Attention Silverangel owners

[Doug Brock]

That's the E the G is .50

Yes, that is the way I interpreted it.

[ollaimh]

i always tell people with hand aches that when i had serious hand pain, nothing worked, BUT the hand movements from tai chi some reiki treatments, and now i do flexiblity exercises with my finger individually then together then with wrist rotation, and over again. people think i'l crazy when i used to ride the subway to a gig pushing the air away from me(like tai chi) and flexibility hand movements.

[roorooroo60]

I changed strings on my Silverangel F to J74's and lost that low end woody sound that I like. I didn't know what original strings were, so I called Ken he graciously took the time to tell me about my build and the strings he used on it. J75s, I restring and my mandolin transformed back to the tone that I thought a mandolin should sound like and why I fell in love with Ken's build. That's my story.

[Br1ck]

One would be well advised to use the strings the maker intended if you want to get what the maker invisioned. The SA does not sound bad with J 74s, just better with the J 75s.

[stevo58]

I’ve been playing my EconoA for 9 months now with J75s. I have other sets here to try - J74s, monels, etc. - but the 75s sound good and I’m not having any hand issues, now that I’ve switched to a different statin and every bone in my body no longer aches 24/7 - but I’ll try the other sets to see what they sound like.

I do love the mando. It’s killed my Mando GAS. Unless a very old F2/4 comes up for a sinfully cheap price.

Steven

[Br1ck]

I really like monels on a brighter mandolin, but would not put them on a SA. YMMV.

[stevo58]

Doesn’t hurt to try. You never know.

[soliver]

I was due to change my strings so I took a shot and ordered the J75's... I can tell a difference. ...It may be just new strings, but usually I am not a fan of the sound of new J74's and like it better when the "calm down" ... There is definitely something different and so far so good!... thanks to the OP for the recommendation!

[Mike Scott]

When I got mine, Ken told me he had switched to GHS 270's. That was 3 years ago. He may have switched back. I'm currently using DR Rare mediums. It's the best my SA has ever sounded.

[Doug Brock]

When I got mine, Ken told me he had switched to GHS 270's. That was 3 years ago. He may have switched back. I'm currently using DR Rare mediums. It's the best my SA has ever sounded.

I bought a new Silverangel from Ken last fall and he was using J75’s then.

[Br1ck]

It just goes to show, everyone needs to find their own preference. I remember the guy who sold me the mandolin who was a banjo player telling me Ken makes them for a J75 gauge. I finally tried them and they really drive my redwood top. I think I’m using the old discontinued D’Addario coated strings and will have to try the new ones in the future. I do like monels on my Arches, but that mandolin needed mellowing. My SA does not.

[soliver]

Its been a couple of days since I put the strings on and I can say that I DO like them. But I am trying to be subjective enough to admit that I am honestly not sure if there is a real difference or if it is just that I changed from 6 month old strings to brand new strings. They do appear to be louder.

[Gary Hudson]

I don't enjoy changing strings so I rarely do it before the strings start to exhibit some sort of problem. I put monels on my SA and they felt too "slinky". I ended up taking them off after a couple of weeks and put J75s on in their place. I love the monels on my Weber, but the 75s work better for me on the SA. I have no idea why the feel was different. The J75s are not that much harder on my fingers and the SA sounds and plays better with them.

[Jim Armstrong]

I hate changing strings! It takes me about 2 hours and I've never gotten the hang of it. That being said, I recently vchanged the strings on my SA F-oval and put on J

[Jim Armstrong]

I also hate typing on this Surface! Anyway, I put on J74CMs but think I'll try a full set of J75s next time. On a related note; i have a '24 Gibson A-1 snakehead that I've always strung with J62s (light gauge). It sounds good but doesn't cut through in a crowd. I've considered a heavier string but wasn't sure if the old girl could handle the stress. She is structurally sound. I welcome your input.

[Br1ck]

You could certainly go to J74s, and probably J 75s. I use J74s on my A1.

[Jerchap2]

I also do not like changing strings. I really like the tone and feel of FT74s on my SA. I love the sound and feel of the wound A string. But based on this discussion I may try the J75s at some point. Getting a good setup with nut and bridge tweaking made a lot of difference. According to a buddy who has the best ear for music of anyone I know, the SA went from sounding "good" to "great."

[Chuck Leyda]

i always tell people with hand aches that when i had serious hand pain, nothing worked, BUT the hand movements from tai chi some reiki treatments, and now i do flexiblity exercises with my finger individually then together then with wrist rotation, and over again. people think i'l crazy when i used to ride the subway to a gig pushing the air away from me(like tai chi) and flexibility hand movements.

I don't know why, but Tai Chi works. It just seems to make everything a bit better.