Strings: brands & gagues

[eric102673]

I'm getting back into acoustic playing and finally bought one after 3 years of going without. My first guitar was an import cheapo acoustic 12 string with action so high I could stand under the strings. :)

After years of playing electrics i bought myself a lowden O-32 and used it occasionally. I'd started stringing it up with Elixer strings when they first came out because I'd heard they lasted longer, and indeed tey did but were kinda dead sounding. When Elixer brought out the updated "nanoweb" coaings I tried those and they were better, but in a bonehead move I sold the 0-32 and used the money to buy a guitar I don't even have anymore. :rolleyes: In my defense I do think the 0-32 was a pretty big beastie for a short guy like me. :)

So I recently got around to buying a great Breedlove SC-25. Back when I was checking out Lowdens I was also checking out Breedloves, but didn't find one that I liked for the $$. While I had no acoustic I still regularly went into music stores to check them out in case I could find one that I loved. Now that that has finally happened I'm back to shoppig for strings. Thing is while I'm very familiar with electric string brands and gagues, I'm acoustically defficient when searching for strings for the Breedlove.

I tend to like 10s with a wound G on my electrics. Tend to lean towards the nickle Pyramids, though I've spent some time with the snake oils. Not sure gague wise where to head or what brands have what characteristics. Took me years to get around to the Pyramids.

Suggestions?

-e.

[RL in Fla]

I'm interested in brands/characteristics as well . Use D'Addario's now , but open to change , and I like 11 - 52 (wound 3rd) on acoustics , mo' betta sound but not as much difference swapping from 9.5/10's on electrics . Anybody got any feedback on "Blue Steels"? Also are there any semi-flat or flat-wound bronze out there to cut down on fretting noise ?

[Old Tele man]

..two (2) to recommend, depending on use:

LEAD -- try Lay's S.I.T. (Stay-In-Tune) golden 80/20 bronze "SILENCERS"...their surfaces are "rolled" (versus "ground") and are very quiet..."minimizes fret and finger noise without sacrificing the brightness." I like their GL1048 (0.010"-0.048") with wound G (0.020").

RHYTHM -- try D'Addario's semi-flat phosphor bronse Flat Tops ...their surfaces are "ground" and are VERY smooth, but LESS bright in tone. I like their EFT15 (0.010"-0.047") with wound G (0.023").

[CAFeathers]

A friend of mine started me using Electric Strings on my Acoustic guitars. I now use the plain strings from a Dean Markley Blue Steel set and the wound strings from a Dean Markley Flatwound set. This way too I can go with lighter guage strings on my Acoustic. My only remaining Acoustic has such a set on it in 9-46 guage.

[RL in Fla]

Thanks OT ! the GL 1150's (http://www.juststrings.com/sit-gl1150.html) look like perzackly it , keep the character ,
just lose a little finger noise on the low 3 :AOK .
I'm guessing the slightly smaller difference in wound gauges
on their sets is due to the rolling , si ?

Chet , do the BlueSteels stay "live" longer like the reviews claim ?
(asking now about electrics )

[CAFeathers]

Originally posted by RL in Fla
Thanks OT ! the GL 1150's (http://www.juststrings.com/sit-gl1150.html) look like perzackly it , keep the character ,
just lose a little finger noise on the low 3 :AOK .
I'm guessing the slightly smaller difference in wound gauges
on their sets is due to the rolling , si ?

Chet , do the BlueSteels stay "live" longer like the reviews claim ?
(asking now about electrics )

Although I do not play every guitar every day I can get a set of Blue Steels to last several months.

[Buffalosix]

Martin SP Phosphor Bronze Custom Light - .11 - .52.

Great sound, plus heavy enough to make the top of my super jumbo move, but light enough that it makes the jump back and forth between my electrics easier.

[Scott Peterson]

SOB - they really are exceptional.

I use .12's on my Variax acoustic and .13's on my Tacoma DR-38R.

Was a D'Addario PB guy before.

[Old Tele man]

RL in FL -- My 'Strat-playing buddy and I (Tele) were asked to play "...a couple 'acoustic' songs..." for a company-sponsored Xmas-party. So he and I grabbed our Ovations -- his had the built-in piezo bridge, mine had a "clip-in" sound-hole humbucker.

...however, because we played the guitars through our electric guitar amps (his: Mashall combo; mine: Super Reverb), finger noise became VERY noticable, and so we BOTH began searching for "quieter" acoustic strings.

...that's when we settled on the SIT's and D'Addario! He played lead and preferred the SIT's, and I played rhythm and preferred the D'Addario's. Both of us were pleasantly surprised at how quiet they both were 'finger-noise' wise.

...I now string my Ovation Balladeer with the SIT's (for lead) and my Ovation Viper with the D'Addarios (for rhythm).

[RL in Fla]

Thanks OT . The SIT's oughta do it , I'm reeealy loving the Little Martin (other post) , and always been "acoustic-rooted" , fingerpicking , etc , so just knocking the edge off the "slip-slide" noises is about it , I wanta keep the brightness in the mix . I sold my Ovation awhile back , somewhere along the line the neck got too narrow to suit me . :confused:

Much as I like the LM I'll prob'ly try a K&K TwinSpot in it
and run it thru an EQ pedal .

[Avenger]

I play much more accoustic than electric. 9 or 10 sets would be way too thin for me. Not enough volume and ringing sustain, I would think. I've used DR 12s on my Taylor 410-K for years. They last forever. They start out a bit bright for me but after a day or two they settle into the sound I like. I hate Elixer strings BTW. They are too bright for my taste.

