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Aging Strings On Different Guitars


Victory Pete

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Good tip- thanks for the shortcut.

 

 

Getting curiouser and curiouser.

Have you ever used naphtha to restore a little zing to the strings? The proof is on the paper towel. Just be sure to wear hearing protection- the frequencies/squeaking generated from the strings are/is ear splitting.

 

Interesting about the Naptha, I have some in my shop. I had given up on using anything on my strings other than a clean cotton cloth and shower powder. Everything I have ever tried has killed the strings immediately. I even tried just a plain damp rag.

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Back to strings. Have you Neil fans heard the gem below.

 

And what do you think about the sound here, Pete, , , would you consider that steel dead or. . .

Just wondering.

 

Enjoy the humble tracks at this 1976 state. Several of them became N.Y. classics.

 

 

 

http://www.npr.org/2...ontent=20170505

 

Love Neil. Hard to tell about his strings, it is Neil playing and singing though. My posts are about my experience. I don't think they are that old though. It seems to be recorded with a dynamic mike which would make it sound less than stellar. Thanks for this link.

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Listening to Neil, I know that sound well, my HD-28 sounds similar, a bit thuddy when the strings get only slightly old, like 1 week. I have learned recently that ebony is not the best bridge material for maximum sound transmission, rosewood has it beat. I attribute this to the fact a Martin likes to have new strings and a Gibson may be able to get away with them for a while. This has been my experience in the last year after buying my 4 new Gibsons.

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Back to strings. Have you Neil fans heard the gem below.

 

http://www.npr.org/2...ontent=20170505

Give Me Strength is a promising song and do you notice the extra verse in Campaigner.

Good stuff, there. No additional verse to Campaigner noticed here, and as far as strings go, the capo 3 adds enough to the mix to throw the ear off of the trail. Nice.

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Love Neil. Hard to tell about his strings, ,

They might not be totally juiceless, but listen to that low E on Captain Kennedy and you'll hear a very neutral bass-string.

But yea, fx Lama sounds rather fresh.

 

Good stuff, there. No additional verse to Campaigner noticed here, and as far as strings go, the capo 3 adds enough to the mix to throw the ear off of the trail. Nice.

Okay, 62.

Wonder what version you know, but I been listening to the one from Decade since it first saw lite of day 40 years ago next month. Second round cut out.

 

1977 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyovywKPQqI

 

 

Now finding this on Wiki -

  1. "Campaigner" – 3:30 / 4:19 [uS LP test pressings and first LP pressings in Germany included an unedited 4:19 version with an extra verse.]
    • Previously unreleased

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Changing strings on my Hummingbird just now, I remembered why I don't tend to leave old strings on forever-the fret tarnish that gunky strings tend to cause. My Bird with old, well-gigged and sweated upon Martin wires was sweet, but quiet. With fresh D'Addario EXPs it's bold, fat, loud and strident but retains plenty of that sweet nectar...just more volume to splash said nectar about!

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I find coated strings never have the nice new zing of traditional strings. Sure, they may seem to be consistently duller for a longer period of time but ultimately the metal's properties of the strings change anyway from work hardening making them hard to play and having incorrect harmonics and tuning.

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While I like the noise they make , Ive always thought that the EXP’s have a sticky feel to them , line old strings get

Elixirs feel great and lifespan martins (my favourite) are somewhere in between

 

Martin Lifespans are my favourite too. Had a set on my Dove for over a year now and still SO sweet sounding and feeling. Just dropping off the curve now but still lovely. EXPs are good but a touch thinner sounding than the Spans.

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