Brass strings?

[gearbasher]

I remember buying a bunch of brass acoustic strings, about 15-20 years ago, for a great price. And, if memory serves me right, they were very warm sounding. Has anyone recently tried brass strings? If so, what's your opinion?

[ballcorner]

The only brass strings I ever encountered were made by Ernie Ball and they worked for a really dark guitar I owned that needed some brighter tone, but they didn't last well at all.

 

As I understand it, 80/20 strings are 80% phosphor bronze and 20% brass, and these are what I go for if I find a guitar needs a bit more pep in the trebles.

 

How did you like the brass strings, and what tonal characteristics did they give in your particular application?

[onewilyfool]

Ballcorner, what strings would you use if the guitar were already very bright, and needed to be toned down a bit????

[gearbasher]

Surfing around, I've noticed a lot of String Cos. are calling the same alloy mix bronze or brass. Yet, in some places, I've found there is a difference. I did find this somewhere:

 

Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, has a bright and crisp tone. When phosphorus is added to bronze, the tone of the string becomes warmer. Phosphor bronze looks a little pinker than regular bronze. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, is the brightest and most metallic sounding of the string wraps.

 

The strange thing is the brass strings I used seemed very warm. Then again, that was years and many dead brain cells ago.

[ballcorner]

John Pearse light guage should settle in on most instruments and Martin SP bronze work well on others.