Expensive but totally worth it

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've used D'Addario ''Flat Top'' FT74's in the past & they were very nice strings indeed. However,other than feeling smoother under the fingers,they sounded exactly like J74's (now EJ74s),so i went back to those.
DR strings - Big Joe Vest was the first to mention them on here,& i eventually tried a set & they totally revolutionised the sound on my mandolin. Strong,powerful & long lasting. Coupled with the Primetone picks i now use,they were a real 'master blaster' of a string. I did try a set of J74's on my Lebedas & Weber mandolins & with the PT picks they seemed fine. A few days ago,i found a spare set of DR MD11's & decided to put them on the one mandolin that i own that really takes a bit of driving,my larger than standard Lebed "Special".
What a revelation !!. I'd totally forgotten just what a fantastic string the DR MD11's are. The volume & sheer 'punch' that i'd forgotten about is all there again. The mandolin sounded so good that i spent all day Tuesday playing the dickens out of it.
If my Ellis "A" style sounds as good with EJ74's on it (when i try them on it) as my Weber does,i'll go for EJ74's on the Weber & Ellis,but it has to be DR MD11's for the Lebeda - awesome strings !,
Ivan

[Jeff Mando]

Before I put the flatwounds on, I had read many, many posts here by members with TIs on many different kinds of mandolins (including many by members who insist that EFW74s are not at all the same as TIs). I had also played a friend's mandolin that had TIs on it (a Breedlove Crossover). I had watched this video comparison:



But now I actually know what they are like on my mandolin. The TIs do have many virtues: they tuned effortlessly; I basically brought them up to pitch while putting them on and hardly had to tune them after that. I have never had so little trouble getting the two strings in a course to get into and stay in unison, and they stayed in tune like no strings I have ever used. They feel amazing under my fingers, and improved the intonation all the way up the neck. They have a very pure tone, and the pick glides right through them. All good stuff. But the overall sound was not there for me, so I took them off and will pass them along to my friend who likes them.

So, next time I want to know something will I save the money and start a "should I put flatwounds on my Flatiron" type thread? I think not. I will continue to pay the "tuition."

I may be missing your original point, but in that video the TI's are the clear winner to my ears (and my computer's simple sound system). Are you saying the video made you want to try the TI's and then found they weren't to your liking for your particular mandolin?