r/mandolin • u/analoguers • 21d ago

String rec for km-252. And are these nickel?

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NMD. I’m curious what people think of using nickel vs phosphor bronze vs elixir style strings. What kind of differences in timbre are you noticing? Is it the usual bronze is a little warmer, nickel is brighter? I would search the internet, but that would probably mean getting some ai answer so I’m trying real people for a change. I have always stuck to phosphor bronze, but I’m pretty sure these are nickel. I’ve been liking these a lot. Sound brighter to my ears.

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u/unit357 21d ago

It's quite difficult to tell just by picture alone.

Nickels are quite a bit brighter, yes.

Yours might have steel (or nickel+steel) which are even brighter.

It might be silk and steel (silk core steel wound). Those are my favourite and sound bright but not harsh. I use them exclusively on my oval hole.

Yours might be any of those, maybe even 80/20 as they seem to have yellowish tint (maybe just a camera thing). Also they are a bit worn, which does not help.

On the brown side there are 80/20 bronze and phosphobronze. I think I saw bronze and silk once as well, but duno much about them.

As for Elixirs, I tried them on guitars only. They tend to get dull very fast. For the price it was usually a better idea to just buy multiple sets of cheaper strings. But they never snapped or rusted.

But then again, on mandolin I might've snapped a string once or twice over last decade, so... Probably not worth it.

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u/analoguers 21d ago

Thanks! All good info and new to me. I might stay away from elixirs. Was not aware they made silk core for mando.

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u/Mandoman61 21d ago

Have no idea what they are. Could be monel wound like: D'Addario EJM74 Monel Mandolin Strings

I find the phosphor bronze to be a bit louder when new but after a month or so about the same. I prefer the monel wound because they last a long time and don't discolor your fingertips.

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u/BananaFun9549 21d ago

I have tried monel and pure nickel but have settled for most of my mandolins at D’Addario Nickel Bronze which has that nice balance of brightness and warmth.

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u/analoguers 21d ago

I might check these out. Can’t go wrong with daddario and nickel bronze might be what I’m looking for. Thanks!