Ibanez GB10 Strings

[Skip Ellis]

Forgive me if I've asked this before. My GB10 has the Chromes (11's) that were on it when I bought it and they're sorta OK. I've used GHS Burnished nickel (10-46) on my Teles since the 80s and I like them a lot and would like to try them on my Ibanez but the largest wound string available is a .050 and I would prefer a .052; and I'm not even sure how round wound strings would sound on this guitar (I like dark & smoky tone - think Wes on 'One For My Baby'). That got me thinking maybe I should just bite the bullet and try Thomastik, so what would be the hive mind advice for which type to look at? I'm mostly into chord melody and have a pretty light touch. Probably .012-.052 or thereabouts - nothing heavier.

[MarkL]

TI Swings are great for flats, and the Bebops would probably be fine if you prefer round wounds. But for a GB10 the TI George Bensons seem like an appropriate starting point. Changing the strings and gauge will probably require intonation to be reset.

[sgosnell]

My personal preference for strings is DR Pure Blues. They're the best-sounding strings I've found for my archtops, and also among the cheapest. The extra heavy set is .012-.052, heavy is .011-.050. Round core, pure nickel wrap. Available from any online seller. It took me a long time to find them, but since I did I haven't looked back.

[joe2758]

TI swings .012

[jamesego]

I really like the TI Benson .012-.053 set on my GB10. They feel like they belong on that guitar (to me).

With that said, they were a bit of a splurge. We’ll see how long they last. $45 every six months to a year is doable. Much more than that, and I’ll likely switch to something more economical.

[MarkL]

I recently started using DR Pure Blues 10-46 on my Tele (chrome strings sounded a bit harsh, especially on the bridge pickup), and I'm really enjoying them. I'll probably keep using TI Swings on my archtops (have been happy with sound and feel, and old habits die hard), but if I wanted to change that I wouldn't hesitate to try Pure Blues.

[Pierrot]

D'Addario ECG 25 (012 - 052) on my GB15 which is very similar with your GB10.
(I owned one before buying my GB15)
I prefer D'Addario over Thomastik, it's less "twangy", rounder and slightly darker.

[Cunamara]

For roundwounds, I have been really liking the John Pearse Jazz mediums (.012 –.052).

https://www.stringsbymail.com/john-p...-52-24528.html

I have them on my archtop, my ES-175, my GB10 and my semihollow Tele (which, actually, is the body that you sold me about 10-11 years ago). I had DR Pure Blues .011s on the Tele and thought they sounded good on that instrument but, oddly, I didn't like those strings on any other of my guitars. But I like the Pearse even better on that one and I am delighted by them on the other instruments- very pleased with them on the GB10 and especially the archtop.

[Jthompson48]

I have and like the TI JS112s on my GB10 and like them. The 13s have a .053 so you could give those a try.

I also like the pyramid golds that are 12-52. I don't particularly care for chromes but they would do in a pinch and don't like the Mangan flats, in case that provides any useful perspective.

[Luicaz72]

Roundwounds will give you more sparkle than Wes ever had. I'd stay with flats on a GB10.

[jads57]

There are some great choices available for both Roundwounds and possibly flatwounds as well.
Curt Mangan, John Pearse, Pyramid, and others as well. Stringjoy started making flatwounds recently and look promising also.

I also like Ernie Ball as well.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I’d go with TI Benson GB112s on a GB10.

I use Jazz Swings on my carved archtops (112s on the El Rey, 113s on the Jazz Elite 16” and the 810CE7 17”). I do think Bensons are slightly smoother to the touch, but 113s let me get a little more finger vibrato than the GB114s. The big Bensons sound a bit fuller in tone than JS113s on a heavy laminated and poly coated top, after going from JS113s to GB114s on my Ibanez AF207. The Bensons really woke it up.

My Bravo (a thinner laminate with nitro rather than heavy poly) came to me set up for 12-52, so I started with JS112s and really like them. I’ll try GB112s when the JS112s need replacement. But I’ve been getting a year+ from TI flats on my gigging guitars for over 5 years now, so it’ll be a while.

TIs have gone up a lot in price over the last few years, as have the others. But there are enough sales every year at the usual online vendors to find TIs at somewhat more reasonable prices. I check them every 6 to 8 weeks and have routinely found them for at least 15% off. For some odd reason, different gauge sets sell for different prices at different times from different sources, so be patient and persistent. TIs last a long time for me (twice as long as Chromes did). I’ve always replaced the plain Es and Bs with generics every 3 months or so, to keep the tone consistent and prevent breaking one on a gig (which hasn’t happened to me on an archtop in many years).