emando string guage tone differences?

[Hubert Angaiak]

Okay... I haven't been playing my 4 string that much, but mostly the 8 string. Every time I plug in the 4 string I would wonder about the string guage and how a different set would sound. The feel very hard and seem to be very tight compared to the 8 string. Is anyone able to describe the tonal differences from light med and heavy? I'm thinking lighter than what I have, but will they stay in tune or be flappy? Use thin pick for light guage? If this has been discussed before I would appreciate the thread.
Thank you!!!!

[mrmando]

Are you using the same gauges on both instruments, and do they have the same scale length?

Lighten up in small increments and see how it feels. For the G and D strings, go no more than .002" lighter (e.g., .040 to .038). For the A and E strings, go .001" lighter (.015 to .014 or .011 to .010). You'll notice a difference, but you're minimizing the risk that they'll get all floppy.

I don't think you'll see much of a tonal difference. A little drop in volume perhaps, but you can just turn your volume knob up a little more.

You can choose your own gauges at emando.com and put together a custom set.

[Hubert Angaiak]

Thanks MrMando. Maybe I'll just order one set of each from emando and be done with it.
Alrighty then..

[Don Stiernberg]

hubert,
I've always gone for a fat, almost jazz-guitar type sound on my five string. But I still like to bend like B.B. King on the top unwound strings. I finally landed on 10-14-24-38-50. These are single
nickel wound ball end electric guitar strings. They stay in tune and don't flop around, but are still flexible on the A and E and still sound like a mandolin to me.

[Hubert Angaiak]

Hello Dan,
I really appreciate getting a tip from you and thrilled. Have a CD of you with your Monte Grand Artist and listened to it to get a feel for the Monte tone. Very good... I'll use your gauges as a starting point and go from there. I'll still put in an order with MrMando so I'll have some handy since the nearest music store is 400 miles away and you can't drive there.
Thank you!!

[Don Stiernberg]

Hubert--
Thanks for your nice comment.
Of course the Monteleone is a whole different animal. I hope to one day record some more on the five-string electric too. I'd bet you could get those guages at e-mando. I hope you let us know how things work out for you.
Funny, there are people who feel a single string electric mando sounds"just like a guitar". Even Jethro used to say "If I want that sound I'll just play guitar.."Another legend has it that a young Glen Campbell honed his prodigious chops by memorizing the Tiny Moore solos off of Bob Wills records. Convinced it was a guitar, he found those cool licks on his guitar--up pretty high I'd imagine..
Hey what guage did Tiny use? Anybody know?

[mandocrucian]

The thicker the strings, the fatter the tone. The trade off is that bending requires more and more strength. SRV had pretty heavy strings on his guitar, but you could hear the results.

While putting extra-lights on lets you bend a lot easier, it also means you have to lighten up on your right hand attack as well, otherwise the pick will make your notes go sharp with the initial attack, cause the pick pushes the string so much, it actually puts a bend on it. So, you don't want to be whacking slinky strings with an ex-heavy pick. (Use a medium pick for light strings).

When you experiment with different gauges, you'll be looking for your (first) compromise between "guages-for-tone" vs. "gauges-for-bending-ease". The more bending you do, the stronger your fingers become and you can gradually build up to heavier and heavier strings.

On electrics, I'm out for a electric guitar sound. I want Garcia licks to sound like Garcia, BB to sound like BB, RT to sound like Thompson, Cipollina stuff to sound like Cipollina. The backing groove usually triggers the "right sound". E.g. If it's a Deadish sounding shuffle, the Garcia-like stuff just conjures itself up out of the subconscious void. etc. It's what "the mind" starts hearing.

(I don't usually play Monroe type mandolin, but occasionally during some acoustic/BG jam, that just has to be the mando sound, and if that's what the mind is hearing, that's what comes out of the ax. But the context/groove is the triggering mechanism; then you start "channeling", and when it's over, it all recedes back into the abyss.)

I don't use the "M-word" for the 5-string (mini guitar conversion tuned GDAEa, and octave lower for more power and rhythm versatility). As far as I'm concerned, it's just a shorter-neck electric guitar with an alternate tuning.

BTW: On the Mandobird-8, I use the same gauges I use on my acoustics. .011 -.014 -.025 -.039. (The thing is, I still play it pretty much the same as I prefer to play my acoustic - with electric guitar vibrato, bending, etc. I've just got amplification.)

NH

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Hubert,
The only thing I have to add is 'more string = more tone.' The heavier the gauge, the more the string moves the electromagnetic field. A weak field with light strings will sound thin.

Donny,
Are you going to pull "Yardbird Suite" out for an electric album? Please? How about "Goodbye Porkpie Hat"?

Daniel

[michaell]

I've used either 9, 11, 18, 28, or 10, 12, 18, 28 for around 25 years. I spoke to Max Junger of Pyramid Strings at the NAMM show and he showed some interest in producing a set of electric mandolin strings. I have recently used his strings on my domra and I really like them.
(no commercial interest here)

[mrmando]

Wow, Michael, that's really light on the G and D. I notice that you don't have any problem getting a fat tone out of those gauges.

[Hubert Angaiak]

Well this is alot to digest and try out. Thank for all the info. I don't exactly know what these are but I suspect the E is not a 10, its really hard feeling compared to a 10 that I tired on my electric guitar. So I may try 10 and go from there.
Niles.. have you ever shared your secret in how you do the tremolo effect on your '24 F-4?