What strings do you guys use?
- Thread starter drgonzo1969
- Start date
Alan W
Well-known member
Part of my acquainting myself with a new guitar is figuring out strings for it. With few exceptions, the commonalities are “round wound,” nickel or Monel, and round core. At this point my lightest strung is my Strat, 11-48 set of Pyramid Monel Classics, but with a 10.5 first. My 290 gets John Pearse Jazz 2600 (11-50) set, my Eastman (thin line Jazz) either John Pearse 2700 (12-54) or more recently Pearse 960L (I think…) which are nickel also 12s, —these go on my mahogany acoustic too. (If you like a woody tone, and have a mahogany guitar, try Monel or nickel strings on it, instead of bronze.)
One exception is my baritone, I use the 14-68 set of DiAddario steel wound, but I gotta try the set of la Bella flats! I have three basses, but I haven’t put any new strings on them in so long, I’m really not sure what they are. The 30 inch SX has nylon tape wound on it, my Warwick is some sort of semi polished round wounds, and I have a Turner Renaissance fretless that takes “bespoke” TI strings—bronze wound bass strings! I do have a backup set of these—I have no idea how long they will be made, and the bass would be really different with more normal strings.
My splurge strings are Santa Cruz low tensions, on a rosewood/cedar concert jumbo. I coughed at the original $18 a set price, and gag at the $24 current price. But, besides the way they sound and feel, I’ve got close to 2 years on the current set, and they’re still very intonated and while a bit mellowed, still have a nice piano-like sound to them—so for that kind of longevity, I don’t care about the cost. In a way, the same is true for my experiences with TI. I’ve had Spectrum sets still sound good after 2 years, and a George Benson set of roundwound jazz strings were on the Eastman for a year and a half.
One exception is my baritone, I use the 14-68 set of DiAddario steel wound, but I gotta try the set of la Bella flats! I have three basses, but I haven’t put any new strings on them in so long, I’m really not sure what they are. The 30 inch SX has nylon tape wound on it, my Warwick is some sort of semi polished round wounds, and I have a Turner Renaissance fretless that takes “bespoke” TI strings—bronze wound bass strings! I do have a backup set of these—I have no idea how long they will be made, and the bass would be really different with more normal strings.
My splurge strings are Santa Cruz low tensions, on a rosewood/cedar concert jumbo. I coughed at the original $18 a set price, and gag at the $24 current price. But, besides the way they sound and feel, I’ve got close to 2 years on the current set, and they’re still very intonated and while a bit mellowed, still have a nice piano-like sound to them—so for that kind of longevity, I don’t care about the cost. In a way, the same is true for my experiences with TI. I’ve had Spectrum sets still sound good after 2 years, and a George Benson set of roundwound jazz strings were on the Eastman for a year and a half.
drgonzo1969
Well-known member
A little update on the string journey. I put some Ernie Ball flat wound cobalt strings on my main guitar (les paul DIY build). I had previously been using the round wound cobalts (9's i think). I had never used flat wound before and the first thing that hit struck me was the texture of the strings. the smoothness reminded me of coated strings but without the plasticy feeling. Sound wise, they sound a little less bright than the round wound cobalts. I think the biggest difference for me was the feel of the strings. I am still getting used to them but i do appreciate less noise from my fingers when moving chords. I dig the flatwounds so far and will probably keep them on one of my guitars from here on out. I have some stringjoy's that I am going to try on my baritone and some elixir polywebs that I am going to put on my telecaster. I will report back when I get time tomorrow to change them strings. Cheers! Go Royals! (sorry, Yankees fans, not sorry)
finebyfine
Well-known member
Steve from Does it Doom claims Thomas Jager of Monolord plays flats in his tuning and string gauge guide and while I haven’t seen it sourced anywhere else flatwounds + hyper fuzz + rat is *undefeated* for doom sounds on the electric wizard / monolord / windhand guitar tone side of doom
DailyDovetails
Well-known member
Mostly D’Addario regular 10s. I have also used their balanced 10s and like their 9.5 set a lot also. I had some of their chromes on a jazz box but ultimately went back to roundwounds.
Restrung my 7-string w/ stringjoy nickel wound last night. I had it down to C#2-C#4, but it felt muddy in M3 tuning. So I went up to E2-E4. Really enjoying it so far.
I’m intrigued by what people are saying with doom & flatwounds. I have a baritone with P90s, might give it a shot the next time I get strings.
.0105 .013 .016 .24w .30 .38 .46E C G# E C G# E I’m intrigued by what people are saying with doom & flatwounds. I have a baritone with P90s, might give it a shot the next time I get strings.
hereonmars
Member
Discovered Elixirs about 14ish years ago and have stuck with them since. I seem to sweat acid and go through strings super quick, and I can use these for like months as long as I am consistent and clean my guitars after I play them.
If anyone uses any other coated strings they like def let me know, I'm always looking for new stuff. I just haven't had good luck with any of the other ones that people recommend. Last ones I remember trying was the D'addario NYXL, but they didn't seem to last.
If anyone uses any other coated strings they like def let me know, I'm always looking for new stuff. I just haven't had good luck with any of the other ones that people recommend. Last ones I remember trying was the D'addario NYXL, but they didn't seem to last.
I really like coated strings on my acoustic because it tends to sit for long periods of time and I have very acidic sweat (I can't have gold plated parts). The nice part is I could go back to Slinkies or GHS Boomers and be perfectly happy. I get a bit more longevity out of The NY's but my guitars also live like princes with regular cleanings and a good wipe down when they come home from being played.
hereonmars
Member
Oh yeah, I have to be pretty vigilant about cleaning. I use the Dunlop stuff on the strings. When I play a gig I pretty much do a deep clean right there on the spot, esp if it's one of the 4 hour cover band gigs.
Joben Magooch
Well-known member
I've had an Amazon "subscribe and save" subscription for basic D'addario XL 11's for as long as I can remember at this point. With discount they end up being like $4.50 a pack or something silly cheap.
There are other strings I've liked better but none have been "better enough" to justify the added expense.
There are other strings I've liked better but none have been "better enough" to justify the added expense.
drgonzo1969
Well-known member
I put Stringjoy 10.5's on my baritone iceman and I love them. I got the "Orbiters" coated strings. They don't feel coated at all. Soundwise, I can't tell if it's the strings or just that I hadn't played my bari in a while but I was extremely pleased with the sound and feel. Up next in the string shootout will be a pack of elixir polywebs to try out on my tele.
MichaelW
Well-known member
My goto strings. Love these!
Been singing the praises of SJ for a while. The added value of custom sets without individual string prices can't be overlooked either. Wound strings down to a 0.18, allowing a wound 2nd for baris(17.8lbs E3@28")
One thing to note is, as of a monthish ago anyway, they were making bass sets to order so expect a few days lead time on those.
giovanni
Well-known member
Man, 14 is serious! Do you not bend notes at all?
Harry Klippton
Well-known member
I don’t bend notes because I enjoy playing jazz and RnB type stuff. I like sliding into my notes from a whole step down so the flatwounds really help make that sound smooth.
