ParlourMan Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I was reading some stuff earlier, it was mention that before the late 50's the most common strings used were nickel. I had always assumed that was a Beatles J-160 thing for the purpose of getting the most out of a mag pickup. A bit of surfing later I see there's a bit of a small scene of users, now the weird bit, almost no YouTube clips. Any users in here? Links to good vids? I've a wee bit of curiosity here. ...I did also see counter claims that an early form of pb was offered by Gibson as early as 32. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 One of the local musicians I know uses them exclusively with a 50's Gibson, He says that 50's Gibsons traditionally used nickle wounds......They sound a bit muted to me......last a long time I think.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 One of the local musicians I know uses them exclusively with a 50's Gibson, He says that 50's Gibsons traditionally used nickle wounds......They sound a bit muted to me......last a long time I think.... That's the kind of thing I kept bumping into Wily, general consensus is: less tension, slight dip in volume but a clear woody sound, tension and volume are compensated by going for a higher gauge. It also appeared several times in the browsing research that they gave a "percussive and vintage sound", were used by many including Tony Rice etc... but the lure for me was a bassier response, without mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I have a list that I havent filled yet to go get, .012 DR PB Round Core Strings(as Nick45 recommends)...Elixer .011 Nano PB...and good set of .012 Pure Nickel.. to try on Martin D42 & Gibson J200..not on Lowden though. Im after more flexible rattley strings...but sound I think is gonna suffer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I like 'em and use them. I think it was Tony Rice who said nickel strings let you hear the sound of the wood rather than the string. Folks though seem to either love or hate nickel strings. There is no in between with these. They do tend to give up the ghost quicker than other kinds of strings though. As anyone who still uses DeArmond 210 pickups will tell you is the main reason you would slap them on a J-160E or any guitar with a magnetic soundhole pickup is that the pickups read the nickel strings better than those made with bronze or brass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe M Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I just discovered pure nickel strings for my electrics, which gives them more of a vintage sound. Haven't tried any on my acoustics yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Am I right in assuming that there are not Nickle strings for acoustics and Nickle strings for electrics.....there are just nickle strings, right???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin 1940D28 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Am I right in assuming that there are not Nickle strings for acoustics and Nickle strings for electrics.....there are just nickle strings, right???? Maybe.. Pure Nickle..on Hex. Pure Nickel ..on Round Nickle Plated Steel on hex Nickle plated steel on round. I think one of em is Nickle with silk between it & core.. After reading up on some of this Im gonna need to spend $150 to try all the strings Id like to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggieryan Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I use the john pearse pure nickels on all my flat tops now and I love them... more vintage woody sound and round core playability... they seem to last a very long time as well.... the windings don't dent or come unwound.... I can't decide if I like the 12 or 13's more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 John Pearse are round core strings? I dont see any info on web site but Ive sent an email a few days ago to ask..still no response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggieryan Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 John Pearse are round core strings? I dont see any info on web site but Ive sent an email a few days ago to ask..still no response. yes, not much info out there on them... its strange considering how great they are... and yes, they are round core and very playable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 yes, not much info out there on them... its strange considering how great they are... and yes, they are round core and very playable... Thanks Veg I think today Ill aim to get a set . Two places I hate walkin in to are Home Depot's & Guitar Center..I walk into those places cursing to myself. I had a set of very old J200 Strings which I decided to put on my J200 but the .052 string was so much stiffer & thicker seeming compared to the Elixer .053 coming off which was lalmost wobbly. Put them on, horrible, took them off in less than an hour.Maybe its cause they were a decade old.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I like 'em and use them. I think it was Tony Rice who said nickel strings let you hear the sound of the wood rather than the string. Folks though seem to either love or hate nickel strings. There is no in between with these. They do tend to give up the ghost quicker than other kinds of strings though. As anyone who still uses DeArmond 210 pickups will tell you is the main reason you would slap them on a J-160E or any guitar with a magnetic soundhole pickup is that the pickups read the nickel strings better than those made with bronze or brass. I am confused a bit. .................. I got my luthier to put my DeArmond on my beater Gibsung fake the other week when he set it up for me. We had the very discussion, but shortened, that is going on in this thread and others I have read. He said it would be better to go electric guitar strings for the pickup, but I said I preferred to play the PB 12s acoustically, which is what he put on for me. They work great with the pickup! Sounds fabulous acoustically and electrically! He may have given me some other types of strings, but when I went to collect my guitar, he had a whole row of customers wanting their guitars done before Christmas, and while I had a good tryout of the guitar in an amp etc, I didn't get to speak to him much. (It was a madhouse and the poor guy tries to give individual service to everyone, but wow!) I usually get another copy of the strings he puts on my guitars for future reference. I will ring him when he is back from holidays in a few weeks and quiz him - I am curious. I have plain electric strings on a Godin archtop and really, I can't play that acoustically - it doesn't give much without electricity. I must order some of the JPs and try it. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Here's my 5 cents worth on Nickle strings.....if you like 'em, use 'em.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 yes, not much info out there on them... its strange considering how great they are... and yes, they are round core and very playable... Veggie John Pearse got back to me today..they're strings are hex core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Moto Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Has anybody tried the DR Zebra strings? They're wound with a nickel wrap alternating with a PB wrap. The idea is to make them better for acoustic/electrics. I bought a set of them today but haven't installed them yet and I'm wondering if I've lost my mind and should bring them back. My HB Artist is technically an acoustic/electric but in the real world it's an acoustic. It's been plugged in maybe a dozen times in its life. I was wanting to try something different and I'm not sure if you can get anything more different than the Zebras. Reviews? Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Just read that Martin will be re-introducing nickel-plated Monel strings at NAMM. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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