egoidealmusic Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Hi all, So, as you know I've not been too thrilled with the Martin Retro strings I tried, so I want to go back to what was originally installed on her when she arrived. The Gibson site says the guage, but not which type of Gibson strings. Anyone know which are the stock they use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALD323 Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 2 hours ago, egoidealmusic said: Hi all, So, as you know I've not been too thrilled with the Martin Retro strings I tried, so I want to go back to what was originally installed on her when she arrived. The Gibson site says the guage, but not which type of Gibson strings. Anyone know which are the stock they use? My 2015 came with 80/20 strings which I prefer. But Gibson has often switched from 80/20 to PB's on new models as they arrive each year. So what ever strings they happen to put on that particular year could be called stock strings. I find 80/20 strings to be much preferable on my J-45, they produce the sound of clarity I like to hear on it. The PB's will give a slightly more overtoned sound if you prefer that. 80/20..lighter more airy...PB's deeper more overtones. Let your ears be your guide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gossmanster Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 I’ve searched for this many times and it appears Gibson regularly changes supplier and type of strings they use at the factory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 5 hours ago, gossmanster said: I’ve searched for this many times and it appears Gibson regularly changes supplier and type of strings they use at the factory. I think they now say they use their own brand of PB, maybe even coated, but do not always have stock and will use what they can get their hands on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egoidealmusic Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Thanks for the thoughts, all. Has anyone tried their coated PB coated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 51 minutes ago, egoidealmusic said: Thanks for the thoughts, all. Has anyone tried their coated PB coated? I have. SJ-200 Standard and SJ-200 CS HC Pre-war(Rosewood B&S). Mixed bag. Normal sound evolution. Bright at first, sweeter sounding a few weeks in and again some more as they aged for a few months. They did sound nice for coated strings, IMO. Flaking is my biggest complaint on these. It was also easy to tell when they were worn out. Hard to keep in tune and got wicked stiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 We have discussed this back'n'forth for ages. Various members contributed with serious detective work and I have been in the frontline both by buying rather old strings from new Gibson guitars in shops and by borrowing Gibsons back home from shops for then to change strings (which of course presents itself as good behaviour when it's returned). A member claimed he found out they were GHS (correct if wrong), but that made med wonder as that brand doesn't come with that bass gauge. Another joker is the fact that factory strings featured golden end-balls between 2010 and 15 (perhaps longer), , , and that Masterbuilts (which they claim is the deal) have silver. Take that and dig a hole. I did - simply had to give up. Long story short - I think it's a weak spot that Bozeman doesn't play straight here. You buy a guitar and like the sound - of course you wanna recreate it. And if an overall import-base for a certain region choose to change the strings from Montana, let them answer for what they put on. My 5 confused Yen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 21 hours ago, egoidealmusic said: Thanks for the thoughts, all. Has anyone tried their coated PB coated? I also had a setup of the PB coated. Liked em from the start. No shredding for me. (like I have some brands do) They lasted about 5 months. Once they went dead tho,, they went REAL dead. but 5 months !! hey... I'm okay with that. These are pretty good extended strings in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Gibson used D ‘Adarrios for a long time.. I believe they even branded some as Gibsons but not positive they still do.. That said, they were fine Strings & I still use them on some of my Electric Guitars.. My Gibson J-160E & my Martin D-35 are Electric & IMO of the numerous Strings, of all price ranges I’ve used the past 20 years, the Martin Retros are the only ones that sound good playing Electric or Unplugged.. All the others are one trick ponies.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALD323 Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 On 10/2/2021 at 10:05 AM, egoidealmusic said: Thanks for the thoughts, all. Has anyone tried their coated PB coated? I use Elixir nanoweb coated strings....they easily last me 6 months or MORE, depending on how hard it is played. Love them. I've used them for 20 years, I would never look back. Perfect strings for me. Long lasting, clean crisp and clear tone....and did I say LONG LASTING?? Yes!! Most will agree even if they don't prefer the sound..that Elixirs last the longest! I have one guitar with 4 year old elixirs on it. Sound great yet! Any flaking of the strings, you really have to LOOK to see that, simply mean..KEEP PLAYING! That does not affect longevity or tone in any way. The strings are still good!