Strings for L-00 Standard

[Remmuts]

I have pre-ordered an L-00 Standard Vintage Burst from Sweetwater and it will be my first Gibson.

I know strings are a subjective thing, but I was wondering what strings have worked for other L-00 owners.

I am 72 years of age and my skills are somewhat limited (but improving), and I like blues, along with finger style.

I look forward to the arrival of my guitar which will most likely be June. Gassing badly for this little beauty!

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

 

 

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

12 hours ago, Remmuts said:

I have pre-ordered an L-00 Standard Vintage Burst from Sweetwater and it will be my first Gibson.

I know strings are a subjective thing, but I was wondering what strings have worked for other L-00 owners.

I am 72 years of age and my skills are somewhat limited (but improving), and I like blues, along with finger style.

I look forward to the arrival of my guitar which will most likely be June. Gassing badly for this little beauty!

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

 

 

 

There are so many makers out there, and in different flavors. Try a bunch and see what you like. Many like Martin Strings, D'addario, Cleartone, Gibson Strings, Thomastik Infeld, Elixirs, DR Strings, GHS Strings and the list goes on.

• Bronze: They have clear, ringing and bright tone, but age quickly due to bronze’s tendency to oxidize.
• Phosphor Bronze: Warmer and darker than bronze, their sound is still quite crisp and the phosphor in the alloy extends their life.
• Aluminum Bronze: Pronounced bass and crisp hi with greater clarity than phosphor bronze.
• Brass: They have a bright, jangling, metallic character.
• Polymer-coated: Less sustain and brightness than equivalent uncoated strings with good presence and warmth; corrosion-resistant. Some include colorants for visual appeal.
• Silk and Steel: These steel core strings have silk, nylon, or copper wrap wire on the lower strings producing a softer touch and delicate tone. Popular with folk guitarists and fingerstyle players.
• Monel:  Made from Monel, a solid nickel which lets your acoustic’s natural wood tone ring through with a full low end, a high-end snap, and a solid midrange.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[zombywoof]

The only thing I would add is if you want a more flexible feeling string go with a  set  wound on a round core.  Tons of various wrap and core materials as well as wrap/core ratios to pick from.  

Edited April 28, 2021 by zombywoof

[j45nick]

I use DR Sunbeam lights (.012) on my L-OO Legend.

These are wound on a round core, so a bit more flexible, lower tension, and easier to bend. They have a lot of warmth (phosphor bronze), and last a long time. I actually use these on all four of  my spruce-topped, mahogany-backed Gibsons

I'm about the same age as you, and find these strings very comfortable on my often-creaky and less-than-flexible hands.

Welcome to the forum. The L-OO is a good place to start on your Gibson journey.

[zombywoof]

3 hours ago, j45nick said:

I use DR Sunbeam lights (.012) on my L-OO Legend.

These are wound on a round core, so a bit more flexible, lower tension, and easier to bend. They have a lot of warmth (phosphor bronze), and last a long time. I actually use these on all four of  my spruce-topped, mahogany-backed Gibsons

I'm about the same age as you, and find these strings very comfortable on my often-creaky and less-than-flexible hands.

Welcome to the forum. The L-OO is a good place to start on your Gibson journey.

Not bashing the string but while I know DR claims the Sunbeams are  lower tension I do not buy it.  You can search till the cows come home and will find not one shred of data regarding pounds of tension exerted.  But no argument that the Sunbeams, like all strings wound on a round core, feel less stiff than those wound on a hex core. 

Have you tried Straight Up Strings yet?  These were created by the same guy who came up with the Santa Cruz strings but are about 1/2 the price.

[Remmuts]

I have never heard of straight up strings.

I’ll have to do a search.

[j45nick]

58 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

Not bashing the string but while I know DR claims the Sunbeams are  lower tension I do not buy it.  You can search till the cows come home and will find not one shred of data regarding pounds of tension exerted.  But no argument that the Sunbeams, like all strings wound on a round core, feel less stiff than those wound on a hex core. 

Have you tried Straight Up Strings yet?  These were created by the same guy who came up with the Santa Cruz strings but are about 1/2 the price.

Round-core strings feel less stiff because the windings don't "bite" into a round core during manufacture like they do into a hex core. The strings are less stiff as a result of this key difference: the windings can actually "slide" (on a micro scale) relative to the core when you bend the string . For the same reason, for a given core diameter, winding diameter, base material, and scale length, the round core string should require somewhat less tension to tune to a given pitch.

You can't cut the tail of a round core string until after it is tensioned on the stringpost, or the winding can un-wrap from the core. The last few inches of many round core strings seem to be compressed to the core--the strings are stiffer in this area--to prevent un-winding before cutting, but this part of the string would never be within its resonating length.

DR gives this "do not cut before tuning" warning on the package.

The unwound strings  aren't affected by any of this, of course, so any difference in the total tension applied by a set of strings is solely a function of differences between the tension on the wound strings.

I have never measured string tension, by the way, but I've probably seen some of the same charts you have.  

A lot of people--not you, but many others--conflate strings with round windings with strings wound on round cores. The nomenclature can be confusing unless you are a string geek.

I have not tried the Straight Up strings, but I like the way the guy talks.

