I have got to hand it to Gibson!

[mandoman4807]

I have been using J75`s exclusively since owning my Sam Bush three months now. I just restrung with Bush monel strings and I have been further blown away by the tone. I was hesitent at first because of the smaller diameter of the E, A D strings. No doubt they have a smooth balanced sound on this mandolin. # # I will be stocking up with huge quantities of these!!!! #


Darrell

[Scotti Adams]

mandojeremy and I have been preaching the praises of the Bush/Monels for along time...Im glad more people are catching on..

[mandoJeremy]

Agreed Scotti but it could be bad for us if they do catch on! Shortages of Bush/Monels and then what would we do?

[Nolan]

One more happy Monel user here! I got a bunch on clearance at guitar center for $4 a set, they're great!
I have one set of Sam Bush monels and the rest are just billed as 'Gibson monel strings'. Do they still make the Bush set with the extra strings? That's a cool feature.

[mandoJeremy]

The Bush set is the only set you can get now except for the rare leftover stock of monels.

[LeftCoastMark]

What are the string sizes on the Bush monel's? Are they a Gibson string, and if not who makes them? How do they compare with the Bill Monroe set that comes standard with new Gibson's?

[mandoJeremy]

.011, .014, .025., and .041 I would seriously doubt that a "Gibson" string is a gibson string because there are only a few string manufacturers in the US and Gibson isn't one of them. Try GHS, D'Addario, or Martin. There are a lot of string label manufacturers though!

[Steven Stone]

[ I would seriously doubt that a "Gibson" string is a gibson string because there are only a few string manufacturers in the US and Gibson isn't one of them. ]

I do not believe this is correct.

Gibson does have a string manufacturing facility in the US.

I KNOW they make guitar strings there, and I suspect that Gibson mando strings are made there as well.

[mandoJeremy]

I stand corrected, I didn't know they wound their own strings.

[misifus]

I believe also that John Pearse manufactures his own strings, as well.

-Raf

[BigJoe]

Gibson has owned their own string mandufacturing facility for many many years in Elgin Illinois. I believe John Pearce are made by GHS.

[G_Smolt]

Question for jeremy and scotti, with preamble to set frame in which to answer...

I have picked a few different types of strings, and have settled on j-75's, not for any silly "macho" reason , but because the larger diameter A and E sets. It seems that the tension allows the pick to "pop" off of those strings better than lighter gauge-and-tension strings...so, the question:

Do you find the lighter A of the Bush set sort of floppy?

Oh yeah...TS pick, semi-triangle (halfway between 346 and dawg styles), and moderate attack...not really Bush-esque arm flailing, but definitely not "quiet arm".

Thanks in advance for any discussion you might provide.

[mandoJeremy]

Believe it or not, I don't have any trouble with the A string and never did. When I first started using the monels about 6, 7, or 8 years ago I would switch out the A strings and use a .016 because I was used to the J75's and I did that for about six months until I ran out of extra A strings. Then I just used what it came with and I got used to it. It is much easier to do pull offs on the A with a .014 actually. I don't think you would have any trouble with them but you might want to wait until the new D'addario FS74's come out and try them because they have a .016 I think and they are stainless steel wound just like the Monel/Bush strings.