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 5 hours ago, Larsongs said: Gibson used D ‘Adarrios for a long time.. I believe they even branded some as Gibsons but not positive they still do.. So you say they used D'Addarios - but it must have been with neutral their 'own' golden ball-ends or before D'Addario got coloured ball-ends (which is way back. . . ) 2 Qs : 1/ Would that the ordinary EJ16 lights. They are Ph.B. strings, Bozeman said they used Masterbuilts 80/20 for a long time. 2/ What is your source, if I may be that free (yes, I've heard it too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 (edited) 23 hours ago, Larsongs said: Gibson used D ‘Adarrios for a long time.. I believe they even branded some as Gibsons but not positive they still do.. That said, they were fine Strings & I still use them on some of my Electric Guitars.. My Gibson J-160E & my Martin D-35 are Electric & IMO of the numerous Strings, of all price ranges I’ve used the past 20 years, the Martin Retros are the only ones that sound good playing Electric or Unplugged.. All the others are one trick ponies.. Here is an a spec sheet from Epiphone for one of my older Casino’s.. Notice the Strings they use at the bottom.. D ‘Adarrios.. https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIBDM867/Casino/Natural Edited October 4, 2021 by Larsongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 13 hours ago, E-minor7 said: So you say they used D'Addarios - but it must have been with neutral their 'own' golden ball-ends or before D'Addario got coloured ball-ends (which is way back. . . ) 2 Qs : 1/ Would that the ordinary EJ16 lights. They are Ph.B. strings, Bozeman said they used Masterbuilts 80/20 for a long time. 2/ What is your source, if I may be that free (yes, I've heard it too). Well, they switched to having GHS produce them at some point, now??? who knows really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 To make things more confusing - the latest D'Addario strings (XS for example) have brass, black, and silver ball ends. Colors gone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Guitar makers are constantly making changes to their products, it would be a stretch to expect string makers to not adapt to supply chain issues, materials shortages and offshore dependence. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 49 minutes ago, Salfromchatham said: To make things more confusing - the latest D'Addario strings (XS for example) have brass, black, and silver ball ends. Colors gone... yea,, they are great strings tho. pretty much surpassed everything else in the choice of "coated" strings for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 I just put them on ! I never really got along with the EXP last generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 2 hours ago, kidblast said: yea,, they are great strings tho. pretty much surpassed everything else in the choice of "coated" strings for me. I'll add my positive review for D'Add XS strings - have had them on for over 4 months and they are still sounding as good as new. I've tended to use Pearse PB lights and D'Add PB lights and these ones sound quite similar; in other words - very good. The longevity balances the price-point so far. I think I'll get another set when these fade. So far the intonation and colour are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 3 hours ago, Salfromchatham said: I just put them on ! I never really got along with the EXP last generation. I didn't like EXPs,, they didn't feel right, not when they were new, and basically not ever. Tried one set, never went back. 1 hour ago, olie said: I'll add my positive review for D'Add XS strings - have had them on for over 4 months and they are still sounding as good as new. I've tended to use Pearse PB lights and D'Add PB lights and these ones sound quite similar; in other words - very good. The longevity balances the price-point so far. I think I'll get another set when these fade. So far the intonation and colour are fine. These outlasted the Gibson coated PBs. once those went dead, they were just unusable. I got 5 months out of my 1st set of Xs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 5 hours ago, kidblast said: Well, they switched to having GHS produce them at some point, now??? who knows really. Here’s a link to a Casino from a few years ago. D ‘Adarrio Strings are listed on the Specs at the bottom of the page.. https://www.epiphone.com/Guitar/EPIBDM867/Casino/Natural Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egoidealmusic Posted October 4, 2021 Author Share Posted October 4, 2021 Are these the strings folks are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Phosphor-Bronze-Acoustic-Strings/dp/B07TGX59RB/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzOqKBhAWEiwArQGwaG9y8HYFP36-kqTKvDZ2l7NNMNuB6xAAu0u2RSf0-2bKrY7IZ46utRoC4YcQAvD_BwE&hvadid=518231869350&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9011338&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10469496139985351506&hvtargid=kwd-1239112432068&hydadcr=29645_10190482&keywords=d'addario+xt+strings&qid=1633383005&sr=8-3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Z Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 10/5/2021 at 1:41 AM, egoidealmusic said: Are these the strings folks are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Phosphor-Bronze-Acoustic-Strings/dp/B07TGX59RB/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwzOqKBhAWEiwArQGwaG9y8HYFP36-kqTKvDZ2l7NNMNuB6xAAu0u2RSf0-2bKrY7IZ46utRoC4YcQAvD_BwE&hvadid=518231869350&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9011338&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10469496139985351506&hvtargid=kwd-1239112432068&hydadcr=29645_10190482&keywords=d'addario+xt+strings&qid=1633383005&sr=8-3 Those are the XT strings, they sound a bit darker than the XS. The XS come in a white package, otherwise in the same design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Z Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 BTW, I prefer the XS over the XT. On my Southern Jumbo I usually use Gibson 80/20 coated. Will try D’Addario XS soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egoidealmusic Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 (edited) Thank you! I'm wondering if I'd prefer the darker as I'm assuming there would be a bit more bottom end? Edited October 7, 2021 by egoidealmusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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