GHS PF270 vs A270 ?

[yankees1]

Can anyone explain the difference between these two ?

[mandobassman]

The A270 set is Phosphor Bronze, while the PF270 set is Bright Bronze. Bright Bronze is the brightest set GHS makes, while Phosphor Bronze will give a warmer tone.

[mandroid]

FWIW, 'Bright Bronze' Euphemistically is actually Brass .
Cu+Sn vs Cu+Zn

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Larry - Thanks for the info. on the GHS's. Tom Ellis recommends GHS strings for his mandolins & sometime,i intend to try a set out to see what they do for my Ellis "A" style. I had a look on the 'net this morning & found the A & PF 270's - Phosphor & Bright Bronze,& wondered what the difference might be. Obviously the ''Bright'' in the name would infer that they are 'Bright',so maybe the Phosphor Bronze would be the ones to try,as my current DR MD11's are as 'Bright' (& powerful) as i'd ever wish,
Ivan
PS - Mandroid's comment above would indicate that 'Bright Bronze' is Brass ( a Copper & Zinc alloy),as against Bronze ( a Copper & Tin alloy) & indeed that's what GHS say on their website. As it's the Tin in the Bronze which gives Bronze it's corrosion resistant qualities,then Brass would seem to be a poor choice (IMHO),for a winding material.

[mandobassman]

I would not be a good candidate to try either one as I have always found any form of bronze winding too bright and metallic sounding for my tastes. That's one of the main reasons I have used flatwound strings for the past 15 or so years. Prior to that, I used GHS Silk and Steel. I've played phosphor bronze and found it much too bright so I can't even imagine what the Bright Bronze would sound like.

[George R. Lane]

I believe Tom Ellis recommends the A270 strings for his mandolins. He likes the heavier A string. I use them on my Weber Yellowstone and they sound great.

Larry, I find it takes a couple of days for the brightness to wear off. I also have used the Silk & Steels, a much warmer tone.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have a set of GHS A270's due to arrive today,& they'll adorn my Ellis when the current set of DR MD11's fold their hand. I can't imagine that the GHS's will have the sheer 'punch' that the DR's give,but maye i'm hoping for a 'woodier' bass from the Ellis,as i have a feeling that it can produce the 'punch' all on it's own - we'll see (hear).
Larry - I don't know about Phosphor Bronze strings sounding 'bright' - did they all sound like that to you ?. J74's never sounded bright in any way on any mandolin i've owned ( not tried them on the Ellis - DR's went straight on). That's one of the reasons i like the DR's so much.They're certainly bright,but it does wear off,leaving the powerful, 'punchy' sound in place. In fact,i almost left the DR's on my Weber 3 months back, because the tone across the strings was so well balanced but still 'loud' after 8 months of use. It was only the fact that they'd gone a ''bit discoloured'' ( this year's 'understatement' winner !) behind the bridge & looked pretty bad,that i decided to change them.
It'll be interesting to hear what the A270's do for the Ellis - & the DR's don't need .016 gauge "A" strings for extra power/tone,the 0.015 gauge "A"'s do just fine,
Ivan

[JeffD]

I used the A270s for years and years and years. Then I was frequenting a music store that carried mostly D'Addario and I switched mostly for convenience to the J74s. I have used the J74s now for a while and I am very used to them, and find them more often available.

[Willie Poole]

As we all know that not every mandolin will sound the same with the same strings so we have to try different brands and gauges for each mandolin that we own and that can get expensive if we own a bunch of them, like I do, 5 playable ones, but I use only A-270`s now on all of them.....they are the best that I have found, for my taste anyway....After many years of playing I think I have tried most brands, ones that I could afford anyway.....

Willie