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Thread: Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on a Trinity OM TM-325

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    Registered User Jean Andreasen's Avatar
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    Default Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on a Trinity OM TM-325

    Seeking some advice ... I recently purchased a used TM-325 and should replace the strings. Is there any reason why I couldn't use the Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on it (.016 -.020 -.035 -.050) as opposed to the D'Addario (.012 - .022 - .032 - .046)?
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    Registered User meow-n-dolin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on a Trinity OM TM-325

    With a 20" scale, I think I would try something a little bit heavier than the D'addario OM. I have an Eastman OM (22" scale) and am currently testing the Daddario mandola set -- .014 ---- .049, and it's okay, but I may go back to the OM D'addario. You might try the Mandola set first and see if that works. .016 seems rather heavy, but that is just me. Also, you to consider the increase in string tension.

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    Registered User William Young's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on a Trinity OM TM-325

    I am a guitar player and for whatever strange reason decided to buy an octave mandolin a little over a year ago. So take my comments with a huge grain of salt. My octave is 21" scale. I tried the D'Addario J 80 set (12-22-32-46) and was struck with the amount of "floppiness." I contacted the builder who said he uses slightly heavier strings (13-24-36-48). After experimenting with other standard string sets for OM (Pearse, GHS, Mangan), I decided that might just be the nature of the beast. But I agree with meow-n-dolin--that .016 does seem heavy. I buy .013 strings separately for the E course since I sometimes tune down to a D there.

    But if you look at a string tension calculator, that little E string produces a lot of tension. According to String Tension Pro calculator, it looks like this on my instrument:
    .011--13.29 pounds of tension
    .012--15.84
    .013--18.58
    .014--21.54
    .015--24.71
    I did not look up the .016 when I did this years ago, but I would estimate that the tension would be north of 27 pounds.

    Just an observation. I am a bit cautious about strings that might damage my mandolin--or produce vastly different tensions across the various courses. But then again, I am a bit of an obsessive-compulsive type. Good luck in your search for suitable strings.

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    Registered User Jean Andreasen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on a Trinity OM TM-325

    How much total tension does one what to have on a Trinity Octave? (Sorry if this seems like a silly question, but I'm kind of new to this...)
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    Registered User William Young's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gold Tone OMS Bronze Wound Strings on a Trinity OM TM-325

    I'm sure someone with more experience will come along and answer this. I have only had an octave mandolin since October of last year. But my understanding is that the tension of the strings might best hover around 20# or less each. So if I put a standard set of D'Addario J80 strings (12,22,32,46) on my instrument, it looks like this:

    E--15.84 pounds per string
    A--20.28
    D--19.06
    G--16.76
    total--143.88

    I think it is a matter of avoiding any course of strings exerting and unusual force on the neck--sort of spreading out the work load. A Trinity octave mandolin might be different. But I think all this is a balance between getting enough tension on the strings so they are playable, and trying to keep the neck of your instrument from bending like a recurve bow.

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