Help me understand the effects of different string types

[DocT]

Hi folks, please help me to understand how different string types will affect the sound of my Loar LM-370.

For one example, what will silk and bronze GHS regular strings do to the sound and compare that to D'Addario medium phosphor bronze strings.

My mandolin sounds okay, but it could be better. It still has the unknown factory strings on it. Being new, I really do not know about all this.

[foldedpath]

I use GHS Silk and Bronze mediums as my preferred strings for a few years now, with past experience with D'Addario strings of various types, Thomastik flatwounds, etc.

They won't necessarily make your mandolin sound better, but they'll make it sound different, and only you will know if you like them.

I like the Silk and Bronze set because they're a little less brittle sounding than D'Addario J74's on the wound strings, a little "warmer" for lack of a better word, while still being bright enough to cut through other instruments in a jam. The other thing I like is that the A strings are .016 gauge compared to .015 with J74's, which I think helps with tuning stability, and it's a more even tension with the other strings. I will never understand why D'Addario drops the tension on the A strings compared to the other strings.

Can't say much about how long they last, because I change strings every 3-4 weeks before the intonation goes out, and I need them to stay bright enough to be heard against fiddles and pipes in Irish/Scottish trad sessions.

This is just my take on it, with my mandolin, my technique, and the style of music I play. Strings are cheap! Try 'em all, and find the ones that work best for you and the music you're playing.

[Br1ck]

If you think your mandolin sounds bright and thin, silk and steel or silk and bronze should warm it up some. Experiment with picks too. I'm thinking any new quality string will be an improvement.

[Ivan Kelsall]

DocT - The real & truthful answer to your question is that none of us know !. To some extent,all mandolins,even from the same maker & being the same model are different in one way or another. The only thing that you can do to find out,is to try as many string brands & gauges as you feel you want to,& judge the sound then. I have 3 mandolins,& i've tried similar strings on all 3.Believe me,it's an eye (ear ?) opener, when you hear strings that sound terrific on one mandolin,sound ''not very good'' on another !. My Ellis sounds superb with GHS A270's on it,but put the same set on my Weber & the sound isn't what i want to hear - EJ74's sound great on that one.

Also,try as many different picks as you can. Somewhere along the line,you'll find a ''string brand/gauge & pick combo.'' that you'll really like,
Ivan

[Mandoplumb]

Ivan is 100% correct. In musical instrument, we come up with all these things that do this and that then someone does the
"wrong" thing and it comes out right. The only way to know, exspecily in strings and picks is to try and try until you get what you want, as Ivan said.

[pops1]

Silk and steel will be less tension and much warmer than silk and bronze. The silk and bronze have nearly the same tension as phosphor bronze, but as folded path says they are a little warmer. I used silk and bronze for a long time, but have gone to pure nickel from GHS. You will get lots of different opinions, but your mandolin and your ears will dictate the strings you will like. Try a bunch and see what sounds best for you.

[DocT]

Thanks folks! The mandolin is a mysterious instrument that all enjoy and no one understands, apparently.

I am using a primetone 1.3 pick but the strings are a unknown factory strings. To my ears, the G string could be a little brighter and the A and E strings could be a little warmer.

[pops1]

Factory stings are notoriously bad on a lot of mandolins. I would change them to any good known string to start getting a feeling for what it sounds like.

[Br1ck]

It's helpful to think of mandolin as a system of interacting parts. Starts with the hands, through the pick and strings, which work through the bridge to the top. Any one will react differently to change. Your job is to try different things to find the best combination for you. Of all the above, the most drastic change by far was getting my hand grip loose, followed by good bridge contact. Pick and strings came after that.

I'll amend the above. The top, i.e. A fine instrument, is top of the heap.

[onassis]

The simple answer is - try a bunch of different ones, and see what sticks. Experimenting with strings and picks is one of the cheaper musical endeavors (at least until you get to Thomastiks and Blue Chips At a average of $5-$10 a set, most people can afford to try out different brands, gauges and styles.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From DocT - "..I am using a primetone 1.3 pick ..." That was the first thickness of Primetone that i started with. I use the 'teardrop' shaped ones because i like more of a 'point' on my picks.That gives me a brighter tone,something that maybe my 73 (soon to be 74) year old ears might require. I bought the exact same PT pick,but went up to 1.5mm in thickness,& it did give me a bit more volume. I then went to the 2.00mm PTs,yes,again,i got a bit more volume,but the clarity took a nose dive. The thicker pick slid over the strings instead of 'pushing' them.

