EddieNYC Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I’ve had both guitars for a couple of years and have only restrung with the stock masterbuilt 80/20 Gibson’s. I’ve debated though about trying PB but have heard mixed reviews with some saying to dark with these mahogany dreads. Any thoughts? Also if i did try the PB I was thinking about the Daddario uncoated and possibly the elixir nanowire Coated. Not sure if the Coated strings takes away from the sound at all as a trade off for maybe lasting longer. I know Gibson has a PB as well. Thanks! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 You can’t listen to what’s written One mans dark is another mans warm On mans bright is another mans shimmery There is a difference between Pb and 80/20’s but it’s not an ocean of difference I’ve had both and the j45 sounds great regardless Elixirs are great strings for mine , in my opinion , if only they weren’t so expensive And people don’t start the ‘saves money in the long run’ story Of course it does , but not everyone has the money to spare initially I’d save money on my heating at home if I had a few million and bought a lot of barrels But if you have the shackles in your pocket then grab a set of elixirs Try everything you are able to basically !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 To me PB's are the way to go on both guitars, 80/20's are just too bright. A good middle grouns are DR Sunbems, PB's but with a 'sunny' tone, warm yet not dark. Give it a go. With Elixirs I found they only sound good on maple guitars, on my SJ and Hummingbird they sucked a lot of the tone out. But as the Blind one said, its highly, highly personal. Best to spend some dough and experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Have to agree with the previous comments. Only you know what sounds good to you. Experiment and you'll have a better idea of what that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 To me PB's are the way to go on both guitars, 80/20's are just too bright. A good middle grouns are DR Sunbems, PB's but with a 'sunny' tone, warm yet not dark. Give it a go. EA's response saves me a lot of typing. All my 'hog flat tops have DR Sunbeams on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDuke Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 To me PB's are the way to go on both guitars, 80/20's are just too bright. A good middle grouns are DR Sunbems, PB's but with a 'sunny' tone, warm yet not dark. Give it a go. With Elixirs I found they only sound good on maple guitars, on my SJ and Hummingbird they sucked a lot of the tone out. But as the Blind one said, its highly, highly personal. Best to spend some dough and experiment. I have Elixir coated PB's on my maple J-185. love them. thinking of putting them on my J45. just not sure because of how much they cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I have Elixir coated PB's on my maple J-185. love them. thinking of putting them on my J45. just not sure because of how much they cost. I buy 3 packs off ebay for about $10. Per set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDuke Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I buy 3 packs off ebay for about $10. Per set. Don't know if anyone else has a problem with E-Bay but I won't buy anything from them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Mike, I eventually come back to John Pearse phos. bronze on every one of my acoustic guitars no matter who made it, when it was made and no matter the wood. (fwiw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Don't know if anyone else has a problem with E-Bay but I won't buy anything from them Nor me Unless it’s some guitar shops eBay store 9 out of 10 are fake strings. Especially elixirs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Only one way to find out, and it's a pretty cheap and easy experiment. I personally would never buy strings off of eBay. Strings cost a couple bucks. Even coated strings aren't worth buying off of eBay. You'll save maybe a couple dollars, and as others have mentioned, you have no idea of their authenticity. I personally just use D-Addario EJ's. I use 80/20's on my Gibsons (EJ11's on the J45, EJ12's on the AJ) and PB's on my Martins (EJ17's on the D-28 and D-35, EJ16's on the 00-18). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Nor me Unless it’s some guitar shops eBay store 9 out of 10 are fake strings. Especially elixirs I’ve had no problems with that! I’ve heard the rumors,, & I’m sure it does happen, but doubt seriously if it’s the norm! There’s fake guitars too, but I’ve never bought one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I say PB and 80/20 are pretty similar, I've been playing 80/20s but this thread has me thinking I should try the PBs again, hmmm.... Anyways, not to derail your process, for a totally different sound (and look) you should try the martin retros. folks either love them or hate them. I'm in the ladder category, but think you've got to try them. A few of the folks on this forum rock them well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I say PB and 80/20 are pretty similar, I've been playing 80/20s but this thread has me thinking I should try the PBs again, hmmm.... Anyways, not to derail your process, for a totally different sound (and look) you should try the martin retros. folks either love them or hate them. I'm in the ladder category, but think you've got to try them. A few of the folks on this forum rock them well. