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First off, yes I know there are a bunch of threads on string discussions, but I wanted some fresh new opinions, especially because we're always experimenting with new strings and making new discoveries.
So I bought an Eastman T146 yesterday at Guitars n' Jazz (if you haven't checked this place out and you live relatively close to NYC, do yourself a favor and visit GnJ in Summit, NJ. I've purchased 3 archtops from there) and Lou threw in two pairs of some strings.
I was originally gonna go for Thomastiks but when I told Lou I never tried La Bellas, he urged me to try them.
Sadowsky strings have been my go-to string set ever since I tried the about a month ago. I think La Bellas feel very, very similar the them. They're very, very smooth feeling and nicely balanced...not too bright, not too dark.
Thomastiks were really nice strings, but I thought they were a little thin sounding and I didn't get a really good life out of them.
I'm really having a hard time deciding on one string brand, and I need to so that I can have my guitars set up specifically for those strings.
Does anybody swear by La Bellas? And does anybody believe in sticking with one brand for the sake of a consistent setup?
Also, do you guys know if any well known players use La Bellas? I'd be curious to see...
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03-09-2012 12:29 PM
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Which set of La Bellas are you referring to?
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I used Labella nylon tape on metal...nice.
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I tried flat wound 12s.
Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
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Okay. I've used the nylon tape-wound 14s, They have a dark sound, but I like that. Originally Posted by bluewaterpig
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I use La Bella EL-JM on my 335 and Golden Alloy on my Ovation and love both.
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I LOVE LaBella strings. I have used the black nylon taped 12s and 14s and really dig the sound BUT not the feel. I currently have the LaBella 20PCM flat wound 12-52 on my custom Gretsch and I have the 20PH flat wound 15-56 on my Peerless Monarch with set/routed humbucker. I can not say enough about these strings. They hold their tuning well and last a really long time. The sets are very well balanced and just sound fantastic. The only other strings I use now are the GHS Pat Martino strings on my Dearmond M75.
I have used D'Addarrio, Sadowsky, TI, and Benedetto(I wish they made flats) and a bunch of others. I no longer look at strings. These are THE string for me and the sound I like.
'Mike
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I tried the rollerwound 200 but didn't like the sticky feel they had very nice tone.
I think the next set I want to try are thier heavy blues set.
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Originally Posted by Jazzman301
15- 56 whoa, I can't even imagine what those would be like...I'm new to this and 12-52 are the heaviest I have ever used. I'm working my way up though...next are 13s.
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Long time user of LaBella flatwounds. Currently I use a custom set based on Wes Montgomery's gauges (.14-.58) which you can find here:
LaBella Electric and Flatwound Guitar Strings at BigCityString.com (L-20PWM)
I prefer LaBella flats over all others I have tried, including D'Addario (too bright and not sweet sounding), TIs (too expensive and did not live up to the hype), and GHS (not impressed). Benson and Martino used to be LaBella users. I cannot figure out why LaBella has fallen out of favor. Now all I hear about are TIs and D'Addario.
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Already on 015 - 056 here Originally Posted by burndog
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How do you compare the GHS Martino with the La Bella Flats Mike? Originally Posted by Jazzman301
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I think La Bella makes Sadowsky (and Benedeto) strings. Originally Posted by bluewaterpig
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I have put off bringing up the topic of La Bella [flat-wounds] for some
months.
I've used the 20PH set ....015-.056 for over 10 years..
Even wrote a glowing post about them on a string thread a while
back, I raved about the clarity of sound,no "thud" tone,smooth feel,
...not "sticky", like many folks report with flats.
In short, I've been very happy with LB's flats ...
....Until,late in 2011 I ordered some sets from Just Strings...
[They are great people to deal with!]
They arrive and I get the first set out, and notice that the strings
have a duller finish than they have had in my experience with them.
Also I see that they have a different, lighter blue wrap at the wound string ends...Hmmmmm....["baby you've changed"]
Whatever..I put them on my guitar to find that they are,
...dull, almost dead,
....the superb magnetic quality they had previously..gone
....rough to the touch...first time I'd dealt with what I think other
people have been referring to as sticky
....feel raspy to the pick...makes the pick slow in the release.
What can I say!?
Other than that it's really disappointing. These strings are of no use to me.
Emailed La Bella to enquire about these obvious changes.
No reply...funny that!
I've tried DA chromes...found them much more alive than I'd remembered
from trying them years ago....So, cool...I'll switch to DA's...
...but no...I get in a few sets of those...they've also been afflicted
with this rough feel to them too!...I look at the package and notice
that the more recent [rough] strings have a different lettering on the pack.
[Anyone else notice a change in the feel of DA Chromes?]
At least they replied to my email, but they wanted me to give them
scans of the packs...I know they have been troubled with fakes
in recent times...but I had got these from the DA official importers in
my country...so they be kosher...What the ....gives?!
My solution has been to try the "house brand " flats from a web-only
source called Web Strings....I wasn't expecting much...@ c.$6.50 US a set
what can you expect! ...I got a set of .12-.053,and one of .013-.056.
People...thank you for bearing with my whining.....
I'd like to know if anyone else out there in jazz guitar land has had any
similar experiences.
Meantime,....I recommend giving the Web Strings a try....If you like them
as I do, you could also save some $'s! [They also give a discounted price if
you buy 10 or more sets..which I will doing]
Congratulations if you made it to here .....
