String suggestions needed

[Lars68]

I'm fortunate to have a few acoustics which I kind of rotate my playing time between. When I pick strings for an individual guitar, I don't necessarily pick the kind of strings that make that particular guitar sound its best. Instead, I'm always looking to bring my guitars as far apart tonally as I can. For example, I find that to me phosphor bronze strings accentuate the sound of rosewood, while 80/20s do the same for mahogany, Recently I even put medium electric guitar strings on my D-18. It sounded great, bright but great, while also very different. It also made the guitar record very well.

 

Do any of you guys do this kind of thing to pull guitars apart tonally? If so, what strings do you use for what type of guitars? I would also like suggestions for different sounding strings. There is not much to choose from in the stores here in Sweden, so I'm looking to go online and order a little smörgåsbord (Swedish word, by the way) of potentially "weird" sounding strings. Nickel strings, round core, odd materials etc. Any experiences to share?

 

Come to think of it, if you have suggestions in the same vein for different kind of picks, throw those in too. I like to experiment!

 

Lars

[jdd707]

 

 

Yes Lars, I do exactly the same thing. Seems as if my 2 Martins respond to phosphor bronze Martin lights. The dread sounds like a dread should and the 000 has a balanced tone and the same strings services that balance well .... go figure. I'm going to try meds on the D-35 dred but general the old man's hands like light strings, especially for bending notes. I've found that John Pearce pb lights work well on my AJ Rosewood ...... took some years of trying different strings to shave off a bit of over brightness. Now it sounds warm on the low end and just right on the treble. The two Gibson TVs get light D'Addario but the J50 is a little too punchy. I'm going to try the JP's on it to try an warm it up like I think a Gibson hog slope should sound. The L00 sounds great with the D'Addario. This experimentation is great fun and relative inexpensive.

 

At my house you can get any pick you want as long as it's a Fender med. tortoise shell ..... been using them for 53 years. A couple of years ago I went to the big box guitar store and asked for these picks. The kid gave me box and said "that'll be 20 bucks. I said whaaaaaaaaaaaa. And he explained that it was 12 picks x 12 (he didn't know that was called a gross). At first I thought I don't need $20 worth. BUT THEN I said to myself "self, I'm 69 years old. That's a lifetime supply .... so I now will never run out of picks. Or perhaps I'll live and play long enough to buy another gross. Let's hope.

 

 

 

[58 Relic]

I try to use the following J35 - EJ16s DD 12-53GS Mini e Martin Medium FX Flexible core Yamaha SLG200s LaBella 12-52 PB Balanced set Yamaha NTX 1200R Ernie Ball Concert Nylon Medium Tension

The latest set I use are the LaBella 12-52 Balanced , great strings with a lovely warm ringing tone but the best bit is the balanced nature of the string set , all the strings seem to have the same tension and due to the nature of the Yamaha ( totally reliant on the electrics ) the pressure across the bridge seems to give a very even response to all the strings . Thinking of now trying them on the J45 but just a normal 12-53 set

Pick wise I use Fred Kelly Speed Picks , my friend travels across America during the winter months and last time brought me back a bag full that should last a lifetime , so it's just a thumbpick and fingernails

[Lars68]

Thanks for the input, guys. I also line the John Pearse strings, they are especially good on my old J-45.

 

The LaBella balanced strings sound interesting. I have never heard of such a thing. I will check on those.

 

Lars

[58 Relic]

Hi just to update I put these LaBella strings on my J45 today to be honest I'm totally blown away as a fingerpicker I find each string feeling equal in tension . They have a nice warm sound and feel nice and smooth in the hand ok they are slightly more expensive than my normal EJ16s but the sound is spot on . They are the 12-52 balanced PBronze set

[Lars68]

Very nice! Do you know of a good online store with good prices?

 

Lars

[58 Relic]

In the UK I use Strings Direct , the UK price is £6.95 per set

[EuroAussie]

Lars, try the Pyramid Bronze strings, 12's. I have them on all mahogany guitars, they sound great and as they are made in Germany super cheap at around 4 euro. I buy them in bulk from Thomann.

[Lars68]

Lars, try the Pyramid Bronze strings, 12's. I have them on all mahogany guitars, they sound great and as they are made in Germany super cheap at around 4 euro. I buy them in bulk from Thomann.

 

Thanks for the tip, EA!

 

Lars

[MissouriPicker]

Which strings are best for whatever is kind of like asking which guitar is best for whatever. Depends on who you ask. For myself I typically use "lights" on all my guitars. Couldn't tell you what the guage is of each string. I just look for "lights" on the package. Martin strings mostly (because they're relatively cheap) and tried some Martin Marquis Lights on a couple of my guitars. To be honest, I think after a week or so they all sound pretty decent. Got some "silk & steel" strings on an Alvarez and I've grown to really like them. They're "lights" and have a gentle feel to them and a warmer and quieter tone to my ears. Since I don't play in many loud jams (most of my jams are several of us sitting around on sofas and swapping songs), I'm don't need to be heard over a banjo, etc. With loud volume not being a prime concern acoustically, I may put "silk & steel" on a couple or more of my Gibsons. I'll see when it's time to change strings. I can see the attraction of trying different kinds of strings on our guitars, but I'm kind of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to "change." Usually, if it's working for me, I'm not too interested in changing it.

