Steel Strings

[yankees1]

Since the E and A strings are steel , is there really any difference in sound or quality of strings from companies that make steel strings ? I would think that steel is steel and there couldn't be much if any difference.

[George R. Lane]

I think the only difference would be in the size of the string.

[Pete Martin]

I cant tell the difference if the guage is the same...

[Dave Sheets]

Well, steel is an alloy, so there are different types of steels, and there are also variety of treatments that can be applied to steel.

But I don't notice much difference in "plain steel" strings on guitars or mandolins, other than gauge, among makers. On fiddles, it's a different story, all the "steel" e strings sound different.

[Ivan Kelsall]

It's very likely that all string makers use steel wire from the same companies. That wire will be of a certain quality regarding it's mechanical structure, & wire from one Co. or another should be very similar. I can tell the difference only because of the mandolin i put them on. GHS A270 A's & E's sound terrific on my Ellis "A" style,but they cut like hades on my Weber - way too bright & hard,
Ivan

[Phil Goodson]

So what do you use on your Weber, Ivan?

[Billy Packard]

In a conversation I had with a tech at Mapes I was told there won't be a difference between one unwrapped string and the next except for diameter.

Billy

[Willie Poole]

I wonder how accurate the measurement is when they say a string is .016 or ,011 of an inch, I have read on here where some folks have miced some strings and found that they weren`t the size that was stated on the package...If that is the case then of course they would not sound the same...I have replaced one string at times when I broke one during a show and it was the same gauge as what broke but it sounded different, that could be due to the strings on the mandolin being some what older than the replacement string...I find the best way is to tune them so they sound (Intonate) correctly at the 5th fret and that us usually good enough for the whole fret board...MANDOLINS ARE NOT PERFECT WHEN IT COME TO TUNING THE A STRINGS...

Willie

[Billy Packard]

Hey Willie,
A while back I did a bunch of measuring with a Starrett micrometer and found lots of inconsistencies in wound strings (DR brand) but not in the plain wire strings, they were consistent as marked.

The plain wire string that has been played a lot is definitely sound different than a fresh one. The strings get bent over the frets with usage which changes the sound and harmonics.

About the frets, Bruce Weber replaced the frets in December of 2012 with stainless steel frets and all these 5+ years later they show NO wear. And I play this Fern daily.

Billy

[Ivan Kelsall]

Phil - I used to use DR MD11's on it. That was the first mandolin that i put DR's on & it sounded hugely powerful,much better than the J74's i used to use. However - since i started using the Dunlop Primetone 1.5mm Teardrop shaped picks,EJ74's (as they are now),sound terrific. I use DR MD11's on my Lebeda - it needs them + the Primetone pick. I put a set of MD11's on my Ellis "A" style when i first got it & it sounded great. I changed over to GHS A270's on it because they're Tom Ellis's ''go-to'' strings. The problem with the A270's is that i have to buy them from Germany with the additional large postage cost. I'm going back to try a set of DR's on the Ellis again,& if it sounds ok,i'll stick with them as i can buy them easily in the UK.

With regard to the 'sound' of strings - IMHO,it depends to some extent what mandolin you fit them to. A270's as Willie knows,have .016" A strings,EJ74's have .015 A strings.
EJ74 A strings sound fine on my Weber,the A270 A strings sound hard & 'glassy' on it.
They simply don't suit that mandolin,
Ivan

[Willie Poole]

I own four playable mandolins and in order to find which strings and which pics sound best for each one has been a lot of work but I do believe I have it figured out....One other thing is if you are playing in a band you can tweak the sound system to get the sound that you like, sure it takes a few minutes but to me it is worth the time to try and make your instrument sound as good as it can be...Sitting around at home and playing or practicing doesn`t have to be as great as when you are performing on stage, that's why I always said that a soundman can make you or break you...If you just play mostly at jam sessions then I guess a good sounding mandolin will set you apart from the other not so good mandolins...It is up to each of us to figure out which way we want it...I hear recordings that have a great sounding mandolin and then when I see those same mandolins in person they don`t sound the same...I chased down a player at one festival just see what he was playing because it sounded so great and he said it was for sale so he took it our and we both played a few tunes on it and it wasn`t any where near what it sounded like coming through the real good sound system that they were using at that festival...I know I was guilty of constantly trying to get my mandolins to sound better but I don`t do it as much as I used to since we do record every show we do and I find that it sounds pretty much the same on all of the shows because I set the sound equipment to where I like it, different establishments have different acoustics so it is something I have to do at each place we play...That don`t mean that we shouldn`t try different pics and strings to see what is out there and what suits each instrument, it just takes a lot of time to do it with everything that is available now days, it was easy when all we had was Black Diamond strings and Fender pics..

Willie

[Pete Martin]

it was easy when all we had was Black Diamond strings and Fender pics..

Willie

Ah, the goodle days (as John Hartford said).

[mandroid]

I think Mapes is the common Source for the US, the winding machine operations are what individual companies do.