What kind off strings do you use?

[DCannon]

I've got JP's on all the guitars. However, the march madness sale from Strings and Beyond prompted me to try the Tony Rice signature strings by Martin. Haven't put 'em on yet but I'll let ya'll know. It's hard to beat the JP's.

JPs are excellent strings. I'm sure many of us will be curious to hear what you think of the Tony Rice signature strings. It would be helpful to know what guitar you try them on so we have some sort of reference. Hope they work out for you.

DC

 

[kdavid]

ok--so let me pose this, as im very curious--for a warmer, 'deeper' sound from a Guild dread, mahag. b/s: 80/20's or pb's?

 

[West R Lee]

ok--so let me pose this, as im very curious--for a warmer, 'deeper' sound from a Guild dread, mahag. b/s: 80/20's or pb's?

80/20's.......especially for fingerpicking.

West

 

[southernGuild]

Tried almost all of them, then bought my first set of John Pearse strings probably 7 years ago.......never looked back.

You guys here turned me on to the JPs...............Now they're my favorites also. :wink:

 

[edprov]

I have a 1972 guild D-50 I purchased at Manny's .... I have tried a lot of strings .. I recently purchased Thomastik-Infeld Spectrum medium gauge -SB113.. I really like the sound ..the clarity and balance is amazing .. They do cost more than your normal strings. But these are not your normal strings. I would give them a try..

Ed

 

[davismanLV]

I know whenever we have these threads there is not a lot of love for Elixir -- but I keep coming back to them again and again.

Well, although I used to be in the camp that didn't like Elixir's or any coated string, it must depend on the guitar. When I bought my little Taylor GC8 last October it came from the factory with Elixir strings and it sounds amazing. They still sound amazing. I'm just now getting to the point where I'm considering changing the strings. That's six months!! They certainly sound great on that guitar.... I may just keep using them.

However, I want to see how it sounds with my favorite strings on it. It remains to be seen......

 

[Roger Smith]

One of the mistakes people can make in comparing strings
is that they're comparing dead strings with fresh strings.
They'll try a new brand when their guitar is ready for a string change.
Of course, the new strings usually sound great when they're replacing old strings.
That being said, I recently switched from Elixir Acoustic
Phosphor Bronze with nanoweb coating to GHS phosphor bronze
and for now...they're working just fine for me.

 

[West R Lee]

Here's what some of us believe about 80/20 vs. PB strings. To me, PB strings soun great, bright, loud and jangly. If I were a flatpicker, I'd probably prefer PB's. But I am a soft fingerpicker.PB's to me ring for so long that I get overtones that bleed into other racket I'm trying to make with my guitar.

80/20 have a tad more abbreviated sustain and a warmer, softer sound, which to me allows individual notes to shine through. Now that's a very layman answer as I'm not the most musically inclined guy in the world, but that's the way I hear it, and hear it consistently.

West

 

[kdavid]

the last set of DAddario pb lts made my DV6 way too jangly--even after a week of playing.
i was given a set of med 80/20s dont remember the brand, & im playing them right now, but
my guitar sounds like its being 'muted' in a way. it may be that meds are just too heavy &
are holding back the shaved braces from letting the top vibrate the way it wants too.
could that be whats happening?
im looking for a set that will let the top sing, but wont jangle & clash with itself.
something i can afford.
its must be out there somewhere

 

[adorshki]

it may be that meds are just too heavy &
are holding back the shaved braces from letting the top vibrate the way it wants too.
could that be whats happening?

It wouldn't surprise me, it's been mentioned before.
I'm firmly in the camp that believes they knew what they were doing when they spec'd lights on Westerly dreadnoughts. I just don't know when they started spec'ing 'em.
Maybe try the 80/20's in the light gauge? (.012-.053)
:wink:

 

[kdavid]

thats going to have to be next on my list

 

[Ridgemont]

the last set of DAddario pb lts made my DV6 way too jangly--even after a week of playing.
i was given a set of med 80/20s dont remember the brand, & im playing them right now, but
my guitar sounds like its being 'muted' in a way. it may be that meds are just too heavy &
are holding back the shaved braces from letting the top vibrate the way it wants too.
could that be whats happening?
im looking for a set that will let the top sing, but wont jangle & clash with itself.
something i can afford.
its must be out there somewhere

As a fingerpicker, mediums can be too much. You have to exert more force to vibrate the string at the correct frequency to effectively vibrate the top. Flatpickers tend to like mediums because they can easily exert the appropriate force with a pick. As a fingerpicker, that force would result in bloody finders.

