Hey Val--yeah, try out different sets 'cuz I was really surprised at how that MK opened up...I actually apologized to it one afternoon, outloud, in public. My bass player thought I was crazy. I bought the Dean Markelys strictly because I'd never tried them before, so try other brands out too, if possible. Of course in India your options might be limited, but there's always juststings.com they have 19 brands to choose from!
Maybe somebody else is understanding it differently, but when I think "buzzy" I think the string is catching on something, either a fret or the fingerboard or something else (don't know what, tho). I know that for myself I press pretty hard so if my action is too low I can put a pair out of tune and get a buzzy sound just 'cuz the downward pressure is so much (think violin style vibrato). So without seeing and playing your instrument, I'm guessing you got an issue with your action, the string slot on your bridge or the slot on your nut, not your strings per se. Especially if the problem doesn't happen when you play open, that suggests to me that it's a setup issue (assuming you are fretting the note even half-way decently--in my opinion, buzzing can only be blamed 100% on operator error if the operator is a total beginner, in which case it's not blame, it's learning curve). One thing I've done in the past when I've gotten a weird buzz I can't explain and I can't get it to the shop right away is to put a piece of paper or thin cardboard in the nut or bridge slot. I've used notebook paper, the board they make cereal boxes out of and a paper match, depending on how high I'm trying to go. I first try this at the nut and then at the bridge. It's sort of a pain, because you need to completely loosen the string or strings, put your card in, then retighten and check it out. If it doesn't help then you gotta do it again with a thicker piece of something (too thick will make the string noticeably higher than the rest of your strings in which case you have to decide which is the lesser of two evils). This should raise the string enough that it's not buzzing on the frets. It looks funny and you're gonna have to explain yourself to everyone who sees your instrument, but in my experience, it works! Once four years ago I had a match in for two weeks and when it finally broke there was no more buzz. How come? I don't know and I don't care. So I hope this works for you, Val. Anyone else think of something different? erik On Feb 11, 1:09 am, Val Mindel <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks so much, Erik. I'll try all these solutions (assuming I can > find the Markely strings) and report what I find. It is the balance > between tension and sound, I think. I really need to find the optimal > string choice for this mandolin. It has the potential to be very sweet > yet with a good projection. > As to my other problem: Do you (or anyone) have any clue about why > getting the pairs in tune on a particular kind of string should be so > difficult? This is a new problem ... that slightly buzzy sound. > Everything is "in tune" according to tuners and my ear (which doesn't > always agree with the tuner) and the pairs sound clear when I play > them, suggesting that they are in synch, but when I finger them I get > that slightly toothy buzzy sound that suggests they are not in tune. > Aargh! > > On Feb 10, 1:38 pm, erik berry <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > I use three mandolins with three different guages, so I'll share what > > I do. On my F I use the J75s (or J74s, depending on what I can find > > when I need strings). On my '30s Kalamazoo A oval hole I use the GHS > > silk and Steels, which are "spongy" feeling, but coupled with the oval > > soundhole I think sounds good, even though it does feel odd to my > > fingers. > > > The third mando is a Michael Kelly A which is my on-stage backup. J75s > > and J74s are too much for it. It feels "right" becasue I'm used to > > those guages, but it doesn't sound right to my ears so I've played > > around. Currently there is a set of J67s. These are nickel wound > > 11-14-25-39. I like 'em okay, but what I liked better on it was a set > > of Dean Markley Lights, also nickel wound guage 11-14-24-37. This set > > is hard to find though 'cuz you gotta find someone who stocks Dean > > Markely strings. Ironically, in Duluth, MN, the closest music store to > > me, they're easy to find. On the road is another story. I used to use > > the J62s, but, again to my ears, the combination of light guage and > > bronze equals weak sound (probably because I have a beefier mandolin > > set up with heavy bronze strings). I have the MK for a backup because > > I needed a backup and the price was only $300. I used to disrespect it > > a lot (for about 18 months) but after changing the guage to the nickel > > and a little lighter, I was surprised at what a fun little instrument > > it is. Sometimes I play it for encores, just for fun and so people can > > see me use "that other mandolin you got up on stage, there..." > > > Hope this helps, > > erik > > > PS: back in high school, on the advice of Stevie Ray Vaughn via Guitar > > Player magazine, I used to by the heaviest guage electric guitar > > string I could find (jazz heavies) and throw away the high E. Then I > > buy a single bass guitar D string. Then I'd string the instrument > > 13-17-24-36-46-64 (I think--it's been a number of years now)...now > > that's a heavy set of strings! > > > On Feb 10, 5:33 am, Linda <[email protected]> wrote:> Val, I found those > > silk and ?? bronze GHS strings spongy and took em > > > off before time. > > > I am using steel strings and its ok. > > > I miss the Thomastiks, but understand they just don't hold up under > > > pressure of regular playing. So,\still looking for the perfect > > > solution, so far the steel strings seems the closest to what I want. > > > Yes, it is annoying. > > > ljt- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en.