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1) I like black tape would labella 14 on my EmpReg. I play that one mostly unplugged. Tone closer to TI Gb14s than Chromes but for me they last longer than TIs
2)For moonray: Use chromes on my ES165. Had tried them on other guitars and was somewhere between meh and hate. Tried them again when I got the 165 and it was clear that they were what I prefered on the 165. Replaced them 6 months later and the next set was .. meh. Replaced THEM 3 months later and HAPPY again (that was in July of last year) My latest set have been on for 5 weeks now and pfffffffffff... I will give them another couple of weeks and then switch them out for a fresh set.
I may have gotten a set that was sitting on a store shelf for a few years but the bags are sealed.. other sets should be fairly fresh as I got them from Just strings or Strings and beyond.. dont remember (both are great sellers BTW)
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I now swear by them. Rollwound. Formerly a D'addario half round user, the Labella's were very bright, almost too much, but after a week of playing, they settled in to a really perfect balance. I will say they have that ground out feel and I regularly use fret ease intially when I string up. After the strings break in, they're unlike any other. Love em
David
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....The problems I encountered with [the La Bellas]weren't
to do with freshness...I've had situations where a box of 10 or 12 sets
lasted for literally years!....And that was before they got into the
anti-corrosion packaging they are using now.
...They are [or were] stainless steel...and kept their tone for months on
end.
Tell me did the LB's you were less than pleased with have the dull gray
look to the wound strings, the lighter blue fabric wrap rather than the royal blue colour of the earlier ones?
And the "special" dead, low magnetic property sound.
- Just trying to figure out whether there has been a bad batch.
I got my 6 sets late last year, none of them any good ...
Have you purchased any good ones between then and now?
[You'll be able to tell if they are the newer stock by the sealed inner
plastic bag,and the "features" mentioned above]
Thanks for your input.
Oh,and BTW, I'm only referring to the La Bella flatwounds...Not any of
their other products, such as tapewound, roundwound or classical strings.
I've used their electric round and classical strings for years in the past
and found them to be consistently of very high quality.
Sorry SamBooka...I just realized you're talking about DA chromes.
Don't want to get too far off topic, but has anyone else encountered "rough" DA chromes?
...I found the newer ones [DA] still sounded good ,for my taste,
but just feel horribly rough.Specially for the pick release.
After all they DA/LB market these as FLAT wound strings....Yeah right!
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A little Wes - and strings - trivia: Originally Posted by Bebop Tom
Wes used these gauges, but he used the Gibson Hi-Fi set, which has been dicontinued since at latest the 1970s. Gibson Hi-Fi was nickel wrap flatwounds and not stainless steel like the La Bella flatwounds, which makes a difference in the sound (stainless steel should sound brighter and more "round wound like").
I actually used those Gibson Hi-Fi strings for a time in the 1970s when I bought a box full of them for the price of one set at a small dealer where they had been collecting dust for years. It was in the days when slinky strings was THE thing. They were left over when the owner had taken over the shop and the inventory from his predecessor, and he didn't understand what anybody would want those "cable wires" for. As I remember them, they were not very good. They were duller than say TI's are now, and often one or more strings in the set had issues like odd, harsh and metallic overtones. More than once, I had to open more than one set to get six useful strings. But at the price I had payed, it didn't matter so much.
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Where do you get them David? Originally Posted by TruthHertz
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The GHS are not quite as lively as the LaBellas(comparing the Pat Martino 15-52s to the LaBella 15-56s and the 12-52s). They are a darker...but this is what I would expect from a Pat Martino string... The LaBellas are more alive and brighter. But again you can definately dial in the dark tones of Wes or Pat or Jim. Overall I think the feel is about the same. I think the Labellas are a bit smoother(for what thats worth).
'Mike
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Thanks Mike!
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I've been looking to warm up my Eastman 805 sound when played unamplified.
Right now, it has TI benson round wounds on it and I love the sound from it amplified. But when I play it unamplified, it has a bit of a metallic sound to it.
I've never been a fan of flatwounds... the 5th & 6th strings feel "too slippery" to me when comping.
I just ordered a set of phos bronze to see if those work for me
Dave
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03-10-2012, 01:36 PM #23Nuff Said Guest
I put some Bella black tape on this week and took them off the next day. They have less tension and sound dull to me, but my friend loves them.
I've had two packets in the draw for years, so I gave them another try.
I've put TI flats back on, I'm much happier.
Nuff
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The sound of the black tape strings is very dark. They are a low tension design and despite some of the monster guages there is very little tension. I had the black nylon 14s on my monarch for about 3 months. I really tried to like them but I really dig more tension on my strings. The sound was kind of what I was after but still not right. Went to the LaBella 15-56s flats and I am happy and have NO desire or intention of messing with the strings any more.
I wish I could find a set of 13-52s for my Gretsch...Seems I can't buy just a plain 13..but I have only really looked at Just strings thus far.
As for LaBella strings they are really a top notch string and compared to TIs of one flavor or another they are as good or better(better in my opinion...superior to be honest...but thats me) and about half as much. They hold tune VERY well and last a good long time.
'Mike
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I use the LaBella Super Alloy 52 - gauge .011 - .052 on my Telecaster. I really love those strings! The tone is great and they last a long time.
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