Strings for Mk I

[Haole Jim]

Apologies.

There is surely a thread or two on this somewhere, but this picker cold not find it.

Since purchasing a real, modern Mk I in 'mid 07, 'have been playing .011 DR flatwounds with wound 3rd, quite happily. Also on the cheesy but amazingly nice Vietnam-Dillion VMD-75.

Are there superior (Chicagoans might well say, "mo betta") strings for a Mk I to play Ventures, surf, lounge, jazz, show tunes, folk rock, old pop, a bit of world and classical?

Thank you.

[Strat-o-rama]

I use 10/46 set (D'Addario), but I've often wondered what came on the guitar back in the 60s. If it were 1965, and I were to go into a Mosrite dealer and buy a new Mark 1, what strings would be on the guitar from the factory?

Dennis, I bet you know...

[Dennisthe Menace]

I use 10/46 set (D'Addario), but I've often wondered what came on the guitar back in the 60s. If it were 1965, and I were to go into a Mosrite dealer and buy a new Mark 1, what strings would be on the guitar from the factory?

Dennis, I bet you know...

Mosrite was one of the first Guitar Companies to use 10's which were just getting classified as "Light Gauge" strings.

[dubtrub]

In the late fifty's Semie purchased his string by the gross. They were in six different long round tube containers. Each container held one gauge string. All his strings were of light gauge and I believe they were a mixture of guitar and banjo strings. That was before unwound G strings or light gauge sets existed. I believe he started with the normal heavy gauge A string first for the E string etc, then used banjo strings for the higher B&E strings.

[Dennisthe Menace]

Danny,
From what I remember reading, I believe Semie and Ernest used to have 'jam sessions' on the weekends.
About the same time was when Ernest came up with the idea of possibly marketing different gauge strings
on guitars. Good thing he followed up, or we might of never heard of.........'Ernie Ball Strings'....

[dorkrockrecords]

The Vintage Mosrite book mentions in passing that Semie and Ernie Ball knew each other, but I was always curious about that relationship.

[Haole Jim]

"...what came on it...?" (above query)

'Was told by an original '67 Ventures owner, Semie was the first to use .010, at a time when G and F were loading them with 13s and 12s out of the factory.