New Brand of Strings

[Paul E]

Has anyone tried the new brand of strings called Red Brand? I just put a set on my 165 maple and they seem to sound pretty balanced. I got them in lights, they are a copper/bronze string. I had Gibson J 200's on it before and wasn't to happy with the mid sound, so I thought I would try these.

[TWilson]

Oldguy - I tried some on a Guild in one of the local shops and liked the sound so I bought a set of lights that I will put on my J-45 when the current strings go south. I think someone mentioned earlier that they didn't think the Reds lasted very long. I read that after I bought them but I like to try different strings and find out for myself. Will let you know how the J-45 sounds when I get them on.

[onewilyfool]

There are always new strings coming out....but don't just two companies make all the steel strings in the US???? Just packaged under different labels????

[TWilson]

Gibson makes their own strings and the guy in the shop told me that Cleartone makes Red strings. (They supposedly have a higher copper content than any other string. Whatever that does, I don't know.)

[Modac]

The Mapes String Company makes strings for a lot of different labels.....but not all of them.

[pohatu771]

I know Gibson, Martin, and Fender make their own.

[rar]

but don't just two companies make all the steel strings in the US????

 

Wily,

 

This is a gross exaggeration. The grains of truth are that the number of string manufacturers is much smaller than the number of brands -- D'Addario alone manufactures scores of brands -- and that the number of guitar wire suppliers is right around two. (BTW, Mapes is the biggest supplier of specialty wire to guitar string manufacturers, not a guitar string manufacturer.)

 

-- Bob R

[tedmac]

Gibson makes their own strings and the guy in the shop told me that Cleartone makes Red strings. (They supposedly have a higher copper content than any other string. Whatever that does' date=' I don't know.)[/quote']

 

I was told by a music store owner that the Gibson strings were made by Ghs. But I dont know for sure. I am trying different strings on my J185 ec, and I guess I'll end up with something I like. My next set is going to be Elixers then the new ernie ball titanium coated.

[jaxson50]

Mapes dominates the music wire industry to the tune of $23 million a year world wide from their plant on Wire Mill Road in Elizabethon Tn. (Carter County). Yet you seldom see a set of strings with their name on it, so how do they account for such a huge market share?

The piano string industry isn't a big one, but according to Music Trade magazine, "They're sort of it, so it's as big as they are."

Owned by the Schaff family, Mapes has been supplying Steinway since the mid 1800's and Gibson since their founding. Mapes is the supplier of specialty wire used to make guitar strings for such companies as Fender, Martin, J.D. D'Addario, D'Aquisto, Peavey, DR, SIT, Ernie Ball, Dean Markley, Vinci, RotoSound, GHS, & Black Diamond.

This is not to say they make the strings for those companies, they order wire made to their specifications from Mapes which they then use to make their own product.

[rar]

Mapes dominates the music wire industry to the tune of $23 million a year world wide from their plant on Wire Mill Road in Elizabethon Tn. (Carter County).

 

True, but there are other players. For example, Renaissance Wire was started in 2000 as a supplier of music wire (exclusively) and is now owned and operated by D'Addario. So D'Addario more or less supplies itself with wire, and they certainly have a significant share of the guitar string market.

 

-- Bob R

[jaxson50]

Do any of you remember the Nashville Straights Guitar String company?

Their strings were shipped in a straight (and very long) box, the strings were never bent

and were supposed to sound brighter and last longer etc. They were marketed in the 70's, I used them and as I remember they were pretty good strings.

[dwolf]

The strings that came on my TV VOS J-200 sure looked, felt, and sounded like D'Addario EXP 80/20's. If they were not, the D'Addarios are very close. I like the sound of them. Elderly music has a 2 for one sale going on, and for less than $5 a set, that's hard to beat...