New Player and strings...

[mtm]

I've been playing for about 4 months on a Savannah SA-115-E (I know, it's not a great instrument). The first one I got from a local dealer had a defect, so replaced, and clearly the replacement has different strings (I assume heavy duty ... dealer didn't mention the strings: not a great shop I've concluded). It sounds better, but my fingers really take a beating.

So, any recommendation for strings for a new player who does NOT have strong hands/fingers???

thanks... really enjoying the learning process (slow, but it's coming alone)

mark

[Steve Ostrander]

I would try D'Addario J73s (lights) for your fingers, although J74s (mediums) would probably sound better.

[Stephen Cagle]

mtm welcome to the wonderful world of mandolin. Don't worry so much on sound, tone at this point. In the early stages of learning I tell students that whats important now is making the learning process as easy as possible. Worry about whats important right now like how your fingers are feeling after practicing. J-62's and J-73's are lights in D'addario and in GHS A-250, A-260's are lights and A-240's are ultra lights. Good luck and enjoy.

[mtm]

another question ... wouldn't one's fingers be expected to be "calloused" enough after 4 months to be able to play for a while? My fingers get deeply 'grooved' after 30-45 mins ....

is it the strings?

[hedgehog]

About sore fingers ..... At first you won't be able to understand how people play a mandolin ....... your fingers will hurt ....... fairly shortly after the hurt, you find the hurt bearable ...... then you might even like the feeling of slightly sore fingers ..... Then one day you will notice that you've not noticed your sore fingers for a little while ....... All this happens in a surprisingly short period of time. I almost believe while going through sore fingers you actually stop using a garilla like grip on the strings and find it's easier than you expected to play the mandolin. Stick to it, it really doesn't take long to get through the sore finger period.

I use J-75's, they drive my mandolin better than the lighter strings. Lighter strings won't sound the same, but they won't be bad, if the lighter strings keep you interested, keep using them until you are ready to try something different.

[onassis]

The beating your fingers are taking might be the result of a higher set-up on this mandolin vs. the previous. You might try lowering the bridge (assuming it's adjustable, with thumb-wheels), see if it plays more easily. Also, heavier strings don't always equate with better sound. I recently switched from J-75's (heavy) back to J-74's (medium) because the 75's seemed to deaden my mando. Strings are one of the cheaper experiments you can do, so you might as well try few different types.

[Randi Gormley]

Yeah, I'd also suggest the instrument is set up too high if your fingers still hurt a lot and are heavily grooved after four months of regular practice. Makes me think you've got a death grip on the left hand, which might be because it's the only way to fret the notes. If there's someone nearby who can set up the mandolin (think luthier rather than guitar store; the people at the store might know someone who does local repairs), it'd be worth it to have them take a look at it. Just a suggestion.

[mtm]

Thanks all... it does take a death grip to fret the first fret .. an "E" is nasty ... I think the action is ok since I mentioned that ... the clearance looks pretty low. Lets try the strings and take it from there.