[OldCowboy]

Which strings are best for whatever is kind of like asking which guitar is best for whatever. Depends on who you ask. For myself I typically use "lights" on all my guitars. Couldn't tell you what the guage is of each string. I just look for "lights" on the package. Martin strings mostly (because they're relatively cheap) and tried some Martin Marquis Lights on a couple of my guitars. To be honest, I think after a week or so they all sound pretty decent. Got some "silk & steel" strings on an Alvarez and I've grown to really like them. They're "lights" and have a gentle feel to them and a warmer and quieter tone to my ears. Since I don't play in many loud jams (most of my jams are several of us sitting around on sofas and swapping songs), I'm don't need to be heard over a banjo, etc. With loud volume not being a prime concern acoustically, I may put "silk & steel" on a couple or more of my Gibsons. I'll see when it's time to change strings. I can see the attraction of trying different kinds of strings on our guitars, but I'm kind of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to "change." Usually, if it's working for me, I'm not too interested in changing it.

If you like the silk & steels, you might like to try a set of GHS silk & bronze sometime. I've used 'em on my 1895 'New Model' Washburn parlor guitar with good results. A friend who's primarily a traditional blues fingerpicker uses 'em on his three or four 1920s Gibsons all the time. The tone and feel is similar to the old Vinci strings which were mellow and felt rather soft.

[OldCowboy]

Yes Lars, I do exactly the same thing. Seems as if my 2 Martins respond to phosphor bronze Martin lights. The dread sounds like a dread should and the 000 has a balanced tone and the same strings services that balance well .... go figure. I'm going to try meds on the D-35 dred but general the old man's hands like light strings, especially for bending notes. I've found that John Pearce pb lights work well on my AJ Rosewood ...... took some years of trying different strings to shave off a bit of over brightness. Now it sounds warm on the low end and just right on the treble. The two Gibson TVs get light D'Addario but the J50 is a little too punchy. I'm going to try the JP's on it to try an warm it up like I think a Gibson hog slope should sound. The L00 sounds great with the D'Addario. This experimentation is great fun and relative inexpensive.

 

At my house you can get any pick you want as long as it's a Fender med. tortoise shell ..... been using them for 53 years. A couple of years ago I went to the big box guitar store and asked for these picks. The kid gave me box and said "that'll be 20 bucks. I said whaaaaaaaaaaaa. And he explained that it was 12 picks x 12 (he didn't know that was called a gross). At first I thought I don't need $20 worth. BUT THEN I said to myself "self, I'm 69 years old. That's a lifetime supply .... so I now will never run out of picks. Or perhaps I'll live and play long enough to buy another gross. Let's hope.

I use the Fender heavy tortoise-looking picks in the triangular configuration - not the really big ones, but the standard triangles. Bought a gross a few years back under circumstances similar to what you describe above and am also wondering if it's a lifetime supply. If I don't lose a bunch, I expect that's possible.

[Victory Pete]

I use Medium Martin Phosphor Bronze SP on my HD-28 and my new J-45 Custom. I use the same kind but in Light gauge for my D12-28. I think they just sound great with a nice bright clear tone to them. They do tend to get dull after about a month. I only clean the necks and strings with a cotton cloth that has some body powder on it, it keeps the strings and necks absolutely clean and tarnish free. It also helps in playing keeping squeaks to a minimum. I have tried nearly every string cleaner out there and I find they don't really clean the strings without leaving some tone killing residue behind.

[mountainpicker]

I'm always looking to get the best sound out of each of my guitars and rely on the fact that each are already inherently different sounding so that's the major difference between my string quest and Lars'. But I can see that the approach has merit, especially if one is seeking a certain tone that fits a style of music one wants to emulate. After all the different strings I've tried on all the different guitars I own I think I've found the optimum string for a couple of them while the search goes on for others. My current experiment is EJ-17's on my J-50, which are the best to date for it, but after reading good reviews here next up will be DR Rares in medium gauge on it. But if you asked me to only pick one set for all of my guitars it would, without a doubt, be D'Addario EJ-16's. But that wouldn't be any fun at all! As for picks that is easy; Blue Chip TAD-40 for me. What I hear is pretty much all string with no pick click and the smoothest feel and release off the string that you have to experience to grok. I consider this pick to be such a great contributor to tone and playability that I own three of them for fear of losing or being without one. But I've never lost one...knock on wood. If someone has a specific question about strings on a specific guitar in my signature let me know and I'll let you know otherwise I'd have to write a novel about them.