1916 Gibson A strings

[Sandy Beckler]

Greetings....

I have 1916 Gibson A that I currently have strung with J74's and the tone that I am getting is a bit "muted" could anyone suggest strings that may impart a somewhat brighter sound, or.....What do you use on your teens Gibson A style?

Thanks, Sandy

[Vernon Hughes]

J75's

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

I was going to suggest going lighter to J73. I had a '26 A-Jr before, and when I went from J73 to J74, the sound seemed to have 'choked' a bit. Going back to J73, the mandolin seemed to have come back a live a bit more. I also tried a bunch of other strings, like GHS silk and bronze, silk and steel, Thomastik, jazzmando etc, but none seemed to have as much of the liveliness and bronzy sound that those J73s gave.

[John L]

I think my A-1 is also a 1916 (may be '17). It has Newtone strings on it, as suggested by the best vintage shop in Toronto, the 12th Fret. They are handmade in England and may not be widely available.

[Fretbear]

A muted sound tends to make one think that that the strings are too heavy for the instrument. J74's are almost as heavy a string set as is available besides the J75's. I would try GHS Silk and Bronze (or Silk and Steel, which also sound good if you don't mind changing strings on a more regular basis) These are both about the same gauge as D'Addario J74's but have a lighter feel and tension due to their make-up.
GHS also makes lighter gauge phosphor bronze sets as well. It is well worth experimenting as every instrument will require something different, and a string that works well on one may not work very well at all on another.

[Bernie Daniel]

A muted sound tends to make one think that that the strings are too heavy for the instrument. J74's are almost as heavy a string set as is available besides the J75's. I would try GHS Silk and Bronze (or Silk and Steel, which also sound good if you don't mind changing strings on a more regular basis) These are both about the same gauge as D'Addario J74's but have a lighter feel and tension due to their make-up.
GHS also makes lighter gauge phosphor bronze sets as well. It is well worth experimenting as every instrument will require something different, and a string that works well on one may not work very well at all on another.

I agree with this and another really nice lighter gauge, phosphor-bronze set of strings is the D'Aquisto M-21 set: (0.034"/0.024"/0.014"/0.010") . I use these on my 1920 F-2 and they sound great and put less pressure on the top plate.

[Pete Martin]

Gibson monels the Sam Bush set

[John L]

As I said above, I have a very similar 1916 A-1. While it sounds good with Newtone strings, I did not like monels on it at all - and I am a big fan of Gibson monel strings. I use nothing else on my F-5. I agree with post that said every instrument is different, and you have to find the right strings for that particular instrument.

[morgan]

I used GHS Bobby Osborne medium lights for many years on my old Gibson and they were satisfactory but not great. I then tried medium (I think) Newtones and liked them quite a bit but was unable to replace them, although I think they can now be ordered from Twelfth fret. I tried some jazzmando flatwounds and thought the treble was a bit thin, but recently heard a recording of me playing them and they sounded good on the recording. Not sure what to make of that. I've since bought a set of Wyres from Elderly to get an order up to the free shipping total, but I haven't put them on yet.

[mandroid]

.010 - .036/.038, p-bronze is what I use on my pre truss rod A..