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I have bought a old Gibson ES-125 (1954) a view weeks ago.
What kind of strings do I have to put on my Gibson ES 125 for having a nice warm Jazz tone.
Any suggestions...Last edited by BadJazz; 10-25-2012 at 01:51 PM.
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10-24-2012 09:35 PM
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Strings usually arent that expensive (compared to the guitar) so if you spend 1000$ on a guitar might as well spend 50$ on a few different sets of strings and try them out.
I have a 64 ES125 that likes Chromes 12s. If you want to go more vintage look for 12s in flat/pure nickle strings.
I also tried DR strings recently and hated them BUT they might be what you are looking for. Not overy bright.
Hang on to your hat because you are probably going to get a lot of suggestions.
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What do you think about:
Thomastik-Infield Jazz Swing JS 113 on a Gibson ES 125 (1954).
(I have played these strings on a ES 175)
Gretings
Clavan
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I use Thomastik Jazz Swing 0.13 and I'm very pleased. They are not hard on your fingers (low stringtension compared to most other brands), have a really nice tone and last long.
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I use Thomastik Infeld Jazz Swing .013 and .012. and I'm also very pleased with them. I'd definitely try different gauges on the ES 125 as was suggested. It's amazing how some guitars respond to one gauge and not another.
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So what about strings and setups in 50's - 60's electric archtops, any suggestions on those?
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I have TI Swing .012 or .013 on several Gibson archtop guitars from the 1930's to the 1950's.
I am not sure if that will answer any of your interrogations, but when I bought my 1953 L-4C, in the original case, there was a box of Mapes Strings ("Made only by The Mapes Piano String Co - 767 East 133rd Street, New York 54, N.Y.").
Originally Posted by BadJazz
In the box, there was a small sanding cloth with the following instructions:
The sanding/polishing probably made the strings flatter.
The first two strings are plain and the remaining four are bronze wound. I used my caliper to measure the strings as follow: .013 - .016 - .027 - .036 - .048 - .057.
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Richard, you've shown us what was behind the time curtain.
As far as the setup is concerned, from what I gather, strictly acoustic archtops required a thick string and a higher action. The higher the action, the louder the guitar. If you can, check out the action on Freddie Green's guitar. You could stick your pinky under the string. For electrics, it varies considerably. I'm sure some of our collectors of vintage archtops will chime in and add to what I've said.
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Thanks for the advice guys. I gather from the responses that flats in 12's and 13's rule for old school
. So I dropped by my local music store today and got a set of Chromes in 12's. Wow, I like 'em.
I put them on my guitar (low rent AF75 is all can afford at the moment, but it's not too shabby). They sound great, all punchy and dry like Kenny Burrell on the Midnight Blue album. Sweet.
Probably helps too, the way I set my action. I've got it like a flat top - 3/32" bass, 2/32" treble at the 12th fret, and relief at about 0.012" at the 8th fret. The pickups are really low.
Anyway, I love the tone and the total absence of SQUEAK! I used only rounds before.
I got interested in jazz few months ago and picked up this guitar in a pawnshop. Ha ha, my Strat and Danelectro have been jealous ever since
. They're worried I'm going to the dark side. I hate to break it to them, but now that I've discovered flats....
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Would you mine telling me/us what you paid for the guitar?
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I paid 1700 Euro for the Gibson ES 125 (1954)
And she is in perfect condition, I am the 3the owner ;-)Last edited by tuxtux; 10-26-2012 at 07:01 AM.
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These have rocketed in value in recent years. I bought a vintage 125 for 750 GBP about 17 years ago and sold it about 5 years ago (to a friend) for a similar amount - they've gone through the roof since. Maybe because 50's 175's are so insanely expensive and the 125 is pretty much the same guitar as a P90 175 without the cutaway and fancy bindings/inlays.
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That distinction belongs to the late 40s and 50s ES-150s arguably. It is essentially a non-cutaway version of the 50s ES-175.
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Try the Newtone Archtop Double Wound Nickels.
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ES-150 was a 17" body I think by that time. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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To answer your original question ...
In the early to mid 60's, 'Lights' were 12's and 'Mediums' were 13's - usually nickel/steel flatwounds for Jazz. Then the Rockers started experimenting with much lighter gauges - usually roundwounds - to facilitate bending.