Recently I've tried some John Pearse Phospher Bronze Lights (.12s). They seem to be lasting quite well, and I have to say the sound seems slightly superior to the DRs. I may be switching to the John Pearse strings. Here is a link to the John Pearse web site. http://www.jpstrings.com/brstring.htm

In the end, like so much guitar stuff, it is going to boil down to personal taste, playing style, the guitar, and what you are trying to achieve. You'll probably get a few ideas or where to start, but in the end trial and error will be your solution.

[Old Tele man]

RL in FL -- some very nice looking amp cabinets there!

[RL in Fla]

Thanks OTM . The red one I turned into my CD rack .
McDonald's looms large right now . :(

[Chiba]

I bought an acoustic from a guy that uses those relatively new Dear Markley 'Alchemy' strings. The first weekend I had the guitar I did some recording with it, it sounded great.

I didn't have time to change the strings before the session, I just went right in. Later I found out the strings had been on the guitar for about 3 months.

I switched to the Alchemy strings on all my acoustics and haven't looked back since. Super tone, excellent feel, and obviously superb life!

--chiba

[Terry Hayes]

Breedlove ships their guitars with D'Addario EXP 80/20 strings. I like them on my SC20/R. They sound great and the last set lasted a long time.

I use the EXP13 set (11-52).

Terry

[MichaelK]

I use D'addario PB, Light. I tried EXP and Elixir and felt the PB sounded better by far. Plus, the coating starts to wear off and they look ugly faster than PB. So where is this "longer life?"

[Terry Hayes]

Originally posted by MichaelK
I use D'addario PB, Light. I tried EXP and Elixir and felt the PB sounded better by far. Plus, the coating starts to wear off and they look ugly faster than PB. So where is this "longer life?"

The "longer life" is that they lasted longer than other strings I have used! Pretty simple. You experienced otherwise. Fine.

For me, after a few months of use, a set of EXP's still sounded quite good. As to the appearance of the strings, I wasn't too concerned about that.

Terry

[MichaelK]

Originally posted by Terry Hayes
The "longer life" is that they lasted longer than other strings I have used!
OK, I misrepresented what happened.

It may be that you're right and they last longer overall. But when the coating started coming off I changed them because I missed the tone of the Phosphor Bronze besides. Just my experience and personal taste.

[Terry Hayes]

Originally posted by MichaelK
Just my experience and personal taste.

Exactly!

We will all have our favorites.

Terry

[olectric]

I've been using DR Sunbeams 11-50 on my Collings C-10 Deluxe. Sounds simply amazing when I fingerpick (I actually don't ever use a pick with my acoustic). However, I've heard that a lot of people do not like DR strings at all. Any of you here? Why would that be? Sound prefs? Inconsistency? I've had a completely dead string before in a package or two, but out of 50 or so packs, I think that's an acceptable problem.

I really like the Sunbeams because they are round-core, which, to my ears, does a lot in the sustain department because the strings are heavier than standard hex-core 11s (round wrap on a hex-core leaves six little gaps running down the length of each string).

[drbob1]

I like the sound of phosphor bronze best, either Martin or Pearse. The problem is that they do tend to corrode a bit earlier and definitely catch more on the fingers for us lazy electric players. Still, I think I'll stay with them, at least for the Gibson B45 (which is pretty warm and could use the extra sparkle). My Taylor (410, very early 80s) on the other hand, I'm not happy with. It seems thin with the phosphor bronze. Any suggestions to fill out the bass and mids a bit?

[forestryguy]

I like Elixir Nanoweb 12's on my Martin D-28. The "slick" feel took a little getting used to, but they sound great and last a long time for me. Longevity probably will vary with your body chemistry.

[Avenger]

Originally posted by drbob1
I like the sound of phosphor bronze best, either Martin or Pearse. The problem is that they do tend to corrode a bit earlier and definitely catch more on the fingers for us lazy electric players. Still, I think I'll stay with them, at least for the Gibson B45 (which is pretty warm and could use the extra sparkle). My Taylor (410, very early 80s) on the other hand, I'm not happy with. It seems thin with the phosphor bronze. Any suggestions to fill out the bass and mids a bit?

I haven't tried them, but Pearse Phospher Bronze Silks might fit the bill. They say they sound like a worn in set of Phospher Bronzes, which would probably mean more bass. I will probably try a set on my Taylor 410-K since I like strings better after they lose that new string brightness. Here is a link:
http://www.jpstrings.com/brstring.htm#Silks

Terry

[iDavid]

I ordered some snake oil strings for my acoutic and tried the bronze nano exlixers in the mean time and digging them

High hopes for the SOS

[jjfields]

I've been using DR Rares on my acoustics for a while now, and am very pleased with them. They do sound a bit bright when first installed but do settle in nicely after a day or so.

I am not a fan of coated strings due to tone and volume loss, although I have been testing a set of Elixir PB's with suprisingly favorable results. My wife even commented on how good they sounded, and her ears are basically for decoration....


Jeff

[Fishin'Musician]

D'Aquisto Artist Series Tony Rice custom gauge (13, 17, 26w, 35, 45, 57)
THESE ARE NICKEL ROUND WOUNDS-
Yeah, I know. I bought ten sets from a guy on ebay a while after I bought the Santa Cruz T.R., just so I could be like T.R.
...I hated them at first, too dark sounding. I kept using them because I had ten sets of them, now I won't use anything else. I bought some Martin phosphour bronze medium gauge a while back and took them back off after a few days. Way too bright sounding. I guess it's all relative, you know; whatever you're used to.
:cool:

[LTE]

I've been liking the Everly Sessions alot. They have a warm, rounded tone and seem to hold up quite well.