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Thread: Good Strings For My 17.5" Mandola?

  1. #1

    Question Good Strings For My 17.5" Mandola?

    Greetings, everyone!

    So I'm a tenor banjo player who just picked up mandola.
    I just got my instrument from Romania and I noticed that the strings are not of the best quality. What strings would be best suited for fast tremolo style lead without snapping a string?
    Here is one of my favorite mandolin players; I'm attempting to have a similar sound: https://youtu.be/IbJ1pDmFPL8

  2. #2
    Pittsburgh Bill
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    Default Re: Good Strings For My 17.5" Mandola?

    I like John Pearse Set # 2250
    Big Muddy EM8 solid body (Mike Dulak's final EM8 build)
    Kentucky KM-950
    Weber Gallatin A Mandola "D hole"
    Rogue 100A (current campfire tool & emergency canoe paddle)

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  4. #3

    Default Re: Good Strings For My 17.5" Mandola?

    I ordered the John Pearse set, I'm very excited! Happen to know a good pick type for tremolo style playing? I prefer very thin gauge picks.

  5. #4

    Default Re: Good Strings For My 17.5" Mandola?

    I would suggest you try a few picks that are heavier than you are used to using on the banjo. I understand it’s nice to have a pick that flexes a bit on the banjo strings, but on mando You have to get used to a different attack and the high-tension double-string courses have a lot more resistance. Try in the 1mm range for a start, a lot of players like the blue chips and stuff but that is radically different than you are used to and pricey to boot. I suggest starting cheap by trying Jim Dunlop Tortex of various gauges, when you find a gauge you like, then maybe spend a few more bucks on Primetones or whatever.

    Admittedly the tension is less on mandola than on a mandolin but it’s still more than the tenor.
    Personally I like a .73 for tenor banjo and an .88 for mando or mandola. Happy pickin!
    2009 Eastman 505
    2011 Collings MTO GT
    2008 Toyota Sienna
    2018 Sawchyn mandola

    Mandoline or Mandolin: Similar to the lute, but much less artistically valuable....for people who wish to play simple music without much trouble —The Oxford Companion to Music

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