Eastman 305 string preference?

[maxr]

I know there's several Eastman 305 owners here. What strings do you find work best for you on this instrument? Mine's wearing the usual D'Addario Phosphor Bronze at the moment, but I have a mind to switch to Monel for longer string life.

[CES]

I used to have a 315 I sold in a downsize move a few years ago. It liked EJ 74 and 75s just fine. I’ve been playing Monels on a couple of my main guitars and my fav mandolin (Kelley A5) for a few months now and am digging them. Using the D’Addairios that are the same gauges as J74s on the mando and Martins (due to availability locally) on the guitars. I don’t kill strings quickly, but the monels do last longer for me. Going on 3 or 4 months so far without signs of needing a change yet…

[Pappyrich]

D'Addario XT (11-40). I have tried 3 or 4 other strings, including EJ73 and EJ74, and Elixir coated. So far the XT are the best fit for me.

[standing.wav]

I have a 504 (oval hole instead of F hole) and I like D'Addario Monel, D'Addario NBs, and Curt Mangan Monels. I switch between light and medium because I'm indecisive.

[NDO]

I am really happy with a set of EJM75’s I put on my MD605. The tone and volume are terrific.
I can’t speak to longevity yet. They’ve been on it a month and played pretty hard; I was thinking about changing them out the other day because I thought my tone was off a bit, but decided to wait and now they’re sounding fine. So either I was impaired or I had them a bit out of tune or a humidity change caused things to shift a bit.

[Bren]

I've tried several others, including Curt Mangan, Newtone, Thomastik etc but only d'Addarios stand up to the volume of a pub session and still sound good at home .

In the last two years I've progressed from the J74s or EJ74s I used for decades to XT and then the newer XS which are the ultimate for me so far.
£17 to £20 a set but worth it and they stay in peak tone condition very long , at least 3 months, even when played hard.
I've put them on both my Marshall Dow oval hole and my Eastman 815 f-hole

It would be OK to go back to J74s, I'd just have to change them more often.

[maxr]

I tried switching the EJ 74s for same gauge D'Addario monel on my Eastman 305 and my Kentucky 250. The EJ74s had lots of (good) character, but it seems like the wound D'Addario monel Ds and Gs match the sound of the plain steel As and Es more closely, and give a smoother sound - you don't get that change as you pick from a plain string to a wound one. Entirely a matter of taste, but I like the monel strings, and they had the same effect on two different sounding mandolins.

[Zach Wilson]

Just saw a friend yesterday at his house who plays a 305.

He's mostly a guitar player and we jam occasionally. I asked him what strings he had on his mandolin. He said he uses GHS a270. I liked it.

[Elb2000]

EJ74 on my 505. I tried monel, but did not like the feel.

[Bill Cameron]

If you’re searching for a difference in strings, try flatwounds. The D’addarios are good strings and reasonably priced. Flatwounds give you an incredible improvement in comfort and less string noise, and they last longer without much change in sound characteristics (compared to the gradient of change as regular strings go from bright and new to old and decrepit [like me]). You’ll either love them or hate them. Warning: if you love them, you will end up spending a lot more on strings per year.

[maxr]

If you’re searching for a difference in strings, try flatwounds.

Do flatwounds tend to be quieter or have less top in the sound?

[Elliot Luber]

I just put D'ad Monels on my 605 and it's singing now.

[Bren]

Do flatwounds tend to be quieter or have less top in the sound?

I would say more even across the strings, which gives you a smoother, jazzier sound, and less wear on your fingertips.
Less callous too, which may not be desirable.
For a couple of years I would practise for a couple of months with normal J74 round wound, building up callouses, then switch to flatwound in late May for festivals etc where I'd be playing all day for 3 or 4 days. It felt great, like my fingers were dancing over the strings.

In the end , I decided it wasn't really worth the effort.
I prefer the "grunt" of normal round wound anyway, though I doubt listeners can tell the difference.

There's also the interesting oddity of D'Addario "flat-tops" set, FT, which include a wound A string.

[Elb2000]

After reading this thread, I decided to try a set of flatwound EFW74 on my MD505. My 1st observations are: harder to install since the strings don’t bend as easily, don’t seem to stretch much, sound like one month old EJ74, pleasant tone, and have a very nice feel on fretting fingers.