Which strings do ya prefer?

[tiltman]

I tried coated strings years ago - can't remember the brand - but did not care for the change in tone and volume.
I've used J74's on all of my mandolins for years...
But I just tried a set of Gibson Sam Bush Monels on my Gibson F5 - wow! what a change! louder and with an edgier, brighter bluegrass tone. I really like these strings.

Kirk

[NewKid]

Started with Thomastik Starks, then D'Addario EFW-74s, then EXP-74s, and now finally the EXP-74CMs with the thicker J75 A and E strings.

I like the sound and feel of these EXP74CMs on my Phoenix Bluegrass with a BlueChip TAD 50 primarily but with a Wegen Bluegrass 1.2 mm for added brightness and volume on fiddle tunes.

[Bob A]

GHS A250/270 for Gibson-style.
Dogal Calace RW92b or Lenzner Consort for bowlbacks. I forget who makes Lenzners now. The Lenzners are sweet bronze, Dogals bright. Dogal has added half-round strings to their line, but I haven't tried them. The round-wound are a bot toothy at first, but wear in after some use. They last nearly forever.

[Roger Moss]

EXP-74's

[MediumMando5722]

EXP75. I like thick strings on guitar, as well.

[Kalasinar]

I've been playing just under a year so far so i'm still getting to learn my preferences for strings. I've been using D'Addario EJ73s on my first mandolin and now on my Eastman MD504. Light strings have been kind to me, and I tend to throw the odd set of strings onto an Amazon purchase so i always have spare. Last time i did that, Amazon made the happy mistake of sending me a box of five sets of EJ73 strings... being an honest fool i contacted them about it, but they told me to keep them! I shared them out with my best friend for her mandolin.

I have some EJ62s to try next as well, and from the posts here i may try some others too.

[Shelagh Moore]

Quote Originally Posted by Richard Moore View Post
, D'Addario EFW 74 flatwounds on my National .
How do you like running the rez with flattwounds. I have been using John Pearse 80/20s on mine.

I've been using the flatwounds on my RM1 for a few years now. I think they warm and sweeten the sound a little more and remove any last hints of brashness, and still provide plenty of power (not that the National needs it). I always get favourable comment about the tone at sessions.

[Pasha Alden]

D'addario 74s, at present my mandolin is restrung with black diamond strings. These sound rather bright.

Prefer D'Addarios.

[Ed Goist]

...snip... Which strings do you use? And why?

GHS A260 phosphor bronze Bobby Osborne Signature strings (med light 11-38). Great tone, volume, feel, consistency, string life, and they provide equal string tension across the courses.

[Mark Gunter]

EXP74CM

http://daddario.com/DADProductDetail...d-bf9b0eb19dcd

Change them every few months, gtg.

I switched to these several months ago and very happy with these strings. Eastman 315 and Washburn 106SWK

[Buck]

I haven't found anything that I like better than GHS Doyle Lawson, LSB250 (11-16-26-40). They're plenty loud and I love the tone.

[Denny Gies]

Used to use the J74's but now prefer Elixir nano coated medium ones.

[Paul Merlo]

My 2010 Engleman topped Weber Yellowstone originally came with GHS A270's and I have tried just about everything out there and always came back to the A270s. The A270s are a little heavy on the bass side, but sounded good.

I've played GHS A270s on my Weber and really liked them too. I thought they had a big sound and seemed to last a long time. I switched to J74s once but went back to GHS. Right now I've got GHS LSB 250's, which are the same gauges as the A270 (11-16-26-40) but Silk & Bronze and play smoother for me because I (don't play bluegrass either and) tend to slide my fingers up and down along the strings. There's not as much of that scratch noise going on, which is nice.