Flat Wound Strings = Noisy Mandolin
Last week, I changed strings on one of my Breedloves. It's the American-made Legacy FF, about 8-9 years old. I put on a set of flat wound strings to try them out. Never again.
I couldn't get a tolerable note our of the E, A, or D strings. The E is unwound, the A & D are wound. There was a tremendous amount of string buzz and no tonal quality at all. I checked the fingerboard and everything appeared straight and normal. All of the frets appeared normal. (I had a fret job about a year ago.) The body still had the proper curvature so that left the bridge. I jacked it up a little with no relief. I jacked it up some more. Nothing.
I decided it might be the strings. I put a "normal" set on tonight and everything's fine. I did lower the bridge back to it's usual position.
I've never heard of this kind of problem. Any ideas?
David Hopkins
2001 Gibson F-5L mandolin
Breedlove Legacy FF mandolin; Breedlove Quartz FF mandolin
Gibson F-4 mandolin (1916); Blevins f-style Octave mandolin, 2018
McCormick Oval Sound Hole "Reinhardt" Mandolin
McCormick Solid Body F-Style Electric Mandolin; Slingerland Songster Guitar (c. 1939)
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.
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