Monel and maple...

[sbpark]

Strung up my Epiphone USA Frontier with some Martin Laurence Juber Monels and so far liking what I am hearing. 

Have been using D'Addario EJ16's, which have been my go-to string for nearly every acoustic I've owned over the years, occasionally switching to EJ17's on occasion. 

Was enjoying the sound of the EJ16's on the Frontier, but they were sounding a little thin and underpowered. Tried some EJ17's, but wasn't liking the increased tension for the type of stuff I like to play. Then tried some EJ24's, which are more of a balanced set of mediums and lighter tension that the EJ17's, but still didn't care for how they felt.

Earlier this veining slapped on a set of Martin Monels, the Laurence Juber set. Only a little more tension than a set of lights, much less than a set of mediums, and they feel great. Very balanced, and the Monels seem to be a really nice match for maple. I've used Monels on smaller-body mahogany guitars in the past (Waterloo) with fantastic results, and know they need a little time to settle in, but they're sounding good now and think they have potential. 

Looking forward to hearing how this strings play in over the next few days and weeks. 

 

 

[MorrisrownSal]

Taylor has this new slope shoulder Grand Pacific line, and the latest is an all maple version (looks stunning). Comes standard with nickel strings… I bet lots of maple guitar owners like how monels may tame the treble and warm it all up once they settle in.

i take it you are still loving the new square.

[Murph]

8 hours ago, sbpark said:

 Epiphone USA Frontier 

 

 

What a cool guitar.

I hadn't seen one.

Mighty fine.

[sbpark]

4 hours ago, Salfromchatham said:

Taylor has this new slope shoulder Grand Pacific line, and the latest is an all maple version (looks stunning). Comes standard with nickel strings… I bet lots of maple guitar owners like how monels may tame the treble and warm it all up once they settle in.

i take it you are still loving the new square.

I love this guitar. I thought it was well balanced even with PB strings, but just felt like the guitar was being held back since it’s such a big guitar. The LJ Models seem to be the perfect match. Power and punch with the heavier gauge but much lower tension than a traditional set of PB mediums. I can fiver pick, strum and flat pick these strings and be happy. The lights seemed to lack when flatpicking, as I usually would hit lights a bit too hard for flatpicking and choke them a bit, despite also keeping my action on the average to high end of things. 

[sbpark]

After a couple days these strings sound even better. 

Despite the Martin LJ Retro set only being a few pounds heavier than a PB light set, and quite a bit less tension than a PB medium set, I can still feel the difference, and is affecting the way I play. I've always used mights on my dreads, but approach playing them differently. With lights I usually do hit the guitar pretty hard, dig in more, etc/, to get the most out of the instrument with those lighter gauge strings. It also imparts a certain sound/tone. Might not be the most efficient way to play (I compare it to the bicyclist you see who's pedaling like crazy in a low grad and going nowhere, and you're telling that moron to shift, shift gears so it's easier on you!) but it's just been my style and what I've done. But it also does make it easier when playing more delicate and quieter stuff. 

But these LJ's sound so good on this guitar I may jsut have the setup tweaked a bit and see if that makes it jsut a little easier to play. Relief is spot on and didn't move from the lights (a testament in ways to how low the tension really is on this LJ set even though they are 13's), and for sure will need to touch up then slots because there is a difference there with the heavier gauge. May even Lowe the action just a hair. 

[zombywoof]

If my memory serves me correctly (which who knows is the case) Martin LJ strings exert about 10 pounds more pressure than a standard set of lights so in that category fall in between light and medium.  But I also have been in rut for a very long time and feel there are Newtone strings and then pretty much everything else.  I am also apparently not all that picky when it comes to the everything else.  If it shows up in the 50% off bin it comes home with me and will eventually adorn some guitar in the house. 

I did have at least a fleeting interest in the new take on the Frontier which was largely driven by the price tags on the late-1950s and early-1960s guitars (the last one I had a shot at dated to 1962) combined with the fact I have played some which were just downright un-inspiring when it came to sound.  It never got past the book learning stage though so was pretty limited.  

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by zombywoof

[Dave F]

Has anyone tried these?

 

[sbpark]

10 minutes ago, Dave F said:

Has anyone tried these?

 

Aren't those Phosphor Bronze or 80/20? I wasn't aware that they make a nickel apply version. 

[sbpark]

41 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

If my memory serves me correctly (which who knows is the case) Martin LJ strings exert about 10 pounds more pressure than a standard set of lights so in that category fall in between light and medium.  But I also have been in rut for a very long time and feel there are Newtone strings and then pretty much everything else.  I am also apparently not all that picky when it comes to the everything else.  If it shows up in the 50% off bin it comes home with me and will eventually adorn some guitar in the house. 

I did have at least a fleeting interest in the new take on the Frontier which was largely driven by the price tags on the late-1950s and early-1960s guitars (the last one I had a shot at dated to 1962) combined with the fact I have played some which were just downright un-inspiring when it came to sound.  It never got past the book learning stage though so was pretty limited.  

