXP74s on, and will probably replace them in the next month with EXP74CM set. I should be in a much better position to appreciate the EXP74CM set, as I had about 6 months of mandolin behind me when I tried them last year. The extra 2-3 lbs of tension on the CMs was noticeable on my weak and newly callused fingers.

[DougC]

I had this dream the other night that may help in understanding string pressure on instruments. It began as I was laying on the floor bouncing a baby on my stomach. We were having a great time when her older sister, about 1 1/2 years old wanted to do this." OK I said", and we bounced on my stomach. Then her brother, a four year old and my favorite nephew, wanted the same. "Well, O.K. but It won't be easy"... Light gauge, medium gauge and heavy gauge.

[lflngpicker]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have had my MT for a couple of weeks now. It came new with j74's and it plays great. I do like the comfortable feeling of the EXP version, so I will put those on next. I use them on my guitars, regularly. Keep us posted, Caleb.

[Caleb]

Dan, I'd love to hear more about your MT. I love mine and have had it for exactly a year now. I think it sounds better now than when I first got it, but it's still a newborn. I'm looking forward to seeing what the years do to it, and me!

I've had the EXPs on for a while now. I'd say they are just a great overall string. They show absolutely zero signs of wear and do seem to mellow out just a bit after a couple weeks. They weren't overly brassy when new, but did have a pretty nice zing, at least on my mandolin.

[lflngpicker]

Hi Caleb, I do really enjoy playing it. The tone is a different animal than the F-9 I traded for it, but it is a better built, more consistently playing instrument. I found the action a bit high, considering it was a new mandolin. I carefully adjusted the bridge height until the action was lower and yet not buzzing. It is just right now and stayed in perfect intonation fretted to match the open strings at the 12th fret. I love the feel of it in my hands, and as Mark Wilson says, the smell out of the case is something to behold! You made a good choice on those strings, bro! Let's keep comparing notes.

[Caleb]

EXP74s have been on my MT almost a month. They have settled down into a really nice sound: sort of a neutral, balanced sound across the spectrum that very much allows the sound of the wood itself to shine through. I've been using a white Wegen with them and it's quite a combination on this particular instrument. I'm very pleased and think I'll just see just how long these last. I'm itching to try the Elixirs I have in the queue, but will try and make myself wait.