how important is string choice on mandolin?

[rollypolly]

I'm a complete beginner on mandolin, but since I'm taking guitar lessons a lot of the music knowledge carries over and the mandolin seems like a fun alternative.

I got a Recording King solid top mandolin a year or so ago but haven't picked it up much. I just tuned it and was plucking around on it today and noticed that it doesn't have a lot of bass presence.

My question is - will a set of warmer strings like monels help bring out some more bass on an inexpensive mandolin like this or will it be a waste of time?

I know with guitars you can expect a pretty big difference between say 80/20s and monels.

[Melt in the Sun]

You can expect a big difference in overall tone between those two string types. You could try flatwounds too (d'addario) for an even darker tone.

No mandolin is going to have much bass though!

[PineMarten]

You're never going to bring out much more bass with string choice on mandolin - mostly that's a property of the instrument. But choosing a mellower type of string might get you a rounder, cleaner tone on a bright sounding mandolin. I've quite liked D'addario Nickel Bronze for that, you could try a flatwound set too but those may be more of an acquired taste. I have the D'addario flatwound set on my mandolin at the moment (a nice flat top Fylde), some days I like them and some days I feel the G is a little too plunky and uke-like.

[Silly Moustache]

The standard gauge for mandolins in pretty much always 11-40.

I mostly always used D'addario or Dunlop PB strings but in latter years I have changed to D'addario Nickel bronze, or Dunlop Nickel.

I guess that 80/20 might be less trebly but that is really more about the instrument top and bracing, and your choice of pick.

[keith.rogers]

Well, kind of echoing SM, "lower end" in a mandolin does depend quite a bit on having the top and bracing flexible enough to produce those longer waves, and inexpensive instruments often err on the side of "robustness" so you may not get far with string swapping, but you can sure try.

The mandolin is not really prized for its bass, but you can find some models that have more output, relatively in the lower end, though typically those are oval hole models. F-hole models are used primarily in situations where the midrange output/presence is needed to compete with the other instruments like a banjo or fiddle. And, your lowest string on the mandolin is tuned to the same pitch as the 3rd (G) string on a guitar, so just nothing you'd really call "bass" in the whole set, to start with.

Heavier and less "pointy" picks can tame the highs, more than string choice, IMO, because most sets all share essentially the same top strings, those pairs of unwrapped Es and As, which is probably where you'll do most picking. And, the heavier pick can help drive those larger strings, once you get the right hand moving.

I personally don't like the sound of monel - tried it on guitars and mandolins both now, and it's just "meh" for me, but I like the bit of jangle of phosphor bronze, which, if you get regular D'Addario EJ74s, will mellow out with a bit of playing and still last a good while. Most mandolin players I know do not change strings until absolutely necessary, so there's probably some reliance on the [eventually] old strings to keep the screeching in check .

[Charlie Bernstein]

Good answers above. Here's another way to look at it:

When I first started playing mandolin, I was frustrated by how out-of-balance the strings sounded. Some strings sets are more balanced than others, but when I mentioned the problem to a studio pro I know, he said not to even try for balance, "It's the nature of the beast."

So I went back to good old D'Addario phosphor bronze. Instead of expecting my strings to deliver the goods, I started concentrating on making my playing deliver the goods.

It doesn't happen right away, and at first the idea might sound like unadulterated voodoo. But over time, you'll find that your playing touch will tune itself to your mandolin — and you'll learn to love that strange, unguitarlike string behavior.

[Mandobart]

Bass response is what separates the beginner/entry level mandolins from the better ones. There’s only so much you can do without upgrading.

Google Rob Meldrum mandolin ebook for a free guide on setting up your mandolin to be as good as it can be.

That said, DR Rare mandolin strings and Curt Mangan fusion matched mandolin are the best strings I’ve found for my F5.

[warfrat73]

Strings definitely make a difference. But probably not that much of a difference in what you're looking for.

A thuddy G-course is par for the course on most inexpensive mandolins.