I recently picked up my old f-Style mandolin after a looooooong break, and while the old strings were ok, I thought it was time to give Mandy a makeover...
Going by other positive reviews I basically thought "hell, for under 3€ what have I got to lose?" Nothing, as it turns out.
I initially forgot to add these to my order. So when I called Thomann, rather than farting about with refunds and reorders, they just added them to my delivery free of charge (I should've hung out for a Gibson SG). Now THAT's customer service.
Anyway, back to the strings. First impressions are good: no-nonsense packaging but with individual air-tight packets for each pair of strings. The bronze looks more pure bronze than phosphor-bronze but who cares. They're nice and smooth, go on easily, come up to pitch quickly and stay there.
If I had to be picky, I'd say the low strings sound a little less bassy and less full than some I've played. 0.34 is on the lighter end of things, so maybe .36 or .38 would add a little more bottom end.
To sum up, they're maybe not professional quality strings, but don't let that put you off. As someone else pointed out here, if you're playing regular gigs and breaking strings for a hobby (I'm talking Irish traditional or electric folk here), then these are a perfect backup for your case. It certainly beats breaking into a set 4 times the price just to get a spare. You could just about gig them I reckon, but it's still a little early to comment on their lifespan.
All in all, a bargain bit of kit!
