String Preferences

[TheRealZap]

I tend to stick with the 10-46 gauge here....

tried loads of brands etc haven't found any that stood out for me a whole lot....

probably like the durability of the elixirs, and the tone of the d'addarios

 anyway... getting my gretsch g5120 setup it appears that it comes factory with 11-49 low tension....

haven't seen any steel strings that say low tension....

just looking for opinions etc....

 

anyone heard of these?:

http://www.curtmangan.com/

 

they seem to be well reviewed

[phil_m]

I've not heard of those. If you're actually looking for lower tension strings, I think the DR Pure Blues series would fit that bill. People either love or hate DRs, though. I like 'em.

 

I put flatwounds (D'Addario Chromes) on my Gretsch G6118t. They're definitely not low tension, but I like the way they feel on the guitar.

[toneman2121]

i use dr's. they last. i can only remember breaking one hi e. (memory cells subject to loss). i've been using them for a while, can't remember the actual years. :(  i normally use eh-11 tite fit. the gauge sizes are 11, 14, 18, 28, 48, 50. i've also tried bulk strings from just strings.com. you can pick your own gauge and you get 12 each at about 40-50 bucks including shipping. they claim the strings are name brand name but because they're bulk they can't reveal the name. i had good luck with them. maybe i'll try them again

[silverhead]

I use D'Addario 10-46. I've also used Elixir but I keep coming back to the d'ads. I've also tried 9s and 11s - too light and heavy respectively for my taste.

[TheRealZap]

I use D'Addario 10-46. I've also used Elixir but I keep coming back to the d'ads. I've also tried 9s and 11s - too light and heavy respectively for my taste.

 

I mostly agree with you, although i can get the same level of comfort from 11's on a shorter scale instrument.

I also have some instruments that their nature says 9's to me... my ibanez RG for instance...

of course the modern take is to put 16 gauge strings and drop it 4 octaves hahaha... i'm old school i guess.

[geeker]

was a Ernie Ball user for years then switch over to G-Boomers.....

[Mr_Arkadin]

I tend to use Rotosounds, but I have no real brand preference. I have never put a set on and thought that my guitar sounded magically different or felt any difference in playing from brand to brand. I don't like coated strings though.

 

I tend to use 11-50 - I don't think the 48 you get with 11s is heavy enough. I have even ventured to 12s on occasion - especially if I am going to detune to guitar, but I have baritones for that now so I can stick to standardish tunings for my regular guitars.

 

Generally the heavier the better.

[BigChas52]

I like GHS Boomers - 10-46, especially on my Strat.  That said, I've stayed with the D'Addario 10-46 for my JT-59.

[JVM410HMASTER]

Hello all.

I tend to favor pure nickel wound strings. I like Ernie Ball's "classic rock n' roll" strings, GHS "pure nickel" strings, GHS "pure nickel, slightly burnished' strings, Fender pure nickel bullets, and Gibson's "vintage reissue" pure nickel strings. I like the sound of pure nickel strings right out of the package.

 

I also like nickel plated steel wrap strings. My favorites are Ernie Ball, GHS, Fender bullets, and Gibson bright wires. To my ears, nickel plated steel have a very bright sound right out of the pack, but after a few hours of use they tend to mellow similar to pure nickel strings.

 

On my strats, I tend to use .009-.042, on my Les Paul I almost always use .10-.46.

[moondancer]

On my hollow bodies I use .011-0.048 "The Rod Strings" made by Pyramid. I'm not sure if they are available in US.

Even I like Thomastik JS111, flatwound, .011-.047.

For my JTV-69 (bought in 12/2012) I have not yet found my favourite string. The OEM D'addario are to ordinary to me. I tried Thomastik Power Brights .010-.045 which I play on my other hollow body LP-style guitar, too soft, no bite. At the moment I play Dunlops Zakk Wylde .010-.046, sounds good, but problems with the justification of octave. Octave is much to low and you have to move the bridge pieces of  E, A and D string too extreme.

[eenymason]

I settled on D'Addario 10-52 for my Strat years ago, and continue with them today on my variax. I get 4 gigs out of them, tho in the summer months, thery're starting to rust by the 4th. I clean em with tea tree oil after every gig.

Recently tried a set of elixirs, but broke an E string on the second gig (which I replaced with an Ernie Ball) and took em off after another couple of gigs, as I figured I didn't want to risk more on-stage breakages. Definitely not value for money, tho I'd consider em on my acoustic which I don't pick up that much - they'd last for ages on there!!!

 

As an aside - does anyone notice tonal change on old vs new strings on a variax??? I bet there's negligible difference unlike using mag pups?!

[moondancer]

Old string means fatigue of material and dirt in the winding. Your string will lose sustain and harmonics. The dynamic and vibration of the string will surely affect your sound. The overtones will be provided by the model and rather not affected.

[Guitarman33172]

I’ve had very good success using the Ernie Ball 11’s . They are not slinkies, but, they still have comfortable tension (at least for my fingers) even at standard 440 tuning. They have good tuning stability once they’ve been stretched out.

[cruisinon2]

This has to be a record... this thread died nearly 7 years ago.

[Guitarman33172]

Ya... some people don’t get on the band wagon til years later... lol!

[sh4rkbyt31]

Hmm well since it died I'll add a couple tid bits that will be new to most. I used to work for W.L. Gore & Assoc for 17 yrs, producers of Elixir Strings and my area was right next to where the  strings were wound. They originally started using D'Addario strings which they spherically wound with Ptfe membrane and then cooked. They've since switched over to GHS Boomers, I would guess solely because of pricing/vendor deal? Process is still the same just different strings now.

[cruisinon2]

On 1/15/2021 at 11:40 PM, sh4rkbyt31 said:

Hmm well since it died I'll add a couple tid bits that will be new to most. I used to work for W.L. Gore & Assoc for 17 yrs, producers of Elixir Strings and my area was right next to where the  strings were wound. They originally started using D'Addario strings which they spherically wound with Ptfe membrane and then cooked. They've since switched over to GHS Boomers, I would guess solely because of pricing/vendor deal? Process is still the same just different strings now.

 

Interesting... been using them for years, but I had no idea they were just slapping their magic coating on somebody else's strings. They still last forever compared to regular strings, but this kinda ruins the mystique a little... oh well, lol

[Nylander88]

I just use standard 9 gauge, then use a bigger number as I use lower tunings etc. drop B = 012's

[sh4rkbyt31]

I double checked on the brands and now it seems to now be a mix and match of D'Addarios and GHS Boomers (whichever one is the most avialable at the time). Sorry if it killed the mystique some but now you know what you're working with.