T I Strings

[Randy Linam]

I have a Kentucky KM270 oval hole mandolin. Using DA J74 and GHS S&S as a comparison, are the TI strings worth the cost in so far as improved tone, playability and longevity? I have never used them and I would like to get some input from someone who has/does. Thanks-

Randy

[fatt-dad]

you may lose some horsepower. They feel great! There is almost no string noise and they seem to last forever.

f-d

p.s., you want to get the, "Heavy" set, which were formerly called, "Stark."

[Tobin]

They're worth it in terms of playability and longevity, I think. Tone, maybe, maybe not. Depends on what you're looking for. They have a nice mellow warmth which I think is well suited to an oval-hole. But they will not offer a lot of volume, and in my experience they're not well suited to any sort of hard-driving playing.

[UsuallyPickin]

Whenever one of the mandolin nerds ,,, OWIAO ,,,, get a different mandolin a process of buying different strings starts. This is to find out which one sounds the best. Depending on type of instrument oval vrs F hole Flat vrs carved top bright vrs mellow tone quiet vrs loud certain types gauges and materials are either ignored or tried. An arch top oval hole instrument sounds best to me with a phosphor bronze medium gauge string IMO. Cost on exotic or polymerized strings can be worth it. But not always worth it. That's between you, your mandolin, your ear and your wallet. Enjoy the search..... R/

[JeffD]

I love the sound of them for certain music. They are mellower and I like them for classical. And they do last for a long long time.

[terzinator]

I'm never one to scold a forum member for not searching, but there are TONS of threads on this. (And plenty of differing opinions within those threads.)

Anyway, I'll say this:

For jazz and classical stuff on your own or in a small-group setting; and for warm, supple tone, they're lovely.

For a bluegrass jam where you need volume and cut, use ANYTHING else.

But that's just my opinion.

[JeffD]

For a bluegrass jam where you need volume and cut, use ANYTHING else.

But that's just my opinion.

Well, not anything else. But you have a point. The TI strings do not have a bluegrass sound. And to the extent that the bluegrass sound important to you, the TI are not recommended.

I have a Gibson A2 for example, with that rich creamy bluegrassy high lonesome old timey Gibson sound. I string it with D'Addario J74s (or whatever they are called now) because they make that sound come out. It would, IMO, be wrong to hide all that with TIs.

But on my Lyon and Healy model A, the TIs bring out a wonderful open mouthed operatic sound. Almost like a fine bowlback. The sound is just wonderful.

[mandobassman]

Go to the Cafe MP3 page in the Bluegrass category and look for David Peters playing New Campfown Races to hear how good Thomastik strings can sound when playing Bluegrass. Success with that depends on the mandolin and player, but it can work. I used them in various bluegrass bands for nearly 13 years. A set lasts over a year so even though the initial cost is high, they're actually a bargain when you consider how little they need to be changed.

[Django Fret]

Longest lastest strings you will find, very easy on the fingers, posessing a unique tone you might really like, but if you don't like them, it is easy to move on to try others.

But, at least you will know that you tried them out and it cost you less than 50 bucks to find out for sure.

[fatt-dad]

I use T-Is on my Cohen A5 (redwood/walnut) and my 1920 A3.

f-d