Gibson Songwriter Strings

[alex1111]

Hey,

 

I have a Gibson Songwriter and I haven't changed the strings in a while. I was wondering if anyone knows what the stock strings were or if anyone has any recommendations/

 

 

 

 

Alex

http://www.muzik.co.il/

[EuroAussie]

Ah, the Songwriter string dilemma, boy was this a difficult topic for me to crack.

 

Firstly, I think the stock string would be either Gibson Masterbuil PB 12's or 80/20's.

 

It took me over a year to find suitable strings for my Songwriter. Main reason is that I found I needed strings that had both warmth, as I naturally like warmth in a guitar, brightness, to get over the rosewood chocolate and also longevity as there is nothing worse than a muddy rosewood tone from worn strings.

 

I went through about 10 different sets and finally settled on Elixir Nanoweb PB's. Now, I need to disclose that I am not an Elixir fan as I find the overall tone somewhat 'filtered' with these strings, and I dont like the slippery feel of them.

 

However, after a few hours play they settled down and have the right mix of warmth and brightness, plus, and most importantly they keep their 'sizzle' forever and even now, some 2-3 months after i put them on I still get that responsive, sizzly tone on the low EA strings, which combined with the inherent rosewood richness and overtones provides a pretty impressive tone.

 

So, I would recommend trying these for those reasons. I dont use the Elixirs and woldnt consider then on my mahogany and maple guitars as they would be far too bright IMO.

[blindboygrunt]

aussie ,

how can elixir strings be too bright for a mihagny guitar but work ok on a rosewood , when surely the rosewood is already brighter by its construction?

i'm asking because i've been in the elixir dilemma for ages now , the guys i play with all use them , i dont mind them , they made my lowden way too bright , but i had some left and put them on the j45 and after a few days they sounded quite nice . something to do with the gibson not having a billion overtones with every chord . the dilemma for me was also i broke a lot of elixirs and they ain't cheap, i still cant decide if i like them or not .

cheers

[EuroAussie]

Well, my perception and I think you will find its a general view is that rosewood is much darker than mahogany. I find mahogany to be right smack bang in the middle between maple (brightest) and rosewood (darkest).

 

So given, that I perceive rosewood to have a dark, or chocolatey tone as I like to put it I find Elixir PB's to work well as I find them to be the brightes PB strings, before going into 80/20 territory which for me are far too bright.

 

However if we talk about Elixirs in general, my biggest issue with them is I just find they have somewhat of a 'filtered' tone, as if one applied almost an effect. They certain took off some of the edge of my SWD. But in the end its a compromise i was willing to take rather than changing strings on the SWD on a weekly basis.

 

 

aussie ,

how can elixir strings be too bright for a mihagny guitar but work ok on a rosewood , when surely the rosewood is already brighter by its construction?

[blindboygrunt]

However if we talk about Elixirs in general, my biggest issue with them is I just find they have somewhat of a 'filtered' tone, as if one applied almost an effect. They certain took off some of the edge of my SWD. But in the end its a compromise i was willing to take rather than changing strings on the SWD on a weekly basis.

 

filtered tone is a good way of putting it. thats my beef with them too , they dont sound natural or something . perhaps just a mental block with something so different

when i play acoustic , zingyness and alive and newness arent really whats in the sound in my head .

 

i just had years of daddario lights , cheap , everywhere and consistent. u tried a few different strings then after being told that i should be using elixirs , set me started on a string quest . this is all om my last guitar , now i have a gibson sure dont i have to go from te beginning again. in case the worst string choice for the last guitar is the best for the gibson

another issue if you tend to break strings like i do us that u need to have spares in the bag . having a bag full of packets of different brands with five strings in them just isnt economical and a bloody mess to boot

i really liked the newtone strings years ago the low tension ones were a joy to play , but when i went to replace them they would be out of stock . but at the minute i think i'm going to give john pearse my money for a while , i like them a lot .

 

ah i dont know why cant they just make one kind of string and leave us all alone , its like a chinese menu ! all sounds great but we always end up ordering chow mein

[EuroAussie]

My favourite strings have always been DR Sunbeams, they work a treat on maple and mahogany guitars. But recently Ive tried DR Drgonskins long life and currently have them on my Bird and SJ. They are sort of darker, chocolately tone but I like whet im hearing coming from them. Plus they also seem to hold up pretty well thus far.

[blindboygrunt]

My favourite strings have always been DR Sunbeams, they work a treat on maple and mahogany guitars. But recently Ive tried DR Drgonskins long life and currently have them on my Bird and SJ. They are sort of darker, chocolately tone but I like whet im hearing coming from them. Plus they also seem to hold up pretty well thus far.