I found the 1.3mm pick a a bit on the 'thin' side tonally,so the 1.5mm are what i settled on. They seem fine on all 3 of my very different mandolins,using D'Addario EJ74s (Weber) / GHS A270s (Ellis) & DR MD11s (Lebeda).

I have both the 'grippy' ones & the 'smooth' ones.The smooth ones are a tad softer in tone,but still good.However,i prefer the grippy ones overall.
Ivan

[stevedenver]

The simple answer is - try a bunch of different ones, and see what sticks. Experimenting with strings and picks is one of the cheaper musical endeavors (at least until you get to Thomastiks and Blue Chips At a average of $5-$10 a set, most people can afford to try out different brands, gauges and styles.

This!

Buy several types, brands, gauges, materials monel 80/20’ phosphor bronze, and, flatwounds.

Change your strings every couple of weeks. Then youllknow what pleases your ear.

[Rodney Riley]

Or get your name on the pick sampler that is going around. Then all it will cost you is postage to send them on. Do a search here for the sampler posts. Haven’t seen it in awhile, think they might have 2 batches going around.

[Rodney Riley]

Found it. https://mandolincafe.com/forum/threa...t=Pick+sampler

[foldedpath]

Change your strings every couple of weeks. Then youllknow what pleases your ear.

This is important advice. Many players let their strings go dead before changing, either for financial reasons or just because it's a PITA to change strings. You can't do that when testing different strings to see what you like best, because every new packet of strings will sound awesome compared to the dead ones!


As it is, it's difficult to hear how one string brand or option sounds compared to the last one, because the new set will always be a little too bright in the first few days, and the tuning will be wonky until they settle down. What you need to hear is how strings compare after the initial break-in period, and during the month or so of "plateau" performance and best tone before they start losing intonation, and sounding increasingly dull.

At any rate, don't wait until they're actually dull before trying a new and different set, because you need to remember what the previous strings were like during the period of best tone.

Of course, sometimes a new set of strings you're testing may sound so bad, right away, that you rip 'em off the mandolin and immediately jump to the next set. I've done that a few times. Once was with the older version of D'Addario flatwounds. I was used to Thomastik Infeld flatwounds as a reference, and those sounded horrible by comparison. Another time was with some brand I can't remember that had gold-plated plain strings; theoretically resistant to corrosion, but they sounded dull as dishwater. Sometimes you can hear right away that it isn't working.

[DocT]

I found out that my Loar came from the factory with D'Addario J74 strings.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From foldedpath - "...Sometimes you can hear right away that it isn't working. ". Ain't that the truth !!. A set of Black Diamond strings of the same gauges as EJ74's lasted about 15 minutes (max.) on my Weber. A Cafe member who doesn't post so much these days,also had a Weber "Fern" mandolin. He put some BD strings on it & reported that they sounded very nice - not on mine they didn't !.

DocT - As i hinted before - nobody can say what effect various string brands / gauges with have on YOUR mandolin. Even if you like the way it sounds now - do try a few different sets of strings & try a few different picks as well. DR MD11's did wonders for both my Weber & Lebeda mandolins. They sounded far more powerful than they ever did without loosing their individual 'tone' ('quality of sound'). Then i began using the Dunlop Primetone picks & discovered that they also made both mandolins sound even louder. Using the PT picks, i no longer need DRs on my Weber - EJ74s sound powerful enough,which they never did when i used the Wegen 'Bluegrass' picks.

'Trial & error' & hopefully,success, is all you can hope for - as in many other things !,
Ivan

[Phil Goodson]

Thing is that once you do all these things to figure out what sounds best,
next year you'll try something different (just for a lark), and find that your tastes have changed again!!!

[onassis]

Thing is that once you do all these things to figure out what sounds best,
next year you'll try something different (just for a lark), and find that your tastes have changed again!!!

Absolutely! I had finally settled on Monels or D'Addario NB's, then six months later decided to use one of my leftover sets of PB's. They sounded great! So I was changing again.

Now I have a new mando, so the process begins anew. Endless fun!