E-minor7 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I know The Beatles used Pyramids (probably others too - both bands and strings), , , and that Donovan swung silk & steels on his J-45 (La Belle ?). Did pick up here that Black Diamonds was a common (and good ?) choice in the US. Wonder - can you veterans, ol' geezers and dinosaurs remember the range of string-brands available in the 50's and especially 60's. What was used and why. Very interested in this, , , not to mention gauges, , , and fx pins. Any pin-awareness back then or did players just go with the plast that what was on. And were there any other pin-materials than plastic. All in all - let's hear some detailed facts from the golden decade when modern acoustic music was born. Like the ocean of songs still loved, listened to and played today, they deserve to be preserved. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Davy Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Rotosound were my string of choice back in the 60s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I used primarily Martin Monel mediums, as I recall. Being a college student without much money, I didn't change strings that often. You could also buy single strings, and I busted a lot of B strings back then with rather heavy-handed blues stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Gibson made a nice Monel string that I used on my Texans and J-50s. Black Diamonds were pretty well in decline by the early '60s. I do remember a string called Mapes, but they too were on the way out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I recall Black Diamond strings still going strong well into the mid-1960s. Not only were they cheap but you could buy them at any Five and Dime and any hardware or drug store. Other than that I remember using LaBella and on rare occasion Gibson strings. I did not give much thought thought to the brand or the gauge. Then again, nobody was sitting around talking about "tone woods" either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I really can,t remember too much....I guess I WAS there..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I really can,t remember too much....I guess I WAS there..... I was talking early 1960s before I discovered better living through chemistry. Since the nearest music store was in the next town over (Sal's Ossining Music) my slection was narrowd down by what I could get at the local Woolworths or hardware store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I remember buying my Black Diamonds and Fender 355 picks one at a time at the corner drugstore in the early 60's. That store is still there. I wonder if they still have some strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks for the responses - to me these almost forgotten corners from a long gone, yet important past, are treasured. I recall Black Diamond strings still going strong well into the mid-1960s. Not only were they cheap but you could buy them at any Five and Dime and any hardware or drug store. Other than that I remember using LaBella and on rare occasion Gibson strings. I did not give much thought thought to the brand or the gauge. Then again, nobody was sitting around talking about "tone woods" either. Fx the fact that no one talked rose, hog or mable - bracing patterns and scalloped vs non-scalloped while those guitars established their legends, is worth a thought. Well, I read somewhere that certain folkies did have their boxes re-voiced by shaving mass, but that must have been the chosen few. Anyway - keep the memories flowing. Even vague whirls bring gold and other values with them, , , believe it or not. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not sure if it is a good memory or not but the windings on the G string in a Black Diamond set had a habit of coming undone so you could slide the windings in sections up and down the core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Davy Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Not sure if it is a good memory or not but the windings on the G string in a Black Diamond set had a habit of coming undone so you could slide the windings in sections up and down the core. I certainly remember that happening but usually when I couldn't afford to get new strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 http://www.guitarplayer.com/accessories/1019/pure-nickel-strings/16364 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I certainly remember that happening but usually when I couldn't afford to get new strings. Or twisting the B and high E strings together above the nut to keep them on the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Like Zombywoof, I remember the windings slipping on Black Diamonds. I think I bought mine at a record store? We all played round core--that's all there was. And I changed strings when they broke. There was a music store that sold singles. I seldom had a completely new set of strings on my guitar. No, E-minor 7th, we didn't talk about bridge pins. If one broke, you would shove a # 2 pencil in its place and break it off. Tone woods? Was a long time til I learnt that set of obsessions. Labella, I remember thinking was better than Black Diamond. I know I played nickel or Monels until the 70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 The only strings I remember buying from '57 to'63 were Black Diamond and La Bella. When I got out of the service and moved to the west coast, the string of choice was Ernie Ball...regular and of course slinky. That was '67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee Davy Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Or twisting the B and high E strings together above the nut to keep them on the guitar. Happy days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Oh yeah! La Bella is a name I would never have recalled, but now know it's a brand I used along with BDiamonds. At some point, don't know when, I went to Darco New Yorkers, but I'm fuzzy on when that came around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 What's this 'twisting the B and E strings together '? I can't figure out what you mean by that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 What's this 'twisting the B and E strings together '? I can't figure out what you mean by that? Black Diamond strings would corrode real quickly. I swear you would find them starting to rust right out of the box. To keep them from breaking you would unwind the the E and B strings and tghen twist them together above the nut. Hey, we also made capos out of a pencil and rubber band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Black Diamond strings would corrode real quickly. I swear you would find them starting to rust right out of the box. To keep them from breaking you would unwind the the E and B strings and tghen twist them together above the nut. Hey, we also made capos out of a pencil and rubber band. Zomb, you have a great memory when one think you were there in the middle of the bursting beat-scene. Maybe there is link between the intense lifestyle and your detailed recollection. Appreciated. But I too have probs seeing the twist of 2 strings north of the nut. They were entwined and still tuneable ? Thinking back on the early 70's, I remember the sections of loose wounds around the string-core, , , and I had friend who once in a while made a pin out what must have been 3 fine-carved matches. It worked okay for a while. The thought of a broken thin E or B tied in a knot above the nut also comes to mind. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringTom Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Oh yeah! La Bella is a name I would never have recalled, but now know it's a brand I used along with BDiamonds. At some point, don't know when, I went to Darco New Yorkers, but I'm fuzzy on when that came around. I remember using Black Diamonds very early on, but quickly changed to Martins. Then I also found Darco's when I moved to NYC in 1966. They were actually branded Folklore Center/Fretted Instruments, but made by Darco. I used lights mostly. Bought them by the dozen and left each set on a long time. I never changed pins and don't remember hearing much about them. The information pipeline was very different in pre-internet days. You might hear an opinion about some mod or different string from another player occasionally, but there just wasn't anywhere near the amount of information (misinformation?) out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Or twisting the B and high E strings together above the nut to keep them on the guitar. Can some nice chap plleease explain this procedure? Can't get my head around it in any way . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I only played electric up to 1970 or so, and only rhythm; I don't remember ever changing a string unless I broke one, and then I'd just go in and say, "Need a B (or whatever) string." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 Lots of delicate details, but still no trace of gauge-consciousness. . . ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 Zomb, you have a great memory when one think you were there in the middle of the bursting beat-scene. Maybe there is link between the intense lifestyle and your detailed recollection. Appreciated. But I too have probs seeing the twist of 2 strings north of the nut. They were entwined and still tuneable ? Thinking back on the early 70's, I remember the sections of loose wounds around the string-core, , , and I had friend who once in a while made a pin out what must have been 3 fine-carved matches. It worked okay for a while. The thought of a broken thin E or B tied in a knot above the nut also comes to mind. . . Sorry, I did noit explain this well and mean't to get back to it but got sidetracked. Even though these were Black Diamond strings they still cost money which was in short supply. If you broke a string you did not toss it but threw it in the guitar case. When you broke another, and if the break was high enough, you would twist the broken string on the guitar together with the one in your case above the nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.