What kind of strings to use?

[Timmando]

Being new to the mandolin world I am wondering what brand of strings, what guage is recommended, which metal, to get a good chop sound, but not too hard to fret. I have tried GHS mediums but no lights yet. Should I try medium lights before lights? What should I be looking for in my selection besides cheapest? Phosphor bronze, nickle? I guess I could buy all three guages in as many types of metal configuration as are out there, and decide for myself, but that costs too much and I don't look forward to changing strings!

[yankees1]

What style mandolin do you have? Oval ? F? What style music will you be playing?

[Brutus1999]

Keep in mind that the percussive "chop" sound is used mainly in bluegrass; you won't find it much in folk, jazz or other styles!

If you want the percussive "chop" sound, you'll need a pretty good f-hole mandolin. Then I'd look at bluegrass-style strings rather than flat wounds. If you are starting out, playability is especially important; if you can't play it, you WON'T play it and WON'T practice. If your hands are "strong" (from playing guitar, for example), you might get away with "mediums" but if you are just starting out, well ....

[mandobassman]

The overwhelming favorite among mandolinists here on the Cafe is D'Addario J74, or the EXP 74 (which is a coated version of the same string). They are a medium gauge bronze-wound string. They're not for everyone. I don't use them. I use D'Addario FW74 flatwound strings, but the J74's are a good starting point. Try them and determine what you do or don't like about them. If you don't like the tone from them, you can then come back and tell us what it is you don't like and members will give recommendations from there.

I would probably stay away from light gauge strings, unless you have a very old and fragile mandolin. They will produce less volume and less bass response than heavier gauge strings will, not to mention possible string buzz. Most modern mandolins will be able to handle medium or heavy gauge strings.

[Timmando]

I have an F-style and play only bluegrass. What difference is there between the flat-wound and the bronze-wound strings? I have played guitar, but I use GHS medium lights on that.

[bmac]

I think some folks would like to know the mandolin brand name, if known, and the age if possible... Some mandolins may not be able to take heavy strings as they may not be built for them. Without good information medium strings might be the heaviest you would want to go.

since you are new to mandolin you may find it easier on the tingertips to go with light strings until you have a good set of calouses built up on your left hand fingertips. Usually about six months. And then switch to mediums if you want to experiment. Either way though it is going to be painful.

[onassis]

For an F style, playing BG, the most popular is D'Addario J74's. I'd put a set on and play them for a month or two then, if you wanna get crazy, try something else. Strings are a relatively cheap experiment (as are picks - well, MOST picks), and the only way to know if you'll like them is to actually try them. Theoretically, you'll want to change strings every 2 to 3 months anyway, so why not do a little exploring. And I'd go with mediums for now. If the action on your mando is where it should be, they should play as easily as anything.

[yankees1]

For my Ellis and Northfield F's I use GHS PF270 and like them.

[Timmando]

I am playing a mandolin named after one of Bill Monroes long lost, unknown cousins...Morgan. It is the MDM2 Pre-damaged models. I like GHS so I think I will order some of those PF270's mentioned above. Thanks for the input everyone.

[fatt-dad]

You should really try the D'Adderio J74s. They are the standard of all bluegrass strings unless you want to go heavier and use the J75s. I mean buy a set and try them one day. They're like $5 or $10.

f-d

[Brutus1999]

About ten years ago, I picked up a used Harmony Monterey (left handed) and had it converted to right handed. Probably cost me more than it was worth! It has a solid, probably pressed top. I have an old round hole Gibson A-1, so I have something with that bright, singing tone. At the time, I was looking for a cheaper second mando for the "Jethro" / swing sound -- not too much sustain or bright ring, so I spent a fortune and got some Thomastik mediums (equivalent to everyone else's light gauge...).

Nice action, but about as loud as a rubber band. So, did I add dull strings to a dull mando? Would I be better off going the J74 route, or flatwound J74 route? And what to do with those "thousand dollar" Thomastiks? Hmmmm.....

[mandobassman]

I have an F-style and play only bluegrass. What difference is there between the flat-wound and the bronze-wound strings? I have played guitar, but I use GHS medium lights on that.

The windings on J74's are made of Phosphor Bronze and are round windings. The windings on FW74's are stainless steel and are made of a flat ribbon. What that means is with the round Bronze there is space between the windings where dirt and finger oils can collect. This is what shortens the lifespan of strings. Flatwound strings have no space between the windings and last much, much longer. They also have a somewhat less metallic and less bright tone compared to Bronze. Some brands of flatwound strings are somewhat dull sounding compared to roundwound bronze. Thomastik is one of those. The D'Addario flatwound strings for mandolin are much closer to the tone of roundwound strings than any other flatwound string I have used. But they have one of the best advantages over roundwound strings that is common to all flatwounds. That is smoothness. They are incredibly smooth under the fingers and make no scraping noise when your fingers move up and down the strings like you hear with roundwound strings. Many flatwound strings, especially Thomastik, are very expensive, but D'Addario has kept the cost pretty low and are about the same as a set of coated bronze strings. Lots of players love them, including me. Many do not like them at all. They're not too expensive, so they're worth a try. They last a long, long time. The set I have on my mandolin now have been on since August and still sound great.

There are some people that say you can only use flatwound strings for Classical or Celtic music, but I've been using them for nearly 15 years in pretty hard driving Bluegrass bands.

[Denny Gies]

Go with the D'Addarrio J-74's. They are great for bluegrass.

[Brutus1999]

mandobassman --

How would you compare FW 74's with the JAZZMANDO strings?

[Sandy Beckler]

+1 (for J-74's)

[guitarpath]

I recently slapped on J-75's on my Loar 600 and I like them. A lot.

[mandobassman]

mandobassman --

How would you compare FW 74's with the JAZZMANDO strings?

I used a couple of sets of JazzMando JM11's when they first came out. They are a fine sounding set of strings, however, I feel they are much more suited for jazz or classical as they don't have anywhere near the volume or attack that the D'Addario FW 74's have. They have a softer tone and less volume. I have used Thomastik-Infeld (TI) for several years, JazzMando, LaBella's MF-20 set (which are more like the TI), and D'Addario FW74. The FW74 are my favorite for Bluegrass and they seem to last as long as the TI's did. I usually had the TI's on for a year, and so far, the FW74's have been on my mandolin since August and they still sound great. The biggest complaint most people had about the TI's was the cost. They are close to $40 per set. I like the FW74's better and they are only around $11-$12 per set.

[baptist mando55]

GHS silk and bronze warm and woody

[Timmando]

The FW74's that mandobassman mentions sound like what I prefer...long lasting, good sounding...I think I will give them a try first. I don't like to change strings...no fun at all..thanks!

[Lee]

I recommend trying the same brand and model of strings the second time around; hopefully FW74's. Sticking with the same string the second time around will help you learn the feeling between old and new strings too.

[FloridaCracker]

Lol if Ricky Skaggs plays J74's...