Hi Everyone,
I recently ordered two sets of Curt Mangan mandolin strings and, for now anyway, have found my new favorite strings.
They are the 11.5 - 41 guage, so virtually identical to the J75s I've been using. I was anticipating a difference in tone, but so much in feel. Let me just say, they definitely sound and feel different.
As other reviewers before me have noted, they do not have that initial brashness characteristic of the J75s. I actually like that brashness, especially after the strings have been on for a day or so. The sweet spot is short lived though, and it sometimes seems as soon as I start loving J75s that's as soon as they start to quickly decline. I get about a week of good tone out of them.
There's no telling how the Mangans will evolve with my mandolin and playing, but my first impression is they feel smoother and a tad tighter than J75s. It's welcome. It's like a greater sense of stability, and some of my tuning issues have resolved, at least initially. I don't know, they somehow seem to pull out a more robust tone than the J75s.
We'll see how they evolve, but for now I'm smitten. It is kind of strange that they are so long prior to being trimmed, and the fact that they are almost twice as expensive is a thing, but tone is tone. So far it's worth it.
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