Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

I bend a lot as well, but I still get a lot of life from my strings. Maybe I don't play enough. :)

I have horrendous hamfist fretting technique..by-product of learning by having to wail away on a old baseball bat neck mid 50's ES125 with 30 year old+ rusty Black Diamond Concertina Wire.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

The deciding factor for me was due to string breakage. I needed to put a new set on my Strat, and the High E broke whilst tuning it. I thought, okay, it happens. Opened up another new set and put on another brand new High E string. Same thing happened! Now I am out $16 due to defective strings and with the prospect of yet another $8ish to spend, I decided to op out this time and see if there's an alternative.

I do not change strings often. I have 4 guitars that I rotate through regularly and that increases the longevity of string time dramatically.

im a long time dr pure blues user 10's and 11's they are the best feel/tone/longevity that ive found for me. ive used pyramid and i liked the way they felt, liked the tone but they didnt last all that long, are a pain to find locally and expensive. i like the burnished nickels but i like the dr's feel and tone just a little better and the longevity seemed about the same. sos vintage strings or whatever they are called are killer strings that sound and feel great and last a decent amount of time. i gave up on trying to get them after getting six sets and not being able to get more.

ive had issues with dr breakage before too and when i do, i call dr and they send me free string sets. two or three usually. its worth your time if you like em.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

I use DR strings on all my guitars from electric to acoustic to bass. They last a long time, aren't too cheap or too expensive and cover all of my needs. I wish they made nylon strings for my classical.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

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The strings arrived yesterday via USPS. Very well packaged and with enough Strings & Beyond paraphernalia that you will never forget where you got the strings from :) -- fridge magnet, a couple of S&B branded picks, and a vinyl sticker.

Before moving into the actual strings, I must talk about the packaging for both of these strings, which is outrageous in every sense of the word.

First up is PYRAMID.

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Each string is packaged within its own baggie which is turn within a a thick plastic envelope (like the old Ernie Ball packaging) ... not very eco-friendly at all!

This is the first time I have ever got strings with actual RHETORIC on and in the packaging! The Pyramid strings come packaged with a single sheet twice the size of a single baggie and folded in half. One side of the instructions/rhetoric is in German, the other in English (not the best translation into English, either).

Besides basic care tips about using solid nickel strings (helpful), Pyramid goes through great lengths to explain their 'round core' vs 'hex core' technology and what you can expect when stringing up your guitar with these strings (moderately helpful). It's when Pyramid goes into the paragraph explaining the tonal characteristics of the strings that the eye-rolling starts. :) It says, and I quote, that these strings are 'not for metal rockers, but tone hounds ...'. Seriously?! So, if you play metal or hard rock, essentially, you don't know good tone, so don't bother with these strings.

That is just the tip of the iceberg when compared to the R COCCO strings, however.

Cocco goes through great lengths to let you know that these strings are made BY HAND, and there is egomanical rhetoric everywhere, from the outer box ("From my hands to your hands") to the dophin-choking, landfill-clogging individual plastic baggie for each string which has the following print, "The Way Strings Should Be Made -- MY WAY"!!

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++++

Bold claims, indeed, from both companies.

But are the strings any GOOD??!

Stay tuned. .. :)
 
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Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

The only premium strings I ever used were Snake Oils. They were definitely good but not worth the brain damage. After years of EBMM, D'Addario, & PRS, I'm currently diggin' custom gauge GHS Burnished Nickel strings. The price is right and I get just the feel I want.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

The only premium strings I ever used were Snake Oils. They were definitely good but not worth the brain damage. After years of EBMM, D'Addario, & PRS, I'm currently diggin' custom gauge GHS Burnished Nickel strings. The price is right and I get just the feel I want.

What is the story with the custom gauges??

I use those right now but they only come in 10s and 11s...
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

Some of you guys should check the Dean Markley nickelsteel. They give you a bright but silky sound without giving up too early.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

What is the story with the custom gauges??

