My favorite instrument I inherited from my dad is a Ray Sparks F-5, built in 1996. He played the frets off of it twice, wore all the finish off the neck, put some serious pinky divots in the top... gave this thing some serious time and love, and the resulting battle scars.
I’ve always loved this mandolin, but since I got it, it hasn’t sounded very good. When I picked it up from his house, it was in its case, so I don’t think he’d played it in awhile. After trying various gauges and string materials, I read an interview with Don Julin where he said his Nugget F-5 prefers light gauge strings. As luck would have it, I found the same strings Don uses in my dad’s stuff. 10, 15, 24, 38, GHS.
Much to my surprise, these strings brought it to life. It’s clear as a bell, like I took a blanket off the speaker, and the chop has this mid range punch that’s unbelievable.
Anybody else have one like that?
Bookmarks