Even heavier strings on an Eastman MDO305?

[5Guitars]

When I got my Eastman MDO305 Octave Mandolin awhile back, I quickly decided that the D'Addario stock strings, EJ-80, were too light. Like many here on this forum, I switched to an EJ-72 set with gratifying results. Now I'm thinking that the EJ-72 set may still be too light. I'm considering an EJ-76 set. I'm completely comfortable adjusting the truss rod and/or bridge as necessary. Has anyone tried this on this instrument? Does anyone feel it might be a good or bad idea? Thanks!

Here are the gauges of the sets mentioned:
EJ-80 Octave Med 12-12-22-22-32-32-46-46
EJ-72 Mandola Light 14-14-23-23-34-34-49-49
EJ-76 Mandola Med 15-15-25-25-35-35-52-52

[Benjamin Gieseke]

I put the EFT-76 Flat Tops on my my MDO305, which are a 16-53 set, with no issues. They've been on there a couple of years now and it is doing fine, a huge upgrade to the tone. They do increase the likelihood of the bridge leaning one way or the other but as you said, you're comfortable making adjustments, so that shouldn't be an issue!

[5Guitars]

Thanks, Benjamin! Will definitely try a set of EJ-76's and report my results back here in this thread. Thanks again - Tom.

[5Guitars]

The EJ-76 strings arrived from Strings & Beyond (good on-line store) today, and I just put them on.
WOW!!! The tone has so much more authority now, and the instrument seems to handle them fine and still retains good playability.
The sonic improvement in going from the EJ-72's to the EJ-76's seems equal to the improvement experienced when I went from the stock EJ-80's to the EJ-72's.
The EJ-76's do feel a bit stiffer, but the EJ-72's (not to mention the EJ-80's) felt too floppy anyway. They feel about the same as the EJ-72's feel on my Eastman MDA315 Mandola. (Ironically, the MDA315 came stock with EJ-76's, but they felt too stiff, so I changed to EJ-72's.)
I'm going to hold off on making any bridge height or truss rod adjustments for a few days. Actually, I may take it to my trusted local tech to see what he thinks about the setup (it's got some fret sprout that needs attention anyway) including maybe widening/deepening the bridge and nut slots slightly.
But I'm not going back: It plays fine, and it sounds terrific!

[5Guitars]

Just a quick update: I did take it in to my tech for some minor setup work - mostly filing down the sharp fret ends - and I just got it back a couple of days ago. I realized that I hadn't tried it through my (Henriksen Bud 6) amp with the new string set yet. (Oh, I forgot to mention that I bought it with a K&K Mandolin Twin pickup system pre-installed.) OK, to get to the point: It sounds drop-dead gorgeous amplified!

[5Guitars]

Update:
I went back to the EJ-72's.
The instrument handled the extra tension just fine, but after a while, I didn't.
The EJ-72's are a good compromise between the too floppy EJ-80's and the too stiff EJ-76's.

[rstl99]

Thanks for this.
I just acquired a used MDO305, my first octave mandolin. I have a lot of work/fun to do to get acclimated to this instrument, which is a nice change to all the guitars I have.
The previous owner included a set of EJ-72's in the case, which I assume is what is on the instrument now. It feels good to me. So I'm glad your experimentation concluded that 72's are the sweet spot for this instrument (for you, anyway), so I won't waste time going over the same ground, trying heavier strings etc.
Regards.

[fatt-dad]

that was a fun journey with 5guitars!

f-d

[5Guitars]

Glad you enjoyed my quest! I guess all my Mandolin family instruments are now strung with 'mediums'.
- I'm staying with the D'Addario EJ-72's on my MDO305 OM (21" scale).
- But after a pro setup and much lower action, I've gone back to the EJ-76's on my MDA315 Dola (16" scale).
- My new Kentucky KM-270 Mando is wearing EJ-74's (PB .011-.040), but I might try some 80/20's on it.
Of course, based on many years of experience, I am quite aware that all this subject to change

[MarTay6]

Just received my new Eastman MDO-305 as well, so this thread is of interest to me as well!!

[Randolph Millsap]

This forum is great for finding better tone solutions. I've had my MDO-305 for a couple of years now and learning about the EJ-72 strings made a good instrument great for me.

The original EJ-80 set was okay, but the G strings were floppy and buzzy and the E strings were more tinny than I liked. I read about the EJ-72s from others on here and tried a set. I was worried that mandola labeled strings would be a mistake, but they're perfect for this instrument. No more tinniness on the highs and the lows are nice and no more rattling. I also didn't have any issues with he slightly larger strings and finger fatigue.

Eastman should switch to EJ-72 as the factory set for these. They sound much better on this smaller bodied octave mandolin.