Who makes custom strings?

[mrmando]

Talked to someone today who says he has a 5-string mandobass with a low B, and he's having trouble finding a replacement low B string. Needs to be copper wound and is about 6 inches longer than any comparable bass string he can find.

So ... do you know anyone who makes custom strings?

[Dave Sheets]

Juststrings.com isn't a custom maker, but has a huge variety of strings, worth a look if you haven't already checked it.

[Phil Goodson]

Mapes might be able to help.

[Jacob Hagerty]

Talked to someone today who says he has a 5-string mandobass with a low B, and he's having trouble finding a replacement low B string. Needs to be copper wound and is about 6 inches longer than any comparable bass string he can find.

So ... do you know anyone who makes custom strings?

Curt Mangan. Cortez Colorado check out his website

[Ted Eschliman]

Of course the biggest problem is the need for mass market. I talked to D'Addario when I was working with them on some custom strings a decade ago, and even when you know someone inside, the answer is "Sure, if you need 100 (min) of that string or more." DR Strings touts their hand craftsmanship, and being a smaller company there may be someone to talk to. I also worked with LaBella years ago, but again it becomes a numbers thing. I was ordering them 100 sets at a time.

Mandolin family strings will always be a challenge when string manufacturers can sell 1,000x the number of guitar strings. Economy of scale. (Pun intended...)

[Ray(T)]

Just a thought. Pianists have to replace broken strings one at a time so there must be some way of ordering them. What sort of ends they have and whether they would be suitable for bass, I wouldn’t really know.

Edit - https://www.hellerbass.eu/en/individual-strings/

[mrmando]

Yeah, Mapes sells piano strings but you have to order at least 21 at a time, at $6.50 a string.

[Frankdolin]

I bought a set of "Mapes" "blues" guitar strings with various gages about a month ago after hearing about them here. I never in my life got a more DEAD set of strings. There wasn't an ounce of ring in a single one. Absolutely lifeless. Hardly useful as spares. Maybe there Mandolin string are better.

[Ryk Loske]

Newtone: https://newtonestrings.com

Ryk

[Phil Goodson]

I don't know what Mapes will really do for you, but I know that when I was ordering custom gauged octave mando strings a while back, I forgot to specify whether I wanted wound or plain treble strings. They sent me BOTH, without additional charge, apparently just to make me happy. I've had very good and personal customer service experiences with them.

It couldn't hurt to ask. They might even make an exception to their own rules if you ask nicely.
Just saying...

[Mandoplumb]

I bought a set of "Mapes" "blues" guitar strings with various gages about a month ago after hearing about them here. I never in my life got a more DEAD set of strings. There wasn't an ounce of ring in a single one. Absolutely lifeless. Hardly useful as spares. Maybe there Mandolin string are better.

Dont what was wrong with your strings but I would have told mape about them. I've used them for several years with no problem. Also it is my understanding that they make the solid strings for most other companies, just the winding is added by other companies.

[Doug Freeman]

Gabriel Tenorio here in East L.A. can make pretty much any string you can dream up. I've stood beside him at his winder and watched. It's fascinating. Heckuva great guy, too.

https://www.thegts.co