need advice about strings for a casino

[lab34]

Hello,

my lucky son just received a chinese casino.

 

But our teacher said to us the original strings are bad. He said that the treble strings was not bright enough.

Is somebody have the same opinion about originals strings sets ?

 

Can we have an advice for strings replacement ? We are beginners (3 years) and Beatles fans.

 

The teacher thought we could put an heavier gauge, but he is not an electric specialist, and my son is afraid because he like bending on solos (as John Lennon on Get Back).

[gearhead]

I'd probably go for light gauge....... .010-.046 if he likes "bending". And yes, if your strings are "dead" they won't sound balanced and may be hard to tune. Have him be sure he wipes the strings, fingerboard, neck etc with a soft cloth each time he gets done playing. It'll make the strings last longer for one thing.

[teegar]

I can't play anything lighter than 11's (0.011 gauge for the treble E string), I prefer heavier gauge. Some rockers like 10's or even 09's, all else held equal lighter gauge will be brighter. But it's dumb to say someone's strings are not bright enough. That's a subjective tonal issue. And if you put on heavier gauge strings, they would likely get less bright, not more. The teacher should be focused on the technicalities of learning the fretboard, attack, and maybe some theory, and the tone should be up to you.

 

I recommend .011's, wound G string, and I like round wound better than flat wound. But it's all subjective.

[StewartB]

I'd vote for 10/46 gauge. Good to bend, and easier on the fingers if you are a beginner. You can always change to different gauges once you have had some learning and practice. I would think that 10/46 would be best for now and should sound brighter for Beatles music in particular.

 

Bonne chance!

[lab34]

thank you all for your answers !

 

OK, we will stay with the gauge 10/46 for bending and round wound for tone. After one night of brain activity :-) and after reading your posts, I think the problem has two aspects:

- maybe the original strings are not top quality (it's a standard model, not an elitist). The guitar is totally new (2 weeks, but the serial num indicates it was built in july'09).

- our teacher is not an electric specialist, he prefers nylon strings

 

We have in reserve a set of D'addario XL Nickel Wound 10/46 (Nickel plated steel). Maybe we will try to put them on. On the package, they say that they are bright and the ProSteels are the brightest.

 

<- Bright ------------------------------------------------ Mellow ->

ProSteels --------Half Rounds ----- Pure Nickel---------------

-----------------NickelPLated Steel------------------ Chromes -

[StewartB]

thank you all for your answers !

 

OK' date=' we will stay with the gauge 10/46 for bending and round wound for tone. After one night of brain activity :-) and after reading your posts, I think the problem has two aspects:

- maybe the original strings are not top quality (it's a standard model, not an elitist). The guitar is totally new (2 weeks, but the serial num indicates it was built in july'09).

- our teacher is not an electric specialist, he prefers nylon strings

 

We have in reserve a set of D'addario XL Nickel Wound 10/46 (Nickel plated steel). Maybe we will try to put them on. On the package, they say that they are bright and the ProSteels are the brightest.

 

<- Bright ------------------------------------------------ Mellow ->

ProSteels --------Half Rounds ----- Pure Nickel---------------

-----------------NickelPLated Steel------------------ Chromes -

 

[/quote']

 

The D'addario 10/46 XL nickel are good. I've been using them for a couple of years. Good choice.

[Swoop]

I personally use the D'Addario Half Rounds on my Casino, 10-46 gauge. They're a bit pricier than you're regular round wound, nickel plated ones, but they're well worth it I think. They just give the guitar a bit more of that twang and vintagey sound. Plus they give it a bit more brightness, which I think you need with the Casino. Being fully hollow it can be quite boomy and bassy at times, just that sort of acoustic property it has. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but can be quite overpowering I think.

[lab34]

Thank you Swoop, so I just made a search on the forum, it's interresting.

 

is it just a difference with the feeling or is there a difference in the sound ? (between the D'addario Half Rounds and NickelPlated Steel)

 

EDIT: Swoop, I saw you have a recent MIC Casino. For my curiosity, do you remember if replacing the stock strings were a big improvement ? The fact is that my son is not disapointed, he just thinks the teacher is mad :-))) But if we can improve this lovely guitar just by the strings, we will do it.