I use those right now but they only come in 10s and 11s...
I ordered from Big City Strings. If you bought a set of GHS strings, they'd replace the plain strings with whatever gauges GHS offers. I dunno if they still offer it. They seem to have pulled that page from their web site. If that's no longer an option, I might check out Curt Mangan. They allow you to order custom gauge sets, complete with customize labels. :)
 
Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

The Xl series of strings from D'Adarrio are steel/mickle wrap on a steel core. I don't worry too much about them because when I have a gig I put on a fresh set about a day before the gig. I also use the J17's on my acoustics. I get about 3 maybe 4 months out of a set!!! Now I don't play the same guitar every day and when they feel or sound dead then I change them I have a lot of guitars so I find it important to keep the humidity even and consistent. When I monitor this I can generally get about 3, maybe. V$
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

I put about 3 hours of play on the Strat last night, acoustic and amplified, with the R Cocco strings.

I am happy to report that despite the marketing hype, these strings really do deliver. Are they the 'finest handmade strings'? Well, they are certainly the best strings I have ever purchased -- they hold pitch without any serious work (tuning was a breeze), the tension feels great and consistent everywhere on the neck, and the strings themselves have a great feel to them.

Tonally, they are very neutral; not noticeably dark nor bright.

If I made a recording of the Strat using DRs and then the R Cocco's, would anyone hear a difference? Probably not, but I can feel the difference, and that's worth something to me.

Now to see how long they live/hold this feeling and tone!
 
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Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

Nice! Thanks for the update.

I was just talking about strings (and my troubles with DRs) with my new guitar player at practice last night. When he asked "so what do you use now?" I didn't have a good answer since I haven't landed on one brand I like since I gave up on DRs.

I did kind of dig the Curt Mangans I tried, but they almost seemed to "thin out" tone-wise as they broke in... Kind of not at all what I want.

I will try these R Cocco strings.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

UPDATE:

The Pyramid strings were a COMPLETE FAIL on the tele!

Details: I pulled off the current temporary set of Tite Fits that were on the tele. Put on the Pyramids. The .026/4th string was TOTALLY DEAD. It sounded like someone was holding their hand over the string -- just dead and lifeless, with no sustain. It sounded like a standup bass string. I was perplexed.

After checking the string's travel, etc, and loosening, reseating it a few times, I gave up and put on a brand new .026 from the other set. This string was not dead, but I had MAJOR issues with it -- first, it would not intonate AT ALL. It was going sharp every time I fretted above the 5th fret and would not play in tune with the other strings, even after I verified that the string was otherwise in tune when open.

Frustrated, I slackened the strings and went to bed. Got up this morning and first thing I did was do a whole new setup on the guitar from scratch. Same issue with the .026. After doing some research online, I came to the conclusion that either a) there was something wrong with the nut, b) there was something wrong with the saddle, or b) the string was causing some sort of issue.

So -- I removed the Pyramids from the tele, rechecked neck relief, fret height, etc etc.

Put on the second set of R Cocco's ... BINGO. String tuned up perfectly, no intonation issues at all, no buzzing, nothing.

WTH is THAT about??

I am going to try the Pyramids on a shorter scale guitar to see if it just doesn't like the Fender scale length, but I do not have high hopes.

However, since this was a big experiment anyway, I can say that the R Cocco strings are a big win, though the Pyramids were a complete /fail. :(
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

as I said..same issue I had with the pyramids, though mine were the more expensive silver plated steel version.

It was like I had put a pick under the high e string at the first fret.

Meh.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

FWIW, this a problem with round cores in general. Some more than others. The Dean Markley VR are the best round cores I have used. In general DM strings are highly underrated.

At any rate, This is why all the major manufacturers switched to a hex core many moons ago.
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

Round core strings often suffer intonation issues...some folks may have tighter QC than others but if you use round core strings no matter what brand you WILL end up with a set that will not intonate sooner or later.

When I first tried DR Pure Blues I was knocked out and kept telling folks that intonation was not an issue and it never was...until it was!!!

I had to go through a few boxes until I started having issues but sooner or later I did start having issues.

I love the tone and feel of pure nickel/round core strings but I simply can't deal with the intonation issues...
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

Anyone has play with The Snake oil Strings ?..... If you looking for 60's tone and longevity,they are the ones to have....!
 
Re: Bit the bullet and ordered new strings

Anyone has play with The Snake oil Strings ?..... If you looking for 60's tone and longevity,they are the ones to have....!
Yes, they were great, but read my comment above; Dean isn't doing Snake Oil any more.
 
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