Thomastik-Infeld Strings

[lflngpicker]

I strung up my MT today with the Thomastik Infeld medium FW’s and really enjoyed playing. The cloth wrapping on each end of the strings is a great feature, the tone is rich and colorful, but but not quite as loud. My MT has a big voice anyway, so the tone and volume feel just right for me. The comfort on the fingers is amazing! That was a very noticeable difference and made fingering runs and chords easier. I am enjoying the change and will look forward to the days ahead practicing with these strings.

[Darwin Gaston]

I strung up my MT today with the Thomastik Infeld medium FW’s and really enjoyed playing. The cloth wrapping on each end of the strings is a great feature, the tone is rich and colorful, but but not quite as loud. My MT has a big voice anyway, so the tone and volume feel just right for me. The comfort on the fingers is amazing! That was a very noticeable difference and made fingering runs and chords easier. I am enjoying the change and will look forward to the days ahead practicing with these strings.

Dan,

From the looks of your post I think you will be getting more Thomastik-Infeld strings. I agree with you 100 percent they are more comfortable on the fingers. The Thomastik-Infeld strings will last you for a couple months versus some of other strings that you have to change every month. So in the long run the price should equal out about the same. The current set of strings that I have on my mandolin now I have been playing every day for almost three months and they still sound good. The one thing I do after I finish playing is always take a cloth and wipe the strings off. I believe it helps the life of the strings no matter what brand you use and I do the same with my guitar strings after playing.

Enjoy those strings!!!!
Darwin

[lflngpicker]

Dan,

From the looks of your post I think you will be getting more Thomastik-Infeld strings. I agree with you 100 percent they are more comfortable on the fingers. The Thomastik-Infeld strings will last you for a couple months versus some of other strings that you have to change every month. So in the long run the price should equal out about the same. The current set of strings that I have on my mandolin now I have been playing every day for almost three months and they still sound good. The one thing I do after I finish playing is always take a cloth and wipe the strings off. I believe it helps the life of the strings no matter what brand you use and I do the same with my guitar strings after playing.

Enjoy those strings!!!!
Darwin

Thanks Darwin, I am sure you are correct about the life of the TI’s. Playing them now a couple of days, I have noticed the dynamics of the attach with my Blue Chip picks— it seems these strings allow a softer to harder attack and even more dynamic volume range results. The tone is sparkling and my speed is increasing on fiddle tunes. I am starting to consider putting the same set on my 815V. Thanks Darwin!

[Strabo]

Best strings ever.

[lflngpicker]

Best strings ever.

So far, I am blown away by the the tone they produce from my MT and the ease of tension. My MT seems to love them too due to the reduced pull on the neck(tongue in cheek, but true)!

[lflngpicker]

I just ordered my second set to string up my MD815V with, and this time went with light gauge since this F5 was set up for lights. Just love the tone and reduced tension with the Thomastik Infelds. Best price is at Strings and Beyond, with free shipping for this item. They play so smoothly. Intonation is superb.

[Kevin Winn]

How's the bass response? I've got D'A Monels on my F5S and like the way they sound in general, but the bass could use a bit more 'oomph.' I tried the D'A flats and liked the feel, but the sound was lacking character.

Haven't tried the Mangan Monels yet, but heard good things about them as well.

The search is never-ending...

[bigskygirl]

I love these strings, I put them on my Northfield and they sounded and felt great. Strings and Beyond is a pretty good price, I got them last year from Amazon for $39.99 and free shipping, now that same fulfillment vendor has increased by $20 so no way.

[lflngpicker]

Thanks Kevin and Bigskygirl, The bass response matches the instrument’s normal richness and natural tone. There is a subtle difference with each type of string, but the D’A Monels sounded as good as the D’A PB’s (J74’s) and the TI’s have their own subtle tone, but work beautifully on my MT. They easily pop with volume according to the attack and dynamics. They pair nicely with a thicker pick such as a 1.4 thickness. Big sky, you think the bass response was to your standards on your Northfield? Sounds like you are happy, too. I am wondering why I never took the plunge before, but I know it was price. The longevity makes up for that. YMMV

[Kevin Winn]

Thanks - got a couple more sets of monels to work through, but I'll give them a try. I have used TI's on my bass guitar, and once I got used to the lower tension, they were great.

[lflngpicker]

Thanks - got a couple more sets of monels to work through, but I'll give them a try. I have used TI's on my bass guitar, and once I got used to the lower tension, they were great.

I really love the D’Adarrio Monels you mentioned earlier.

[bigskygirl]

Hi Dan, overall I thought they sounded great on the Northfield, to me the tone was very clear and loud. I infrequently record myself so I can’t really say for sure that the bass in particular stood out. The longevity does make up somewhat for the price, heck, under pandemic conditions they’d probably last a year for me - I generally kept them on about 6 months and could have stretched that even further.

