Can this be strung with Daddario exp74cm's?

[Demetrius]

Greeting! I was wondering if this mandolin could be strung up with Daddario J74cm's
I know its a Jazz model but curious as to wether it can be achieved as your do it all mandolin...

http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...nix-jazz-model

D

[sblock]

Greeting! I was wondering if this mandolin could be strung up with Daddario J74cm's
I know its a Jazz model but curious as to wether it can be achieved as your do it all mandolin...

http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...nix-jazz-model

D

Your question is already answered on the website link you supplied, in my opinion. It says this:

"...and is intended expressly for use with Thomastik Heavy flatwound strings. "Heavy" is misleading here. All Thomastiks are lower in tension than most standard strings, and, like a jazz guitar flatwound string, are rounder-sounding, mellower and smoother as well. While you can string up the Jazz with round wound strings, it's sound and feel will change dramatically. For most people, the Phoenix Jazz-Thomastik synergy is undeniable."

Note the boldface. So yes, you should certainly be able to use J74cm's, but of course, these will sound different from Thomastiks.

As for some kind of "do it all" mandolin? Nah. I very much doubt that any such instrument exists. Different genres of music (jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass) tend to sound "better" (i.e., more traditional) with different timbres. You can certainly play Bach on an Gibson F5, and Chris Thile does an incredible job of that on his Loar, but it surely sounds rather different from, say, Caterina Lichtenberg playing Bach on her bowlback Calace. Compare Caterina's bowlback sound and her husband's (Mike Marshall) Loar sound, for example.

Something similar holds for Irish music. Many prefer an oval hole sound to an f-hole sound for that. But not all.

You can play just about anything you want on any kind of mandolin, so long as the notes are there on the fretboard. A "jazz" mandolin is not restricted to playing jazz, and an F5 is not restricted to bluegrass, and a bowlback is not restricted to classical, and a flattop is not restricted to folk.

Of course, whether you, Demetrius, would prefer the same mandolin sound for all kinds of music is entirely up to you, and your personal tonal preference! In that sense, practically ANY mandolin could be a "do it all mandolin" if you want it to be. And I suppose a case can be made that Chris Thile's Loar is (now) his "do it all mandolin", since he uses it for everything he plays these days. Actually, he owns two of these...

[Roger Moss]

I don't know about the strings but, oh my sweet Lord, what a beautiful mandolin...

[Demetrius]

Hey Sblock, I actually hadn't noticed that. Thank you for taking the time and chiming in...

Your question is already answered on the website link you supplied, in my opinion. It says this:

"...and is intended expressly for use with Thomastik Heavy flatwound strings. "Heavy" is misleading here. All Thomastiks are lower in tension than most standard strings, and, like a jazz guitar flatwound string, are rounder-sounding, mellower and smoother as well. While you can string up the Jazz with round wound strings, it's sound and feel will change dramatically. For most people, the Phoenix Jazz-Thomastik synergy is undeniable."

Note the boldface. So yes, you should certainly be able to use J74cm's, but of course, these will sound different from Thomastiks.

As for some kind of "do it all" mandolin? Nah. I very much doubt that any such instrument exists. Different genres of music (jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass) tend to sound "better" (i.e., more traditional) with different timbres. You can certainly play Bach on an Gibson F5, and Chris Thile does an incredible job of that on his Loar, but it surely sounds rather different from, say, Caterina Lichtenberg playing Bach on her bowlback Calace. Compare Caterina's bowlback sound and her husband's (Mike Marshall) Loar sound, for example.

Something similar holds for Irish music. Many prefer an oval hole sound to an f-hole sound for that. But not all.

You can play just about anything you want on any kind of mandolin, so long as the notes are there on the fretboard. A "jazz" mandolin is not restricted to playing jazz, and an F5 is not restricted to bluegrass, and a bowlback is not restricted to classical, and a flattop is not restricted to folk.

Of course, whether you, Demetrius, would prefer the same mandolin sound for all kinds of music is entirely up to you, and your personal tonal preference! In that sense, practically ANY mandolin could be a "do it all mandolin" if you want it to be. And I suppose a case can be made that Chris Thile's Loar is (now) his "do it all mandolin", since he uses it for everything he plays these days. Actually, he owns two of these...

- - - Updated - - -

Isn't it?

I don't know about the strings but, oh my sweet Lord, what a beautiful mandolin...

[Don Grieser]

Ask Jenny at Phoenix Mandolins. She's been great when I've had questions, and she can tell you more than any of us.

[mee]

Wow that is a gorgeous mandolin! I would stick with the recommended strings and learn to play Jazz!

[Michael Neverisky]

I was in Boston a short while back and played this mandolin and several others on a visit to TME. The Phoenix was the most unique experience from this player's perspective. My impression was that the instrument was setup carefully to perform well with the TIs. It was ready to go, unlike the Collings, Pava, Northfield, etc. that all needed minor setup tweaks for me.

I enjoyed playing Bach and jazz chord-melody on the Phoenix. I felt that fiddle tunes were presented better on other mandolins. YMMV.

If the instrument were mine, I would enjoy it for what it is and save the round wound PB strings for my other mandolin... which does sport EXP74CM strings. I think they're fabulous.

[Jenny]

Thanks for your questions.

I would not recommend EXP74CMs for the Jazz. The string slots are cut for 0.011 to 0.039, EXP74CMs are 0.0115 to 0.040, there is some wiggle room, but the strings may pinch.

The Jazz (and the Neoclassical) have have a unique tonebar pattern that was designed with Thomastiks in mind. It did not perform as well with standard bronze round wound strings. The graduations of the top are also thinner.

As has been said, any style can be played on any mandolin, the Jazz was designed to be a more specialized instrument. The Phoenix Select is more of an all purpose instrument.

[Demetrius]

Thank you Jenny! That answers it perfectly...

Dem