 

[kdavid]

im a strummer & can be heavy at times. that was my reasoning behind the mediums, but it doesnt seem to help. she just doesnt sing as sweetly with the heavier strings

 

[adorshki]

im a strummer & can be heavy at times. that was my reasoning behind the mediums, but it doesnt seem to help. she just doesnt sing as sweetly with the heavier strings

I've got a pet hypothesis I've put forth a few times:
With lights you to get a larger "arc of travel" of the plucked string whether using a pick or not, and that this more than compensates for the higher tension inherent in a medium string at proper pitch. That arc of travel represents the amplitude of the energy being transmitted to the top. Remember a plucked string vibrates in circular manner, and that's the "arc of travel" I'm talking about. The real question is can you even hit the mediums hard enough to get the same arc of travle you can get with lights, which is the only way they're actually gonna be louder? That's even before you take fretting force into account which also affects the string's ability to vibrate. You know what happens if you ain't fretting cleanly. :wink:
HiItting 'em at just the right point (ideally the midpoint) on their fretted length also enhances achieving the "maximum arc".
I think that also allows greater dynamic range from soft and quiet to full-strum folk rock loud.
For sure it works that way on my D25, it's also why I think the factory set-up action is ideal at 5.5-6/64ths low E, it allows a LOT of travel before getting fret buzz. :wink:
When I finger pick the D25 classical style it feels like a flamenco (high tension gut strings) guitar, with lights.
:wink:
Another surprise to a lot of people is that I use a Dunlop 46mm, very thin and flexible nylon. It's got the little grips so the pick doesn't want to rotate around or try to flip out of my thmb and forefinger when I'm strumming hard. Also, I believe the flexibility of it allows for really fast strumming, and again, because it flexes a little, I think it also allows the strings to get that bigger arc of travel, as compared to a very stiff pick that would be resisting the string vibration on that initial contact and/or transmitting that energy to your finger grip and trying to "pop out".
Again, it's all hypothesis on my part, but I've spent enough time thinking about it, and experimenting with thinner and thinner picks until I got the right one, and getting surprised reactions to the volume I can get, that it's unlikely anybody'll convince me I'm wrong.

 

[kdavid]

thank you Adorshki--that explains a couple things i had thought about--i was experiementing with thicker & thicker picks until there seemed a point that suddenly this instrument that can overpower my voice suddenly seems like the volume knob was turned the wrong way. so i did the humane thing. i got rid of those picks.
now i have a small grouping of guages that i can use depending on how i feel.
apparently the same law of diminishing returns works for strings also. i just thought that with shaved braces (not fully scalloped) that mediums would help to drive the top.
thats what i get for thinking. :lol:
interesting physics at play here.

 

[adorshki]

thats what i get for thinking. :lol:

On the other hand, the actual experimentation paid off, eh?

interesting physics at play here.

(in my best Spock voiuce): Indeed. :lol:
There IS a corollary to the string tension issue, that the higher tension of the mediums does in put a higher "pre-load" on the top which actually restricts its ability to resonate. It's literally tied down too tight.
So if a top's designed for 'em, as the NH's seem to be 'cause they're spec'd with mediums, then you're ok and only need to worry about the playability/frettability issue.
But putting mediums on a top designed for lights as almost all the late Westerlys and Coronas were, is probably in fact counterproductive.

 

[alpep]

I use the strings that are on sale

 

[Yoko Oh No]

love daddario pb's lights and mediums

been using for over a year now exlir nanoweb pb mediums....really nice tone, last for 3 mos. easily

just put these on yesterday:

i think i'm in love...i had a dream last night of me and these everlast strings walking along the waters edge with our pants rolled up to our knees and we were splashing each other with water and giggling....but we'll see...these love affairs can sometimes not last as long as you think...

ok...after a few weeks these strings are softer with less high end than the elixirs...however they have a very very nice, smooth sound when stummed with a thin pick. I would go back to elixirs after these wear out....

 

[Ridgemont]

I use the strings that are on sale

This really goes for me as well. D'Addarios were recently on sale at Strings and Beyond during March. After the sale, each set came out to about $3.50/set. Nice enough strings. Besides the guitar contributes to 90+% of the tone anyway.

 

[whoahhh]

love daddario pb's lights and mediums

been using for over a year now exlir nanoweb pb mediums....really nice tone, last for 3 mos. easily

just put these on yesterday:

i think i'm in love...i had a dream last night of me and these everlast strings walking along the waters edge with our pants rolled up to our knees and we were splashing each other with water and giggling....but we'll see...these love affairs can sometimes not last as long as you think...

My choice too! Erin Ball Earthwoods are pretty good too!