Mandolin Strings make a difference!

A regular set of mandolins get it replaced and there you go. You get a fresh pair of strings and ready to go. Or Hold on, there's more to it. From the brand you're picking, the gauge on each strings to the shape and material of the strings. Here's what Alison Stephens, a renowned UK classical mandolinist said:

STRINGS: The make of strings you use depends enormously on the type of instrument you have and the sound you like to get from that instrument. I'll give a brief summary of the basic types of strings available and then go into more detail on some of them.The big discussion amongst many mandolinists is whether to use a wound A string or not. Many sets come with plain A's and many people opt to combine sets in order to use a wound A. For me plain A's have several downsides: Firstly I find they don't blend well with the other strings and "stick out" especially on an open "a" note.I also find tuning rather unstable on plain A's in comparison to wound A's.

• Phosphor-bronze style strings: these are (as the name suggests) bronze coloured and usually give a very bright and brilliant sound. To some ears this can be a little "jangly" but can often give a traditional "Italian" brightness to a mandolin.
• Chromenickel style strings: These are "silver" coloured and tend to be slightly less bright in tone. People often think of chromenickel strings as being warmer and maybe richer in tone. They still can give a bright sound depending on the sort of winding finish (see next few bullets)
• Round wound strings: Strings come in four types of windings; round, burnished, flat and coated (not strictly a type of winding!). Round wound strings are best imagined as spaghetti wound around a spaghetti core. They give the brightest sound of the four types. They often "deaden" quite quickly with a lot of playing. They also produce quite a lot of "whoosh" when the player moves their hand up and down the strings. Round wound strings are available in both Phospor-bronze and chromenickel styles.
• Burnished/polished strings: These are wound round strings that have been through a polisher in order to take the "edge" off the windings. They produce less "whoosh" and generally produce a slightly less bright sound. They are often seen as a good compromise between round wound and flat wound strings giving an equal amount of tone and brightness. These strings are also available in both phosphor-bronze and chromenickel styles.
• Flat wound strings are best thought of as tagliatelli wound around spaghetti. They cut down on "whoosh" considerably. They often produce a very sweet tone but tend to be a bit lacking in "brilliance". Many players find the lower strings "D" and "G" a bit dead and unresponsive in flat wound strings. Flat wound strings are most commonly available in Chromenickel style.
• Coated strings: as the name suggests, these strings are often round wound but then coated in a substance. This has several effects; it eliminates "whoosh" almost completely, it apparently increases string life, and it is often considered to give a warmer tone.