 

It's actually even less than that. Somewhere between 7-8lbs. 

My particular Frontier seems to fill that void and check the boxes of a Gibson acoustic that simply works for me. 

Despite trying to bond with so many J-45's over the years I've never been able to. I prefer "bigger" guitars sound wise and physically. To me the J-45 is a small guitar trapped inside a big guitar body. I also prefer longer scale than the traditional shorter Gibson scale. The only Gibson acoustics I've bonded with over the years were the J-200 and the AJ. The AJ was hands down my favorite sound-wise, but was a 2012 and for whatever reason and a really thin neck profile. I've had two J-200's. One was really nice, the other sounded like rubber bands over cardboard. Also, despite their physically large size, they aren't necessarily big sounding guitars. 

Enter the Frontier...it's a big sounding guitar but still has that classic Gibson thump and decay but with a touch of clarity to it, fantastic note separation and very full, big sound, longer scale to suit my personal preference, more substantial neck than the AJ I used to have, and better aesthetics (in my opinion) compared to a Dove (which is essentially what the Frontier is, a Dove with different aesthetics). Also a little more versatile than the AJ. 

Edited March 6, 2022 by sbpark

[zombywoof]

2 hours ago, Dave F said:

Has anyone tried these?

 

My wife loves these strings on her 1960 J200.  I would recommend going with the medium tension strings.  The low tension strings tended to reduce volume and sap some of the low end away.  But they do  have a smooth feeling to them in general come off more like strings wound on a round than a hex core.   I have been trying to wean her off of them though with Straight Up Strings.  These are also designed by Roger Siminoff and are the same string differing only as far as I can figure in that they do not have a micro-coating.   But they also go for 1/2 the price of the Santa Cruz  strings.

Edited March 6, 2022 by zombywoof

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 hours ago, zombywoof said:

If my memory serves me correctly (which who knows is the case) Martin LJ strings exert about 10 pounds more pressure than a standard set of lights so in that category fall in between light and medium.  But I also have been in rut for a very long time and feel there are Newtone strings and then pretty much everything else.  I am also apparently not all that picky when it comes to the everything else.  If it shows up in the 50% off bin it comes home with me and will eventually adorn some guitar in the house. 

I did have at least a fleeting interest in the new take on the Frontier which was largely driven by the price tags on the late-1950s and early-1960s guitars (the last one I had a shot at dated to 1962) combined with the fact I have played some which were just downright un-inspiring when it came to sound.  It never got past the book learning stage though so was pretty limited.  

 

You are correct the Martin LJ strings on the pack are called Medium Light.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Martin/MM13-Laurence-Juber-Signature-Medium-Light-Acoustic-Guitar-Strings-1439818603616.gc?cntry=us&source=4WWRWXGP&gclid=CjwKCAiA1JGRBhBSEiwAxXblwQuQpf3Y9UUCwl-XM92jdwLQS2O9XvITa8cKdshKwlrdc8M1bexTNxoCaFgQAvD_BwE

[Sgt. Pepper]

15 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

My wife loves these strings on her 1960 J200.  I would recommend going with the medium tension strings.  The low tension strings tended to reduce volume and sap some of the low end away.  But they do  have a smooth feeling to them in general come off more like strings wound on a round than a hex core.   I have been trying to wean her off of them though with Straight Up Strings.  These are also designed by Roger Siminoff and are the same string differing only as I can figure in that they do not have a micro-coating.   But they also go for 1/2 the price of the Santa Cruz  strings.

I have/am - tried/trying the Straight Up Strings version. The guy who makes the strings for Santa Cruz brands his own as Straight Up Strings and are a bit cheaper. I'm not a fan. I have a set on my 00-28 and can't wait for them to wear out so I can go back to D'ad XS's 11 - 52.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[sbpark]

21 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

You are correct the Martin LJ strings on the pack are called Medium Light.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Martin/MM13-Laurence-Juber-Signature-Medium-Light-Acoustic-Guitar-Strings-1439818603616.gc?cntry=us&source=4WWRWXGP&gclid=CjwKCAiA1JGRBhBSEiwAxXblwQuQpf3Y9UUCwl-XM92jdwLQS2O9XvITa8cKdshKwlrdc8M1bexTNxoCaFgQAvD_BwE

Yes, but the LJ Retro set has even less tension than a medium light set in PB. 

[zombywoof]

2 hours ago, sbpark said:

Yes, but the LJ Retro set has even less tension than a medium light set in PB. 

Interesting.  The Martin Retro MLJ 13 gauge exert something just over 175 pounds of tension.   Less tension than most 13 gauge strings.  By comparison, Newtone Heritage 13s clock in at 155 pounds.  But these were really designed for older lighter built instruments where string tension can be a matter of survival.  

Edited March 6, 2022 by zombywoof