What gauge for 1st course?

[Ranger Bob]

My experienced (senior) brain is refusing to help me. So, I look to you. I have a 5 course mandola. C through A I Tune traditionally. The first or highest course I want to be able to switch between E and D. I am currently using light gauge mandola strings, the C being a .49. Scale is 17”. I have broken a .12, .11 and .09 tuning up to E which just doesn’t make sense to me because I easily go from .10 to .11.5 on my mandolin. Any idea what I can use on that 1st course to give me the E/D flexibility I’m looking for? My experienced brain thanks you.

[Explorer]

I have some bad news.

A plain steel string will break fairly quickly when tuned to G#4 at a scale length of 25.5". if the string is thicker, it is stronger, but needs more tension to get to pitch. If the string is thinner, it requires less tension, but will break at around that pitch.

A plain steel string will break at a pitch of D#5 at a scale length of 17", for the same reasons.

You need a maximum scale length of around 15" to get comfortably to E5. You are a few inches longer than that, so D5 is pretty much your highest pitch if you expect strings to last at all.

Sorry!

[Phil Goodson]

If you must have those notes, it might be time for a <ahem> capo. <ouch!>

[HonketyHank]

I would give Bruce Weber a call and see what he had in mind for tuning and strings when he made the mandola.

[sblock]

You may be asking for just a bit too much by tuning a high-carbon steel string to E5 over a 17" scale length. The required tension over that length will definitely break a conventional 0.010" or 0.011" mandolin E-string under the excessive tension required to reach that high a note. You must use a thinner string. And thinner means quieter, so it might not balance with the rest of your string set.

According to D'Addario's string tension calculator (http://stringtensionpro.com), you just might get by with a thin 0.090" string for 17" scale, which will bring the string tension up to 23.36 lbs for each of the two E5 strings, which is in the ballpark, but a bit on the tight side, so near -- but not over! -- the breaking point. So try a high-quality 0.09" string first. A 0.080" string would supply a tension of 18.46 lbs at a 17" scale, which is well below breaking. Both of these string gauges will tend to be pretty quiet, though, given their light weight (low mass), but at least they won't break all the time on you.

Good luck.

[Ranger Bob]

Yeah. Thanks for such a thorough response. I have to admit I was looking for an “easy button.” Reality is, though, those only live in commercials. I really appreciate your information sblock. Thanks. I’ll probably be doing a lot of restringing on the first course.