Re: Mandola DADA tuning
I used to have a Mid Mo mandola that I tuned in DAEB aka Irish tuning. Kind of like and octave mandolin without the bottom G course and a "bonus" B course. I too worried about the tension so I put together a custom set out of singles using this string calculator:
http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html
The trick is to come up with gauges that mimic the tension of the original set. Please note that you can change the 16 in mandola scale length to your 15.5 in. and also change it from metric to English at the same time just by using inches instead of cm. in the string length value box. After a little preliminary playing around with it on your behalf I came up with .044W for your D and .030W for your A. For DADA keep the second and first course as is. Using custom gauges is the safest approach but it is kind of a pain to not be able to just buy a set.
Don
2016 Weber Custom Bitterroot F
2011 Weber Bitterroot A
1974 Martin Style A
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