Lets talk about strings shall we?

[Artie]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

Once again, I must qualify this by saying I'm purely a "bedroom" player, and I use different strings in different guitars, but . . .

. . . I love Everly B52's and Rockers. They just have a unique spank and punch, (kinda like the way I describe a Cool Rails), that I just like. Try some.

(I have no affiliation with that company other than being a satisfied customer.)

Artie

 

[Zombiemetl]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

DUNLOP DUNLOP DUNLOP!

 

[uOpt]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I use Dean Markley's Nickelsteel since the 1980s but I have ordered a bunch of different ones now. The DM NSs work well, it just bothers me no end that the H string is 012 in the custom lite set.

I tried DR's blue blues ("pure" nickel) and liked them, so I expect that I end up with a different squeeze when I get the chance to try them.

I'm a DR fanboi when it comes to bass strings. I also really want to try round cores. In the bass world I have grown to really dislike hex core + nickelsteel plating.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

Whats up all?
I have been playing the same kind of strings since the 70's. I buy Fender Nickel plated Steel. Over the decades I have tried other brands but always go back to them. The Bullets are nice which replaced the older models I played back in the 80's as they don't sell them anymore.

Recently I picked up a pair of Pure Nickel Fender Strings and as they are ok, I get some weird ringing on the high E string meaning the Plain Steel or in this case Nickel. I thought by going with a Jazz string I could mellow out some of the extreme high's and round out the mid range. This is true except for that E string.

Just a quick note, the plain strings are not nickel, that only refers to the wrap on the wound strings.

To the question I prefer pure nickel strings. I tend to use GHS Burnished Nickel 10s but also use Ernie Ball Rock-n-Rolls and in a pinch DR Pure Blues.

I like the tone of the DRs best to be honest but have loads of intonation issues out of them due to the round core.

Acoustic strings...I prefer phosphor bronze...D'Addario, DR, GHS...whatever I can find local. I tend to go 12-54 (or 53 in the case of D'Addario?!) with a 13 for the high string on my resonator.

Lap steel...prefer pure nickel as big as I can find...prefer 16-68 give it take.

Baritone, D'Addario 13-62s XLs and 14-68 XLs depending on tuning.

When I want flat wounds I go D'Addario because they are the most common local flats I can get.

Bass strings, most of the time I use Rotosound RS66 "Swing Bass"


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[darthphineas]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

GHS


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[King IzzO)))]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

La Bella HRS73, take out the 10 for B std and drop A. Take out the 64 for E std and drop D, and take out the 52 for AA. I use some custom DR DDT sets I ordered a long time ago that go 12-60 for drop C.

Dunlop Heavy Cores are nice, but they can be a little dark and take a day to set. There's nothing wrong with XL's, but they are bright at first. The DR's are nice at first, but I probably won't order them again. I really like the La Bellas, long life, sound good when you first put them on, sound good a couple days later. Everything else has underwhelmed me in some way.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...re-you-using&p=3456353&viewfull=1#post3456353

Since the post I have switched to Martin Lifespan 13s for acoustic, everything else is the same, except 11-49 for Eb Strat.

 

[Mathías Gabriel Rock]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

Ernie Ball Stainless Steel 10-46 :smokin:

Not sure why, but they sound OK.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

D'addarios
Guitar, usually XL nickel wound 12-54 heavy with a plain g, but I'm thinking about going lighter.
Bass, usually chromes and/or flexsteels 50-105 medim.
Acoustic, usually Phosphor Bronze 12-54 light.

 

[kirbyg]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...re-you-using&p=3456353&viewfull=1#post3456353

Still using the LaBella HRS strings but since then i've went from .10-.46 to .11-.50 for my Eb guitar.

 

[DreX]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I like longer lasting strings, so I have Elixir Nanoweb and Polywebs, and Cleartones.

Overall, the Elixirs are the better string, they look good and feel good, and the Polywebs are a bit more mellow right off the bat, which I like.

The Cleartones have a sticky feel to them, which actually isn't such a bad thing, it actually helps a bit with control, like your fingers anchor to the strings a little. I like them for blues and other styles where a good grip is important, but they're not as great for casual playing or speed shredding.

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I like the Ernie Balls and the Fender Nickel Plated strings. I went through a phase where I was adamant the bullet ended strings that Fender do were necessary to my tone, but now I'm not so sure. I've tried loads of brands too, GHS, Dean Markeleys, D'Addario, Elixir, Rotosound (love the free 1st), but Ernies and Fenders are the best two for me. Nice and clean sounding when fresh on, without being overly bright.

As for gauge, I like the Hybrid Slinkys, or 9-46. I'll go for the 10-46 if I know I might be tuning down half a step but more often than not I like the 9-46s.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

Not all strings are alike. Some sound completely like sh!t when you string up and crang the first fresh-strings chord.

Steel wound (most common type I'd say) strings have a tendency to sound harsh, spiky and thin on the treble end and (perhaps not surprising) metallic.

Nickel wound ("pure nickel", etc) is what you want if you want a balanced tone. This is what they used in the good ol' days.

.

Only part I agree with is the opening line.

I would put nickel wound as the most common type. For every 20 packs of nickel wounds I MAYBE sell 1 steel wound.

Nickel wound is different from 'pure nickel'. Go compare DR TiteFits to Pureblues.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I like longer lasting strings, so I have Elixir Nanoweb and Polywebs, and Cleartones.

Overall, the Elixirs are the better string, they look good and feel good, and the Polywebs are a bit more mellow right off the bat, which I like.

The Cleartones have a sticky feel to them, which actually isn't such a bad thing, it actually helps a bit with control, like your fingers anchor to the strings a little. I like them for blues and other styles where a good grip is important, but they're not as great for casual playing or speed shredding.

I must be very hard on strings because I loved the tone of Elixirs but they wouldn't last even a month for me...

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

d'addario flat wounds for me.

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I've always been an Ernie Ball guy. That being said, I use Hybrid Slinky's. A little thicker gauge for rhythm, a little smaller gauge for leads, bingo.

 

[CountFeedback]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

Ernie Ball "Lime" Regular Slinkys! for 20+ years, wow mg:
I tried the Cobalt strings... much too cold for me.
Used mostly Fender 10s for the first five years of my guitar playing career,
Fender changed the labels & models so much in that time I lost track of them.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I've always been an Ernie Ball guy. That being said, I use Hybrid Slinky's. A little thicker gauge for rhythm, a little smaller gauge for leads, bingo.

I use Hybrid Slinky's on all of my guitars–acoustic and electric.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I've tried dozens of brands. I've ended up just using D'Addario. They have a good combination of bright tone, low breakage, slinkiness, low cost, and longevity. I've had students who would rust a set of normal strings in one day. They probably need some nano-carbon-fiber-coated miracle material strings, but I don't. D'Addario 10's and 9.5's. I also like their balanced tension 10's on a couple of my guitars.

 

[DreX]

Re: Lets talk about strings shall we?

I must be very hard on strings because I loved the tone of Elixirs but they wouldn't last even a month for me...

Yeah, I'd qualify that a little, I think they're better for guitars you don't expect to play every day, because they have a thin film over them, which if you play often, will probably get torn up and rubbed off. But if you don't play any one guitar as often, the coating keeps the rust at bay a lot longer.