[TP]

Hi lab and congrats on your sons new Casino! They are great guitars. I just got my first recently in a trade. It is a 1996 model. I have found that regular round wound D'adderio 11's with a wound G string sound awesome on my Casino. For a newer player, 10's will be more comfortable for him but I would suggest having a wound G string. It will stay in tune better and give a better tone.

 

I haven't tried Flats or half-rounds yet, but am considering it just for fun. The Beatles used flat wound I think and I want to hear how my Casino sounds with them. I will likely stick to 11's as I am mostly an acoustic player and all three of my acoustics are strung up with 12-54 gauge strings and I have never had a problem with bends or such. I play mostly fingerstyle acoustically anyway.

 

Anyway, just wanted to say welcome and congrats on the guitar. Keep encouraging your son. I have four kids and only my 15 year old daughter is pursuing guitar. She is loving it and plays my Taylor and Gibson acoustics mostly. I think if she gives the Casino a chance she will like it, but if she goes electric, it will be my Schecter she tries to steal from me! My boys all are drummers!

[Swoop]

Thank you Swoop' date=' so I just made a search on the forum, it's interresting.

 

is it just a difference with the feeling or is there a difference in the sound ? (between the D'addario Half Rounds and NickelPlated Steel)

 

EDIT: Swoop, I saw you have a recent MIC Casino. For my curiosity, do you remember if replacing the stock strings were a big improvement ? The fact is that my son is not disapointed, he just thinks the teacher is mad :-))) But if we can improve this lovely guitar just by the strings, we will do it.[/quote']

 

There is a difference in both sound and feel. As I said, the Half Rounds are brighter, and more vintagey sounding, and give it a little more twang. They also feel different because they're more like a flatwound string. I'm sure you know that a flatwound uses flat ribbon wrapped around a solid core, instead of round wrap wire, like a regular round wound string. The problem is, they're difficult to bend. The Half Rounds are a little different. During manufacturing the wrap wire is ground smooth and flat, similar to a flat wound string, but it's much easier to bend them, and you still get much of that vintagey, bright sound.

 

The stock strings are indeed rubbish. They're ok initially when you get the guitar, but they're nothing special, and nothing designed to enhance your guitar. They're just some cheap crap that the guitar is shipped with just so it has strings basically. I'd recommend changing them to either a good set of round wounds, or some D'Addario half rounds. D'Addario round wounds are fine, but I personally find they take a lot of stretching before they become stable, and they don't last very long. I was going to reccommend DR Pure Blues here, but your graph seems to tell me that Pure Nickel strings are mellow, so I'm not sure. Go for the Half Round D'Addarios I think.

[mamm7215]

I've got cleartones on mine and not sure I'm sold on them. Plus they're expensive. I like the idea of half-rounds, that sounds like a good option. 10-46 is what the Casino ships with as well...

[lab34]

Many thanks to you all,

many thanks Swoop !

I have learned a lot of things with this post.

 

Since we have a set of dd round wound, we will put them on.

[jammybstard]

What ever kind of strings you go for be prepared to change them regulary if you want to keep the tone sweet, all strings start to go off after a couple of weeks of regular playing, more of a problem with acoustics, i must change my acoustic strings every two or three weeks.

 

Whenever i get a new guitar, the first thing i do is change the strings you dont know how long the old ones have been on, Be aware changing the guage of the strings can effect the settup. I received a Riviera a few weeks ago, when it arrived It had some really light guage strings on it, not my thing at all so I fitted some 11/48 power-slinkys and it knocked the action and intonation badly out! much fettling later it now plays lovely!

 

FWIW for a beginer 10/46 gets my vote.

[bluelake07]

I didn't like finger noise with roundwounds on my Casino so it's been halfrounds (10-46) ever since.

[lab34]

Hi,

a few days later... just to say that we put D'Addario Half Rounds, 10-46 gauge

 

Very nice tone, very smooth touch. My son love them. It's an improvement over the stock strings.

We don't show the guitar to the teacher, but it doesn't matter. We love the guitar like that.

 

Changing the strings is very easy on the casino with the trapeze. And the setup of the intonation on the 12th fret with the bridge is easy too.

 

Many thanks to you all ! Have a nice and rocking day !

[capn_gaz]

Hello' date='

my lucky son just received a chinese casino.