 

oh cool , i've heard people mention them before , i'll add them to the list :-)

[57classic]

I use D'Addario EXP16 phosphor bronze. Very lively sound.

[EuroAussie]

Yeah, I found these strings to also be very good with the SWD, the tone is actually beter than the Elixirs.

 

The only issue I found is that they didnt last much longer than standard Daddarios, which in other words not long at all. I remember that all I had to do was play one sweaty pub gig and the strings were shot, which is not the case with Elixirs.

 

But I do agree the tone is marvelous, rich, warm with a good splash of brightness.

 

I use D'Addario EXP16 phosphor bronze. Very lively sound.

[pfox14]

Why not experiment. Buy 3-5 different sets of strings, different manufacturers, but stay with one basic guage - I would recommend 12-53s or equivalent. See which ones really get the sound you are looking for. $5-8 a set is worth it IMHO.

[j45nick]

Why not experiment. Buy 3-5 different sets of strings, different manufacturers, but stay with one basic guage - I would recommend 12-53s or equivalent. See which ones really get the sound you are looking for. $5-8 a set is worth it IMHO.

 

Paul, that's exactly what I'm doing right now for several guitars, including my J-45. It's a fun exercise, and cheap! It is a bit like ordering from a Chinese menu, and it feels a bit odd to order one set of anything.

 

I still use juststrings.com, which has great variety and excellent service.

[blindboygrunt]

Paul, that's exactly what I'm doing right now for several guitars, including my J-45. It's a fun exercise, and cheap! It is a bit like ordering from a Chinese menu, and it feels a bit odd to order one set of anything.

 

I still use juststrings.com, which has great variety and excellent service.

 

12 's is my normal gauge , anyone used the bluegrass sets where the lowE is 56 or something ?? make much of a difference ?

[EuroAussie]

I quite like 13's on mahogany dreads, although currently theyre all on 12's. But 13's dont work for me on rosewood, as I find it really chokes the top. My SWD needs 12's to breath a bit together with the overtone orchestra surrounding it, especialy now 18 months after i bought where she is REALLY starting to open up and becoming quite the cannon.

 

12 's is my normal gauge , anyone used the bluegrass sets where the lowE is 56 or something ?? make much of a difference ?

[blindboygrunt]

I quite like 13's on mahogany dreads, although currently theyre all on 12's. But 13's dont work for me on rosewood, as I find it really chokes the top. My SWD needs 12's to breath a bit together with the overtone orchestra surrounding it, especialy now 18 months after i bought where she is REALLY starting to open up and becoming quite the cannon.

 

 

13's is another thing i'm gonna have to try after the amount of people on here referring to them.

but i've played 12's since god knows when , i was referring to the 'bluegrass' strings tht are about now , where they are pretty much a set if lights (12's) but the bass strings are mediums i think .... 56's rather than 54 of the light gauge set . a mix of gauges . sounds interestin to me

[jrplefty]

Aussie,

 

Try a set of those DragonSkins on your SWD. You've already done it on your maple and hog. I have a rosewood jumbo that those strings are pairing nicely with. This is the string that will probably restore my faith in coated strings. They don't seem to have the filtered sound you refer to with the Elixirs, and so far I've had a pair for a couple of months and they are still alive. Mind you, I'm not actively gigging right now, which I know you are. I really wish I could find them locally in 13's. 12's seem to be about as high as anyone wants to go. I think if I actually break down and order a set of the heavier gauge, my guitar will become more alive than it already is.

 

I know that the SWD is a dread, and I'm referring to a jumbo. I just think the string would pair well with a rosewood bodied guitar.

[EuroAussie]

Funny you say that, when I actually bought the Dragonsking I had the SWD in mind as a possible alternatitve to the Elixirs. However I found them far too dark and chocolatey for the rosewood of SWD, wasnt a good match at all in my experience. I couldnt get much spark at all. On the ohter hand on the brighter hog they seem to work very well. I enjoy the darker tones they deliver on the SJ and so far the Bird has lovelly warm, mellowish tone with them on also. Im 100% satisfied with Sunbeams on the J-150 so wont be experimeting further there for now.

 

Aussie,

 

Try a set of those DragonSkins on your SWD. You've already done it on your maple and hog. I have a rosewood jumbo that those strings are pairing nicely with. This is the string that will probably restore my faith in coated strings. They don't seem to have the filtered sound you refer to with the Elixirs, and so far I've had a pair for a couple of months and they are still alive. Mind you, I'm not actively gigging right now, which I know you are. I really wish I could find them locally in 13's. 12's seem to be about as high as anyone wants to go. I think if I actually break down and order a set of the heavier gauge, my guitar will become more alive than it already is.