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you here about 80/20's and PB's being similar. I really don't think they sound anything alike. Obviously they are going to sound different on each guitar, and we all probably hear things differently to some extent. PB's on my J45 sound a little muddy and cluttered, full bass, but sounds muddy and not very defined. 80/20's on the same guitar have much better clarity, articulation and note separation. The bass is still big and growly, but it's more defined with 80/20's. I've also experienced this same difference on my Advanced Jumbo, where it seems like 80/20's were made for that guitar. Consequently, 80/20's sound dull and lifeless on my Martin guitars, both rosewood and mahogany and PB's give a lusher, fuller sound, while 80/20's sound dull and choked on the martins. The only guitars I've ever liked Retros were on an all-mahogany Martin 000-15 and a Waterloo WL-14XTR. I've tried them on every other guitar mentioned above as well, they just seemed to suck some of the life out of the sound on other guitars. Less bass, duller and overall loss of volume,e as well (which is a bad thing if it's the sound you're after). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Only one way to find out, and it's a pretty cheap and easy experiment. I personally would never buy strings off of eBay. Strings cost a couple bucks. Even coated strings aren't worth buying off of eBay. You'll save maybe a couple dollars, and as others have mentioned, you have no idea of their authenticity. I personally just use D-Addario EJ's. I use 80/20's on my Gibsons (EJ11's on the J45, EJ12's on the AJ) and PB's on my Martins (EJ17's on the D-28 and D-35, EJ16's on the 00-18). “you’ll save maybe a couple of bucks” because of where I live, Elixirs go for $17.00. I save over $20! A lot of people don’t like dealing with eBay, I get that, however, i’ve Bought, & sold on eBay for many years, with minimal problems. I’ve bought guitars from guitar shops where i’ve Had problems too! To each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 “you’ll save maybe a couple of bucks” because of where I live, Elixirs go for $17.00. I save over $20! A lot of people don’t like dealing with eBay, I get that, however, i’ve Bought, & sold on eBay for many years, with minimal problems. I’ve bought guitars from guitar shops where i’ve Had problems too! To each their own. Thats just another reason not to use Elixrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Thats just another reason not to use Elixrs. Getting elixirs for $10.00 is a reason not to buy them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Nor me Unless it’s some guitar shops eBay store 9 out of 10 are fake strings. Especially elixirs 9 out of 10? Really? You know this how? 9 out of 10 statistics are made up on the spot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 9 out of 10? Really? You know this how? 9 out of 10 statistics are made up on the spot! Fake news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Oh ffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
play4him Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 I like Elixers on my J-15 and Hummingbird Vintage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 Martin Authentic 80/20 treated strings (the new Lifespans) are awesome on my squares and slopes alike... they came about about a month or so back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 Yes, on the May 2012 Bird - notes say they were too zingy, but I don't lay too much into that as I didn't know the guitar well at that point. It happened the same summer the Bird was born. But I played a lot with Masterbuilt 80/20 as Gibson claims they are the factory strings and I really loved the sound it had when I got it. Last week I put on a set of original factory-strings - they have bronze end-balls where Masterbuilts have silver - and though they are 6 years old too and played a lot, the guitar sounds magnificent with those. It's as if the voice gets a bit more core and provides some wonderful smokey trebs that makes the B and high E fuller, , , the whole register slightly fatter. A plain Salvation Army C-chord - like when I got it - sometimes makes the best acoustic I've ever heard. I'm totally nerdy about this as I want to be able to recreate this factory-sound anytime. Normally not a coated man - it's as if the layer comes between me and the instrument - but in this case I keep wondering if the factory steel has a slight coating, almost un-noticeable after a goooood use, but still working in that subtle way, which creates the precious difference. Admit precisely this is the biggest acoustic riddle for me : The faded but genuine factory Bird-sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Far out, man, , , , , , and fellow forumites . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FemmeParallell Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 So along with Chibsons I have to worry about fake strings too. I'm just gonna go hide it the corner for a while. that cracked me up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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