 

But our teacher said to us the original strings are bad. He said that the treble strings was not bright enough.

Is somebody have the same opinion about originals strings sets ?

 

Can we have an advice for strings replacement ? We are beginners (3 years) and Beatles fans.

 

The teacher thought we could put an heavier gauge, but he is not an electric specialist, and my son is afraid because he like bending on solos (as John Lennon on Get Back).[/quote']

 

Something to keep in mind if your a big Beatles fan is that its quite well known that Lennon left his strings on for ages and barely ever changed them unless he had to.

 

Also congratulations on getting a Casino, I absolutely love mine.

[RobinTheHood]

Something to keep in mind if your a big Beatles fan is that its quite well known that Lennon left his strings on for ages and barely ever changed them unless he had to.

 

 

Our guitarist does the same thing.

But, I hope you are not suggesting that he forego any more string changes or minimizing the importance of it. Although this is a completely viable option for an experienced player, it creates a less than optimal learning environment for a beginner and can slow progress very easily. The difference between new strings and old strings can be like night and day. This is highlighted even moreso with smaller, less powerful and lower quality amplifiers.

 

My suggestion is to keep those strings fresh!

[capn_gaz]

My suggestion is to keep those strings fresh!

 

I'm probably a middle ground man myself, I don't change them too often but when the strings need changing then they need changing - I know that some people love to live their guitar playing lives trying emulate someone else exactly, but personally thats not for me - I wouldn't leave my strings on until they break apart from corrosion just because someone like John Lennon might have.

 

I agree with what you said though RobinTheHood, it's definately best he keeps good strings on whilst learning.

 

I just thought I'd throw in that little fact about Lennon incase he might be interested - if he's after the tone of Lennons playing he might bare it in mind for the future as "part of the whole" that would create his sound.

 

All the best,

 

Gareth

[RobinTheHood]

I'm probably a middle ground man myself' date=' I don't change them too often but when the strings need changing then they need changing - I know that some people love to live their guitar playing lives trying emulate someone else exactly, but personally thats not for me - I wouldn't leave my strings on until they break apart from corrosion just because someone like John Lennon might have.

 

I agree with what you said though RobinTheHood, it's definately best he keeps good strings on whilst learning.

 

I just thought I'd throw in that little fact about Lennon incase he might be interested - if he's after the tone of Lennons playing he might bare it in mind for the future as "part of the whole" that would create his sound.

 

All the best,

 

Gareth[/quote']

 

Right on. I'm in the middle ground also. I used to change them every two weeks or so pretty religiously. These days its more like every couple of months...maybe more if the strings arent falling out of tune yet. Just yesterday I had to crank on the high E to get it in tune. I know that the next time I bend its going to break. Time for a string change...and there goes my lunchtime practice.

 

I also like to change all of the strings at the same time instead of just the ones that go bad or break. That way I know the condition of all of them instead of guessing which ones are old. Our guitar player breaks a string at almost every practice because he only changes the ones that break. Its maddening!

 

Of course, on bass I only change my strings about twice a year. Those babies are expensive!

[lab34]

Hello !

 

we talked about this fact this morning, my son and me. Yes, all this details are interresting for him.

We had talked a few days ago about the fact that John Lennon may have used a very light gauge on the roof (8-38 ?)

"maybe, one day, I will try..."

 

My son now understand that John Lennon is a unique person. And when something goes wrong with his lennon image, he says "hmmm... but George didn't do that ?" or "yes, but Paul didn't said that !", etc... So it's comfortable sometimes with the Beatles emulation :-) He can switch to another hero !

 

Some weeks ago he was very interrested with the songs "working class hero" and "God". So he learned to play "working class hero". But when he asked me the meaning of the "God" lyrics... yes he was enjoyed by the first verses (jesus, hitler, zimmerman...) because of the rebel aspect, but he was disapointed by "I don't believe in Beatles... the dream is over...". My wife and me had to explain the two songs, it was very interresting. Last year, he was only interrested by the Beatles as a band. Now he tries to understand each of them.

 

With the Beatles, we have a lot of examples to explain him that it is important to build his own personnality. And on the other way, the fact that he tries to emulate the four guys helps him to make great progress in learning guitar.

 

Sorry for the "my life" aspect. This forum is a great place for discussing !