 

I know that the SWD is a dread, and I'm referring to a jumbo. I just think the string would pair well with a rosewood bodied guitar.

[MichaelR]

+1 on Elixer nano web 12s. They are the only strings that do it for me on my SWD, and that's after experimenting with many strings including all mentioned above. let us know how it turns out, alex

[j45nick]

13's is another thing i'm gonna have to try after the amount of people on here referring to them.

but i've played 12's since god knows when , i was referring to the 'bluegrass' strings tht are about now , where they are pretty much a set if lights (12's) but the bass strings are mediums i think .... 56's rather than 54 of the light gauge set . a mix of gauges . sounds interestin to me

 

A number of companies make mixed medium/light sets, with standard 12, etc., high strings, but medium-gauge lows. I'm going to try them on an L-7 for laughs. I'm pretty sure Elixir makes this combination in both PB and 80/20.

[blindboygrunt]

A number of companies make mixed medium/light sets, with standard 12, etc., high strings, but medium-gauge lows. I'm going to try them on an L-7 for laughs. I'm pretty sure Elixir makes this combination in both PB and 80/20.

 

let me know what u think ?

cheers

[jrplefty]

Funny you say that, when I actually bought the Dragonsking I had the SWD in mind as a possible alternatitve to the Elixirs. However I found them far too dark and chocolatey for the rosewood of SWD, wasnt a good match at all in my experience. I couldnt get much spark at all. On the ohter hand on the brighter hog they seem to work very well. I enjoy the darker tones they deliver on the SJ and so far the Bird has lovelly warm, mellowish tone with them on also. Im 100% satisfied with Sunbeams on the J-150 so wont be experimeting further there for now.

 

I guess the reason I like the combination, is that I'm not a fan of brighter guitars, be them electric or acoustic. So I feel like the Dragonskins bring out a lot of the natural warmth of the rosewood and the jumbo body, but there is just enough sparkle for there to be a high end presence when I do single note type stuff. I'm still not 100% sold on them. I'm getting ready to try a set of Curt Mangan PB 13's in the next month or so, and see how those work out. And if all else fails, I will go back to special ordering the Rotosound Jumbo Kings I played for a year or so

[57classic]

Yeah, I found these strings to also be very good with the SWD, the tone is actually beter than the Elixirs.

 

The only issue I found is that they didnt last much longer than standard Daddarios, which in other words not long at all. I remember that all I had to do was play one sweaty pub gig and the strings were shot, which is not the case with Elixirs.

 

But I do agree the tone is marvelous, rich, warm with a good splash of brightness.

 

I wish I could take just a bit of the brightness away from the highs but the mids and lows are wonderful. The Elixirs sucked the life out of the guitar. I used them for over 10 years on a Taylor 814ce I owned and loved them on that guitar. The D'Addarios last me months playing almost daily but I don't gig and my hands don't sweat much.

[EuroAussie]

No question the tone is compromised with the Elixirs on this particular guitar. I remember first putting them on the SWD some 8 months ago and was shocked how much warmth and bottom end I lost, as you said, sucked all the life out of the guitar, took them off after 2 hours. Six months later and continuing frustration with finding the right strings for the guitar I tried Elixirs after many recommendatin to let them being played in for a few days. Have to say that this somewhat worked in that they do settle down a lot, but stil have and inherant metallic brightness in them. I found though if I adjusted my plauing style (for example pick angle) I can get quite a lot of warmth out of the guitar.

 

On the upside after several months they still have the zing that I crave on the low EA strings with zero muddiness which makes me tolerate them.

 

I wish I could take just a bit of the brightness away from the highs but the mids and lows are wonderful. The Elixirs sucked the life out of the guitar. I used them for over 10 years on a Taylor 814ce I owned and loved them on that guitar. The D'Addarios last me months playing almost daily but I don't gig and my hands don't sweat much.

[Run]

After trying different brands and still doing so, the Martin SP PB light-medium 12.5-55 are the best (according to my taste) I found until that day. Bought a songwriter studio few weeks ago and didn't get enough volume using light strings especially on the first and second...got a better result using medium but hard to play ...still looking for the "saint graal ".

[EuroAussie]

Im back to Daddario PB lights, together with the EXP's they really are the best sounding strings for this guitar. Sure, they die quickly but ill change them more often, its worth it for the tone.