Dom_JEM Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 stainless steel srings? whats the deal with them? can they only be used on guitars with certain kind of frets? ive been using standard strings ever since i started but i have hands like acid....i have to change em alll the damn time haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I have no experience with them at all but I have heard they are very hard on your frets... I guess if you are heavy handed it could be a problem.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Gibson frets are a relativley soft alloy......S.S. strings will shorten their life span...... Hopefully others will expand on this........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Damian basically put it as I would. I think probably if you're not too much for squishing on the frets you'll not notice much. But even Gibson has different sorts of frets and you may notice more wear on some than others. I've also a hunch that heavier gauge strings will be more likely to increase fret wear too, depending on playing style, because more pressure is required. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Dont go for them, Gibson is the only guitar company with soft frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I use a lot of different brands on different guitars because of the tone, I like to match the properties of the string to the guitar. About the "hardest" string I use is GHS boomers, and I have not noticed more wear than with others. I'm pretty hard on frets, and while I notice would strings scratch a finely polished fret, the most wear I get is from string bends on the plain strings. I doubt it makes a difference which string I would use. I have also noticed that Ernie Ball Slinkys tend to wear faster than others, and the plating on the plain strings seems to come off pretty quickly. The next step up in tonality I thing are Fender 150's. I had a friend I played with and I used to work on his guitar a lot. He used Slinky's, and he had the acidic hands. We didn't really give it a second thought, honestly, just kept changing strings. I think for the most part, the windings get crushed before the strings get eaten by his acid, so regardless it didn'e matter, but that was long ago, and I never paid much attention. But really, I think for everyone if you are using Slinky's, they are going to wear faster. Frets are going to wear anyway, regardless of string used, and I don't think stainless are a time bomb or anything. I would just use what plays and sounds the best. And obviously, avoid coated strings if you have acid that eats them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Why don't you try Elixir Nanowebs or one of the other coated strings. That should help with the string replacement issue especially if you wipe them down after you play. The thin coating keeps oils, salts and the moisture from your hands out of the strings and you should get much better life out of your strings. Stainless steel strings can damage frets and really do a lot of damage if you do heavy bends or god help you use a capo on your with stainless strings guitar. nice bright tone with SS though if you don't really care about fret wear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 SS will resist corrosion. They are harder than standard steel strings. You may trade longer string life for shorter fret life. You think changing strings is a beech. Have you priced a re-fret job? Most alloys of stainless steel are non-magnetic. Some will attract a magnet, it depends on the percentage of iron in the mix. These may present a problem on electric guitars which rely on the movement of highly ferrous strings within a pick-ups' magnetic field. I'd check the specs to make sure the manufacturer says they will work with magnetic pick-ups, P-90s, Humbuckers and the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarusvt84 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 SS will resist corrosion. They are harder than standard steel strings. You may trade longer string life for shorter fret life. You think changing strings is a beech. Have you priced a re-fret job? Most alloys of stainless steel are non-magnetic. Some will attract a magnet, it depends on the percentage of iron in the mix. These may present a problem on electric guitars which rely on the movement of highly ferrous strings within a pick-ups' magnetic field. I'd check the specs to make sure the manufacturer says they will work with magnetic pick-ups, P-90s, Humbuckers and the like. A buddy just paid $80 for a complete fret job on a 10-yr old Guild/DeArmond electric...with neck binding. Great job. That seems reasonable...cheap even. I live in WV...things must be cheaper here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 A buddy just paid $80 for a complete fret job on a 10-yr old Guild/DeArmond electric...with neck binding. Great job. That seems reasonable...cheap even. I live in WV...things must be cheaper here. Re-fret or just a level crown and polish job? 80 bucks for a complete re-fret is stupid cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enmitygauged Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Why don't you try Elixir Nanowebs or one of the other coated strings. That should help with the string replacement issue especially if you wipe them down after you play. The thin coating keeps oils, salts and the moisture from your hands out of the strings and you should get much better life out of your strings. Stainless steel strings can damage frets and really do a lot of damage if you do heavy bends or god help you use a capo on your with stainless strings guitar. nice bright tone with SS though if you don't really care about fret wear. I agree they are my favourite strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyseven Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 That makes me also wonder, because i'm using Ernie Ball pure nickel slinkies...i know that i put maybe a little too much pressure on my strings/frets and that causes "fast" fretwear...what strings would be better/less fretwear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 That makes me also wonder, because i'm using Ernie Ball pure nickel slinkies...i know that i put maybe a little too much pressure on my strings/frets and that causes "fast" fretwear...what strings would be better/less fretwear Pure nickel isn't stainless steel........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 That makes me also wonder, because i'm using Ernie Ball pure nickel slinkies...i know that i put maybe a little too much pressure on my strings/frets and that causes "fast" fretwear...what strings would be better/less fretwear I don't think you can get a softer string than those. they are going to be pretty easy on the frets. But really, the only way to avoid fret wear is to not play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyseven Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I don't think you can get a softer string than those. they are going to be pretty easy on the frets. But really, the only way to avoid fret wear is to not play. Yeah, i know...i just don't know nothing 'bout the differences...but cool to hear... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Hey Stein, could you elaborate on why not use coated strings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I don't think you can get a softer string than those. they are going to be pretty easy on the frets. But really, the only way to avoid fret wear is to not play. Now there's a plan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Hey Stein, could you elaborate on why not use coated strings? I should have elaborated more. For people with truly "acidic" hands the acid eats the coating real fast, and I should have qualified that with "I have heard" because I have not experienced it myself, but rather have read by someone that they have acidic hands that eat through them. That is what I was referring to. I might think not everyone who eats through strings would eat through coated strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Namvet Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Tried Elixer nanos on my acoustic and the strings turned green where my fingers touched from chording. Have not had that happen with stainless or nickel strings. Use Gibson strings on the Gibson and Fender strings on the Fenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I guess I don't understand difficulties with Elixirs. I've used the polyweb (heavier coating than nanoweb) since 2003. Never a problem at all. The reason I wonder is that my skin is sufficiently acidic that I've never owned a watch, regardless of price tag, that lasted much more than a year on my wrist. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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