glider Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 hey , i just picked up an arch top (godin fifth ave kingpin.. kinda like a es 125 in style. i was how flatwound strings would sound on it. i have never played a guitar with flatwound so any info would help. any string recommendations would help too.. I am looking to have the guitar have more of a jazzy sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Flats will definitely bring out more of a jazzy tone. They will emphasize more of the natural "woody" tone of the guitar, instead of the "jangly" sound of roundwound strings. Flats will also eliminate the screechy sound associated with moving your finger around the fretboard that is associated with roundwounds. Another thing that will make an incredible difference in the sound of a full-body archtop is string gauge. The heavier the strings, the more it will sound like a classic archtop. I would recommend starting with 12's, and then see if you can work your way UP. I use 14-67, but these gauges will certainly NOT suit most players. Flatwound strings last a very long time (I change mine once a year), and will give you a consistent sound for a VERY long time. As an experiment I went past the one year mark with a set on my L-5, and I did start to notice a degradation in tone and sound. A good off-the-shelf brand of flats to try would be D'Addario Chromes. The are relatively inexpensive, and readily available. I use very expensive "boutique" strings, and there are many high-end flats available. You can spend anywhere from under $10 a set, to over $40 a set. One of the high-end string makers is LaBella, but to start out a set of "Chromes" will give you a good idea of what flats are all about. I have heard good thing about the Godins. Give us a report and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljay Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 fwiw, i find that flats on my es-335 allow me to play certain riffs more cleanly than i can on my rw guitars (or could on the 335 before it got the flats). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 A couple of interesting discussions that might interest you: Flatwound string tensions Kingpin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glider Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 A couple of interesting discussions that might interest you: Flatwound string tensions Kingpin zigzags thanks for the links. especially the kingpin link.. kinda confirms my thoughts that the kingpin is a great guitar for the money. i was having a bit of traders remorse as i swapped it for my guild 1993 d-6 acoustic, but i am psyched to give the arch top thing a go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I've had a Kingpin for a while now and generally like it a lot I've seen clips of players 'jazzing it up' on the web-net-machine and sounding good Flats can sound really smooth on any electric, although I went through them and reverted to wounds to enhance the treble IMO the Kingpin is quite lightly built and may struggle with too heavy a gauge Mine has wound 10's on at the moment and I enjoy the bends and some slide work too.... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glider Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 I've had a Kingpin for a while now and generally like it a lot I've seen clips of players 'jazzing it up' on the web-net-machine and sounding good Flats can sound really smooth on any electric, although I went through them and reverted to wounds to enhance the treble IMO the Kingpin is quite lightly built and may struggle with too heavy a gauge Mine has wound 10's on at the moment and I enjoy the bends and some slide work too.... V thanks for posting that- i am a bit concerned about putting to high a gauge string on the guitar because she does seem light and the top is rather thin..... thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 thanks for posting that- i am a bit concerned about putting to high a gauge string on the guitar because she does seem light and the top is rather thin..... thanks again Most comfortable gauges are 11's or 12's and they will not produce too much tension for your guitar.... Usually "boutique" strings are a waste of money... But when it comes to Thomastik-Infeld (spelling?) flatwounds, that is not the case... the extra money spent for these strings is well worth the extra money... The Jazz Swing 11's or 12's is what I recommend.... The are head and shoulders better than the D'addarios... this is not an opinion.. this is fact... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyraff Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I put fender flats on my es-339 and it sounds awsome. They are a bit heavy than normal strings, try experimenting and see if you like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpruceTop Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I had D'Addario Chromes 50-11 on an Elitist Casino before with great effect. I did change out the wound 0.22 for a 0.18. My Epi 335 got a bit brighter when I put a Bigsby on it. So I went with Chromes on it. It mellowed it out just enough. Bending was not as easy as I preferred with the 0.18, 0.14, 0.11's (G,B,E)on that particular guitar so I went with 0.17, 0.13, 0.10's. I like it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 I've been trying to get a more woody, throaty sound out of my ES-335, kinda like the tone that Chuck Berry gets. I worked with flatwounds and didn't get there. I read somewhere that pick-ups closer to strings accentuate the sound of the pick-ups, further away accentuates the sound of the guitar. I lowered the pups, and sure enough, I am much closer to the sound I am looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpruceTop Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 I've been trying to get a more woody, throaty sound out of my ES-335, kinda like the tone that Chuck Berry gets. I worked with flatwounds and didn't get there. I read somewhere that pick-ups closer to strings accentuate the sound of the pick-ups, further away accentuates the sound of the guitar. I lowered the pups, and sure enough, I am much closer to the sound I am looking for. Did you try the flats with the pu's in the lower position? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Did you try the flats with the pu's in the lower position? Not yet. Got some T-I Swing 11s I'll be trying out once the current set of rounds start to rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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