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To further answer your questions, Gibson used to make "Mona-steel" strings wrapped with "Monel", an interesting material (see wiki-blah below).
Rotosound still makes Top-Tape flatwounds guitar strings (.12 set only) using Monel. These will probably get you closer to a '50's sound than anything else. [ed: Rotosound Top Tapes are no longer mde with a Monel wrap. They have been using a stainless steel wrap for a few years. As of 2020, their packaging graphics still say "Monel flatwound" which is an outright lie]
Not sure if Gibson is still making these with real Monel instead of Sears Monel.
Wiki:
"Monel is a trademark of Special Metals Corporation for a series of nickel alloys, primarily composed of nickel (up to 67%) and copper, with some iron and other trace elements. Monel was created by David H. Browne, chief metallurgist for International Nickel Co. Monel alloy 400 is binary alloy of the same proportions of nickel and copper as is found naturally in the nickel ore from the Sudbury (Ontario) mines. Monel was named after company president Ambrose Monell, and patented in 1906. One L was dropped, because family names were not allowed as trademarks at that time....
...Monel is used as the material for valve pistons in some higher quality musical instruments such as trumpets, tubas and French horn rotors. RotoSound introduced the use of Monel for electric bass strings in 1962, and these strings have been used by numerous artists, including Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, The Who, Sting, John Deacon, and John Paul Jones. Monel was in use in the early 1930s by other musical string manufacturers, such as Gibson Guitar Corporation, who continue to offer them for mandolin as the Sam Bush signature set...."Last edited by Hammertone; 06-13-2020 at 07:37 AM.
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Yeah... and if you are looking for a deal on a 17in non cut laminate 50s Gibson with a P90 these guitars are not to be overlooked. Originally Posted by Bill C
PLUS: They are the first Gibson guitars to have the crown inlay on the fingerboard that would eventually wind up on the Les Paul
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It looks like Gibson discontinued the Monel strings. I might try a set of the Rotosound Top-Tape flats though.
Actually, I'm thinking since I'm not having a problem with the tension of my Chromes in 12s, I may bump up to 13s. Seems I'd get better sustain and tone.
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I also recently bought a 1961 ES125. Paid $1550AU. Great guitar. Such a BIG sound.
The P90 is about the loudest pickup I've ever had in a guitar. Much louder than whatever is in my 2008 L5 Wesmo.
Incredible guitar for the price. Beautiful neck and low action.
Back on topic. I use TL Swings (.012)but replacing the 1st and 2nd with a .014 and .018.
I use the same strings on the L5 but they feel lighter on the 125. Different scale length I guess.
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I like these strings, and grabbed a pile of them for super cheap awhile back. They are less smooth-finished and greasy-feeling compared to TIs, Pyramids, DRs, GHS-SS or D'A-Chromes. I have had no particular problems with them one way or another. Just as the nickel wrap strings sound different from the steel-wrap strings, Monel-wrap have their own sound, which I suspect is one the main jazz guitar sounds of the 1950s and 1960s. Originally Posted by BadJazz
It's all good.Last edited by Hammertone; 10-28-2012 at 07:42 PM.
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Action revision, I moved the string height of the trebles up to match the basses - all strings now at 3/32 above the 12th fret.
Now I've really got something. Volume across the board is balanced, and I can really dig under the trebles for bends. Not that I'm a bend hound or anything, I almost never go past a half, but it's nice to be able to get my fingers under the strings.
These flats are really working out for me. I love 'em.
Last edited by BadJazz; 10-31-2012 at 08:21 PM.
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I second this 10,000% Originally Posted by SamBooka
Everytime I get a new axe I try as many different strings as I can possibly afford. I find that some guitars take some brands of strings differently than others. Case in point, I LOVE pyramid golds. My favorite strings. But on my loar, I play with Martin Retros, and on my 335 copy, I play chromes. On my Eastman, though, I play pyramids. Don't be afraid to try different strings! If you want a warm tone, maybe La Bellas. I feel that chromes have a bit of a brighter sound. Also try some nickel round wounds. If you don't mind finger squeaks that is. I can't stand them, but like I said I do play with retros on my Loar. And after about an hour I get used to the squeaks.......kinda. lol. The Martin Retros, btw, are some pretty warm sounding strings. Very woody, though, just heads up.
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