Edited April 28, 2021 by j45nick
added additional thought

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, zombywoof said:

Not bashing the string but while I know DR claims the Sunbeams are  lower tension I do not buy it.  You can search till the cows come home and will find not one shred of data regarding pounds of tension exerted.  But no argument that the Sunbeams, like all strings wound on a round core, feel less stiff than those wound on a hex core. 

Have you tried Straight Up Strings yet?  These were created by the same guy who came up with the Santa Cruz strings but are about 1/2 the price.

I just looked at them and the 12's are at 125 and some change inch pounds vs. Martin 12's at about 168 and some change.

I just ordered one set of 11's and one of 12's. 

Here are Straight Up Thicknesses in a set of 12's

012" .016" .0215" .030" .044" .0535"

Here is Martins string thicknesses in a set of 12's

.012

.016

.025

.032

.042

.054

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[QuestionMark]

Regarding suggested strings for your upcoming L-00, I only use Martin Authentic SP Acoustic 80/20 Bronze Lights on my Limited Edition Mahogany Epiphone EL-00.   I’m primarily a finger picker and melody jazz player and the strings work and sound great with the small body 00 shape.   I also use them on my Gibson LG1.   Plus, the strings are inexpensive and last quite a longtime.  No reason for me to try anything else on the guitar.  You might want to try them.

Just my experience and suggestion.

QM aka “ Jazzman” Jeff

Edited April 29, 2021 by QuestionMark

[zombywoof]

5 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I just looked at them and the 12's are at 125 and some change inch pounds vs. Martin 12's at about 168 and some change.

I just ordered one set of 11's and one of 12's. 

Here are Straight Up Thicknesses in a set of 12's

012" .016" .0215" .030" .044" .0535"

Here is Martins string thicknesses in a set of 12's

.012

.016

.025

.032

.042

.054

 

Where did you find the tension specs for the DR Sunbeams.  If correct, at 135 pounds of tension even though they have a thicker wrap than the Newtone Heritage 12s (12-51) they are exerting  about 5 pounds less tension.  

I decided to try  the Straight Up Strings mainly because my wife is a fan of the Santa Cruz strings (hoping to wean her off the higher dollar SC strings) and the Newtone factory in England was apparently shut down during the pandemic making ordering them a no go.    

[Sgt. Pepper]

8 hours ago, zombywoof said:

Where did you find the tension specs for the DR Sunbeams.  If correct, at 135 pounds of tension even though they have a thicker wrap than the Newtone Heritage 12s (12-51) they are exerting  about 5 pounds less tension.  

I decided to try  the Straight Up Strings mainly because my wife is a fan of the Santa Cruz strings (hoping to wean her off the higher dollar SC strings) and the Newtone factory in England was apparently shut down during the pandemic making ordering them a no go.    

I didn't  post DR tension. I only posted Straight Up and Martins tension.

I just looked and a set of D'addario PB 12's and the tensions are below. The first is the high e, the last is the low E. Which equal 155.9 lbs.

		23.36 lbs                                       23.31 lbs           20.66 lbs           31.96 lbs           30.41 lbs           26.25 lbs
		Here is the link. Click on the set an it will get to the tensions of D'ad Strings. http://web.daddario.com/StringTensionPro/Search#

Edited April 29, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper

[Jinder]

I’ve owned a couple of L-00s and enjoyed them massively. I currently get my small bodied kicks from a Sigma copy of a CF-100, which is the same size as an LG but with a cutaway. I use DR Veritas 11s on it. The rest of my guitars wear a variety of 12s, but I find 11s bring out a sweetness in a small body that 12s can often stifle.

[Sgt. Pepper]

57 minutes ago, Jinder said:

I’ve owned a couple of L-00s and enjoyed them massively. I currently get my small bodied kicks from a Sigma copy of a CF-100, which is the same size as an LG but with a cutaway. I use DR Veritas 11s on it. The rest of my guitars wear a variety of 12s, but I find 11s bring out a sweetness in a small body that 12s can often stifle.

Yeah I put 11's on my 00 and 000 Marty's. All the dreads get 12's. The 12'er gets 10 - 47.

[zombywoof]

3 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I didn't  post DR tension. I only posted Straight Up and Martins tension.

I just looked and a set of D'addario PB 12's and the tensions are below. The first is the high e, the last is the low E. Which equal 155.9 lbs.

		23.36 lbs                                       23.31 lbs           20.66 lbs           31.96 lbs           30.41 lbs           26.25 lbs
		Here is the link. Click on the set an it will get to the tensions of D'ad Strings. http://web.daddario.com/StringTensionPro/Search#

Oops, sorry.  I thought you were provided specs on the DR strings.  Thing is most of those producing low tension strings do provide such info.  DR's though remains elusive.

While I do not fully understand the physics involved, I gather the Straight Up strings are like the Santa Cruz in that they exert less and more balanced torque on the bridge.  It looks like the only difference between the Straight Up and the SC strings is the latter has a micro-coating. 

Again, I have used DR Sunbeams so am not trying to bash them.  But I will not use them on my say 1932 L1 which is scary lightly built.  I do not want to do anything to encourage the guitar to develop a belly which matches mine so only use low tension strings on it.  At the moment it is strung with GHS thin cores.  When it is time for a change I am planning to give the Straight Up 11s the nod.

Edited April 29, 2021 by zombywoof

[Todd Mayson]

I just got the l-00 Original and it comes with Gibson 12’s. They feel really easy to bend. I’m almost thinking about bumping the gauge up to 13’s. What do you all think?