Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

[Onslow]

I bought a couple sets of D'Addario Chrome Ribbon Wound Jazz .11 light gauge on a whim and I was just wondering what the tonal characteristics are going to be before I put them on.

I was thinking of test driving them on my beat up Epi Special II with a '59 in the neck since I'm having a set of D'Addario Jazz/Blues .11 Nickel Wound- wound 3rd put on my Epi Standard with a newly installed Seth in the neck (Shop's tech isn't completely done with it yet).

I'd hate to waste a set of the Chromes on my junkier guitar if they're really awesome strings though. I noticed that the Chromes are normally expensive strings but I got them for cheap at the shop during a big sale.

Thanks

 

[rashayritto]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

wow chrome wound! i bet those are durable. i've never even heard of chrome wounds before

 

[Bludave]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

They are referred to as flat wounds. They will eliminate most "finger" noise thats associated with sliding up and down on the stings. They are also much darker than conventional nickel. Most Jazz players love them, I don't know if you will be happy with them as I don't know what you play. Jazz players normally play very clean and not too loud. If you play with a lot of OD and a lot of volume I'm gonna say you probably won't like these.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

Like Dave said, those are flatwound strings...what you can expect is no sustain, attack or brightness but reduced fingernoise and a slick feel also keep in mind most flatwound strings have a lot more tension at pitch than plain round wound strings...just a heads up...

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

Flatwounds last a long time without corroding. They are very mellow and really only sound good clean.

 

[Onslow]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

Hmm, I've recently delved into jazz but I moslty play blues/stoner rock with fuzz and/or OD. It doesn't sound like I'm going to dig these strings very much. Should I go ahead and try them or should I just exchange them? You guys are making me think they'll sound awful for what I play.

Should I look into some pure nickel strings instead? I like really, really warm tones and I was thinking that the flat wound chrome strings would be right up my alley, but maybe not.

 

[Onslow]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

Just wondering if I can pester anyone else for their opinions.

 

[DesertRat]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

I actually put the D'Addario Chromes on my Tele Thinline recently and I love'em. They're fat sounding but not as dull as some folks say. They sound good with some "vintage" drive too, not just clean. Can't do a whole step bend on the wound G string, but I've been adapting to that just fine.

You should definitely try them as a learning experience if nothing else. Actual experimentation is worth alot more than anyone's opinion.

 

[alex1fly]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

Onslow I just posted a thread about this same issue, whether or not to try flatwounds. The consensus was basically the same, and a few people suggested I try pure nickel strings if I want a mellower string but don't want to lose good tone with gain, so that's what I'll be picking up today.

But you may as well try them, especially if you got them for cheap! Whatever guitar you put them on, you may have to raise polepieces or add some treble at the amp to balance it out. I find myself tweaking polepieces with every new string set anyways.

 

[Onslow]

Re: Chrome, ribbon wound strings?

Cool. I was not aware that ribbon wound and flat wound are essentially the same thing. My woops! :nervous: