80/20s Again!

[chasAK]

After Tom's answer to my question about his dislike of BP on the hogs I bought some 80/20. I have not had 80/20 on my j45mc for at least two years. My memory told me I did not like them. Well here is what I found. First of all I need to explain I have been using DRs (PB) for quite some time. They are round core and have less tension. Also I much appreciated Tom's response.The concept of sound being three (four) dimensional is fascinating. It gave me a lot of food for thought.

 

1. I can feel the difference in the tension of the strings. I like the feel of the round cored DR Sunbeams.

 

2. The 80/20s are louder. That may also be from the increased tension.

 

3. They are brighter in sound but have a nice resonant ring and better note clarity. They sounded much better than I anticipated.

 

4. They seem to be easier to tune. My old strings were quite dead, but the 80/20 do seem easier to tune and seem to stay in tune better. Again this may be due to the greater tension which may bring more control. (Just my goofing thinking and guess)

 

5. They seemed to be more balanced. The mids did not seem to be as dominate as in thePBs. (That is a down side for me)

 

6. Both had a good bottom end. Both have a good rumbling ring. The PBs are a bit rounder while the 80/20s have more of a biting ring, while the PB have morerumble.

 

7. Though the 80/20s sounded better than I anticipated, they lost much of the warmth, (perhaps fuzziness??) that the PBs have. This was especially noticeable when playing in the second position and beyond. It sounded like many of the new standard J45s I've played in the local guitar shop. I have always attributed that sound to not being played in yet, but perhaps it is because they are sporting 80/20s. This is a deal breaker for me. That warmth is why I bought a j45. It sounds so good when playing those cords!

 

8. As said before, I do not play in a string band. I mostly play solo for my own enjoyment and on occasion accompany other solo instruments. The biggest ensemble I play in is a violin, viola, cello, flute, and me. Usually we play a duet or trio. Therefore I cannot judge how either strings rises above the threshold of a bluegrass band or anything of the like.

 

My conclusion: I still like the warm fuzies. They work for me. I will go back to the PB. But the 80/20s offered much more than I expected. One other thing I have noticed, with the hex core I am not experiencing the nut binding problem on the third string I have been having with the DR Sunbeams. Are there other round core PBs out there other than the DRs?

 

 

[EuroAussie]

Yeah, my analysis of 80/20's vs PB's is similar to yours mate. Overall I prefer the PB's and have a particular fondness for DR Sunbeams which work great on mahogany and maple. They were my 'go to' strings for a number of years but I found in the last 12 months that Pyramid Westerns offer a bit more in terms of tonal depth.

 

For me 80/20's are ideal for rosewood and also all hog guitars like my 00-15 where you need a bit more sparkle to cut through the wall of warmth of rosewood and all hog.

[bram99]

Keep those 80/20s on there for a while and see how they change. For my ear they start off a bit too sparkly and after about a week mellow into a much warmer tone... I also like the lower tension and the fact that the 80/20s seem to last about 10 times longer than the PBs.... I really like 1-2 month old 80/20s on a guitar.

 

I seem to have settled on Gibson Masterbuilt 80/20s on the LG-2 and PBs on the J-45....

 

I have yet to change the strings on my new all mahogany LG-2...that will be a fun experiment.

[Hall]

Keep those 80/20s on there for a while and see how they change. For my ear they start off a bit too sparkly and after about a week mellow into a much warmer tone... I also like the lower tension and the fact that the 80/20s seem to last about 10 times longer than the PBs.... I really like 1-2 month old 80/20s on a guitar.

 

A second to that point.

[JAddison]

After Tom's answer to my question about his dislike of BP on the hogs I bought some 80/20. I have not had 80/20 on my j45mc for at least two years. My memory told me I did not like them. Well here is what I found. First of all I need to explain I have been using DRs (PB) for quite some time. They are round core and have less tension. Also I much appreciated Tom's response.The concept of sound being three (four) dimensional is fascinating. It gave me a lot of food for thought.

 

1. I can feel the difference in the tension of the strings. I like the feel of the round cored DR Sunbeams.

 

2. The 80/20s are louder. That may also be from the increased tension.

 

3. They are brighter in sound but have a nice resonant ring and better note clarity. They sounded much better than I anticipated.

 

4. They seem to be easier to tune. My old strings were quite dead, but the 80/20 do seem easier to tune and seem to stay in tune better. Again this may be due to the greater tension which may bring more control. (Just my goofing thinking and guess)

 

5. They seemed to be more balanced. The mids did not seem to be as dominate as in thePBs. (That is a down side for me)

 

6. Both had a good bottom end. Both have a good rumbling ring. The PBs are a bit rounder while the 80/20s have more of a biting ring, while the PB have morerumble.

 

7. Though the 80/20s sounded better than I anticipated, they lost much of the warmth, (perhaps fuzziness??) that the PBs have. This was especially noticeable when playing in the second position and beyond. It sounded like many of the new standard J45s I've played in the local guitar shop. I have always attributed that sound to not being played in yet, but perhaps it is because they are sporting 80/20s. This is a deal breaker for me. That warmth is why I bought a j45. It sounds so good when playing those cords!

 

8. As said before, I do not play in a string band. I mostly play solo for my own enjoyment and on occasion accompany other solo instruments. The biggest ensemble I play in is a violin, viola, cello, flute, and me. Usually we play a duet or trio. Therefore I cannot judge how either strings rises above the threshold of a bluegrass band or anything of the like.

 

My conclusion: I still like the warm fuzies. They work for me. I will go back to the PB. But the 80/20s offered much more than I expected. One other thing I have noticed, with the hex core I am not experiencing the nut binding problem on the third string I have been having with the DR Sunbeams. Are there other round core PBs out there other than the DRs?

 

80/20's are favoured by Gibson for their/our Gibson instruments. I now exclusively use the same strings that ship with them: http://store.gibson.com/masterbuilt-premium-80-20-brass-acoustic-guitar-strings/

Love em

[Stroicikin]

Спасибо.

[Fullmental Alpinist]

Nice try, PM.

[Morkolo]

I've tried 80/20s many times and keep coming back to phosphor bronze. To me it's like there's something missing when I string my guitar with 80/20s.

[blindboygrunt]

Nice try, PM.

 

No way!

[88mmll]

80/20's for warmth. Need to wait 3 or 5 days...Then they settle in. Play better capo'd and standard tuning.

I like the Elixer 80/20 polyweb, not the nano web, for my short scale rosewood / walnut guitars for harmonics and overtones.

I like PB's on standard scale and Mh and koa, 25.5" scale guitars.