[Barry Canada]

I find the stings lovely to play however the bass is definitely not as powerful.
The strings are more laid back or you could say less upfront, less drive!
They are much easier to fret with less string noise. Great for jazz on my Phoenix Jazz mandolin.

[lflngpicker]

I hear what you are saying Barry. True. My Collings has so much volume and deep bass that I can get a lot of sound from it across the courses in a balanced way. I believe the hard tension TI strings would produce more, but if I were playing in a BG band I would want phosphorus bronze mediums to get as much power as needed. I do like like the dynamic range the TI’s allow with attack sensitivity to the composition of the song you are playing. They allow for both big enough bass and drive in general, as well as quiet tones. The pick has a lot to do with those factors, too. No question there is a trade off, and my uses are home play and video recording to join in the virtual church team these days, so then I am on a mic. I agree with you, generally.

[jerrydegarmo]

Strings and beyond has the TIs 10 per cent off. $42 and free shipping.

[bobvorel]

I've been playing for about 6 months, very seriously, on a Washburn A model that I've had since 1998. I'm so glad that I stumbled onto this train of posts about the thomastik infield strings as I had been having problems with buzzing etc, with D'Addario strings. When I heard how great these strings were in settling a lot of intonation problems I"d been having, I bought a set of mediums. They are FANTASTIC. What a difference. I'm so glad and thankful to all who have written this thread. I've learned a lot. Thanks again. Bobvorel

[lflngpicker]

Bobvorel, so happy to hear they are working out for you and giving you reduced buzzing and improved intonation. Dan

[Dave Bradford]

I’d like to ask if any fellow TI fans if they have ever mixed TI sets? I’m thinking of combining Heavy G and D with medium A and E unless there is a good reason not to.

[lflngpicker]

I love TI strings. I would think if your mandolin is a modern build (my goofy term) it should have the structure to handle whatever combination of strings that suits you. It is important for all of us to be aware of the mandolin we are putting a heavier Set of strings on, IMHO. Let us know how it works out.

[Polecat]

I’d like to ask if any fellow TI fans if they have ever mixed TI sets? I’m thinking of combining Heavy G and D with medium A and E unless there is a good reason not to.

If you mix string gauges, you will have intonation issues. I no longer use T.I. strings because they have become too expensive for me - I now use Fisoma Supersolos, which are also a flat-wound string aimed at the classical market. Occasionally I break an E-string, which I then replace with a GHS 0.012" string, which approximates the gauge of the broken string. If I don't replace both E-strings, they are audibly out of tune with one another except when played as open strings - not greatly, but sufficiently to bother me. With both strings replaced, the instrument sounds in tune again (or as in tune as a mandolin can sound - it's always a compromise).
How large the intonation issue will be? no idea, I would be inclined to try it and see.

[Dave Bradford]

Thanks and worth a try to see if there is an issue. I usually change them once a year so the worst that can happen is I’ll have to change a few back to the other gauge.

[pops1]

If you put heavier G and D strings on you may improve intonation by lowering the action. Heavier strings can be used with lower action. It won't take much, but will help.

[David L]

If you mix string gauges, you will have intonation issues. I no longer use T.I. strings because they have become too expensive for me - I now use Fisoma Supersolos, which are also a flat-wound string aimed at the classical market. Occasionally I break an E-string, which I then replace with a GHS 0.012" string, which approximates the gauge of the broken string. If I don't replace both E-strings, they are audibly out of tune with one another except when played as open strings - not greatly, but sufficiently to bother me. With both strings replaced, the instrument sounds in tune again (or as in tune as a mandolin can sound - it's always a compromise).
How large the intonation issue will be? no idea, I would be inclined to try it and see.

There is a difference between mixing string gauges for different pitches and mixing string gauges in a paired course. Using heavy G and D with medium A and E won't cause any intonation problems, just a difference in tension.

[Polecat]

There is a difference between mixing string gauges for different pitches and mixing string gauges in a paired course. Using heavy G and D with medium A and E won't cause any intonation problems, just a difference in tension.

Sorry to disagree, but how a string intones depends upon its length, mass and the tension it is under. That is why if one changes to a lighter or heavier set of strings one has to move the bridge, even if only slightly to get the mandolin to play in tune. As I wrote before, the change may be so slight as not to bother one (as in replacing Fisoma supersolo strings with slightly stiffer and thicker GHS), but nonetheless it is there. The only way to find out is to try it and see.

[killntime]

I put a set of the Thomasticks on a few days ago per all of the recommendations. Biggest pro for me is that they are very easy on the fingers. I have only been playing a few months so my fingers we’re getting torn up pretty bad. The sound is good, however I’m not sure that I like all of the volume that I lost. I guess I didn’t get Wowed as much as I thought I would for the price.

FYI, this was on a Pava Pro A model.