acoustic man Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Hi all im new here is it true john lennon used 10 gauge flat wound pyramid strings on his gibson j160e acoustic in 1963?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diverden Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 There are many accounts out there about what strings were used. None of these theories have been confirmed. I think they used whatever happened to be available at the time. My personal experience with Pyramid Flats are they are just that; flat and toneless. Not to mention way over priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Well, that is true about being a different sound but I wouldn't say they are toneless. They have their own tone and it must have worked somehow as some people made some pretty amazing sounding music with them. Not to dis the EJ version, as I have & like mine, but it's really not sounding like the 62 Gibson Reissue J-160E with the original construction. More like the current X braced version J-160E at least to my ears anyway. I like them for what they are good for. A smooth sound and I happen to LOVE the sound they offered on The Beatles songs, esp. a J-160E. I'm not a jazz player but I've heard some wonderful tones with a J-160E Gibson (old school ladder braced version) played on YouTube by others. They are pretty pricy, but I haven't changed mine in over a year and they still look, play, & sound like they did new. I know they are not the "identical" recipe to the original versions from the early 60's but the closest I've found. I like GHS Bright Flats as well. They aren't an "all around" type of string I guess and wouldn't be for Metal, but then I'm not for that Metal sound either. Just another tool in the belt for different tones/sounds. I love the way mine play on my J-160E and the sound is just right with the ladder bracing/ply top, and the flats. That's just me I guess. Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acoustic man Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 No i agree there not toneless. I did think i wont like them when i first tried them but there great and i know this may sound silly but i think they make the acoustic sound like a old guitar . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitan Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I played in "beat groups" in the UK in the 60's and whatever you could get is how it was. Cost was a big factor in semi-pro groups. Gibson & Epiphone were too expensive & the most popular cheap strings were Mohawk. Really cheap packaging too-but we couldn't get enough of them. US acoustics were out of reach too-we had to make do with Levin or Hagstrom from Sweden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 The Gibson J-160e, was originally designated to be a "Les Paul" acoustic/electric "flat top" model. But, Les didn't like the feed back that the single ply top produced, so he failed to endorse it, unless they changed to a plywood top, back and sides. Gibson complied, but he still failed to endorse it. The ladder bracing is not good, for acoustic guitars, and only the very cheapest Gibson's of the day used it. I own a 1954 Gibson J- 160e, with the rare single ply top. It sounds "decent" but not "Awesome" as an acoustic. It does have "Beatles" tones, when used as an electric, but as Les complained, it does tend to feed back, earlier, than the plywood versions. Still, I really enjoy the sound, for what it is. And, I enjoy having a fairly "rare" version, as well. Had The Beatles not used 2 J-160e's, I seriously doubt we'd have any of that model, available, beyond the old (somewhat) collectible versions. And, even that rather limited "collectibility" is (mostly) due to them being "The Beatles" guitars. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el capitan Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 I had a Gibson J160E for a short time.It was horrible.I couldn't get a decent sound out of it acoustic or electric. Then I put Gibson Sonomatic strings on it & it was OK & I got rid. My Epi 160E was rubbish amplified & I sold it on eBay to someone in Liverpool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aster1 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Not to sound "cranky" or "smarty alex" (Baldwin), how many of you that don't like the way the J-160E sounds unplugged play your SG, LP, or Strats unplugged AND LIKE THE WAY THEY SOUND!! Prolly not too many I'd reckon. Not that I'd say I never play any of my electrics unplugged, but it isn't for enjoying the sound it's just something to play that's less work or not loud. Now you can kind of do that with a big Archtop Broadway or even to a degree a casino or some of the Gretsch's but the don't REALLY sound that good unplugged wouldn't you agree? Why do we always look at a J-160 and say or read, "they don't really sound that good unplugged" when they really weren't made to be unplugged IMHO. I truly am convinced that is the only real purpose for the ladder braced version with the ply top. When plugged in I'm very happy with "that" sound. And yes, I play mine as "lazy guy" unplugged for fun and just expect it to sound like a dead cigar box full of wet tampons!! If ya want a great sounding acoustic, that you can plug, in I guess it's going to be one with the piezo bridge pup stuck under the saddle. I always wonder if those degrade the pure acoustic sound by decoupling the saddle from the wood however and just as soon not have that on my "Pure Acoustic" guitars. Again, that's just me I guess. Also, I haven't had enough spare time to dink with A/Bing that notion, but I suspect it does, like saddle materials & bridge pins(lesser) some effect to the tone & ring. And, for discussion sake, that Acoustic Electric sound DOESN'T sound like an ELECTRIC guitar to me, just a louder Acoustic guitar. IMHO the 160 can/does sound like an electric. Just listen to "I feel Fine" for my best example that I can come up with quickly. Aster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 The early mag pup Gibson flattops - and everybody had one of some variation or another - didn't go over all that well in "the day," but a friend has a cupla CF100's, one with the original pup and that came without and probably had somewhat different bracing, and loves 'em. More, run through his PA board, they sound marvelous for what he does. Strings? I don't know what the Beatles were using on electrics, but I do know that in that era a lot of us were using flats on electrics. I was in '65 and '66. It was common for electric players to use flats on their secondary instruments, their acoustics. OTOH, it would not surprise me if on the 160 one might have preferred flats too, on grounds that it may have worked better run through an amp or board for what was being done with it. There were not the options for strings as one has today. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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