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A Question for any Mando players on TB

HG1180

HG1180

Aug 11, 2019
544
847
Millsboro,DE/Antioch, IL
#1
So this last christmas I was gifted an Ibanez A-Style mandolin (which i believe theyre called) and the strings that were on the instrument were already fairly old, however they definitely still had some life left in them.

But my question is, I need to get new strings for my mando, and since ive been looking, i realize i have absolutely no clue what to look for in acoustic strings, and especially mando strings. Could someone recommend me a brand of string or what i should be looking for?
And i decided to come to talkbass for this question cause i know the community and trust its judgement.

*If this isnt allowed, mods, please feel free to delete it!*

Thanks!
 
#3
Jefenator said:
The first thing you will want to determine is: ball end or loop end?
I'm sure there is a whole rabbit hole of string choices - with corresponding threads in mandolin forums. But I am years away from being ready to delve in to that. (I just got a set by D'Addario on Amazon.)
Click to expand...
My mandolin uses Loop end strings. I didnt even know such a string existed until i got that mandolin
 
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#6
I tried some different mandolin strings and rapidly came to the conclusion that string technology / type of string matters a lot less for higher pitches. (To me, anyway, but that may be my high frequency hearing loss in action.) But my advice is still get the cheapest you can with the right end type for the instrument. Spending a lot on mando strings doesn't get you very much further, imho.
 
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#9
I have used D’Addarios on mine. They sound good enough but to be honest with you, I can’t hear much difference in Mandolin strings. Also Banjo Ben just did a YouTube video on changing strings on a very similar mandolin. You might look it up, had some great suggestions.
 
#10
bholder said:
I tried some different mandolin strings and rapidly came to the conclusion that string technology / type of string matters a lot less for higher pitches. (To me, anyway, but that may be my high frequency hearing loss in action.) But my advice is still get the cheapest you can with the right end type for the instrument. Spending a lot on mando strings doesn't get you very much further, imho.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's similar to someone's first time changing bass strings. A beginner won't have developed their ear to the point where minute differences matter yet. So the same advice applies. Get something affordable and middle-of-the-road, and keep track of what they were to help your decision next time.
 

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