Best Strings for Gibson L-7?

[daverepair]

"I didn't do the humidifier thing":

The guitar needs to be properly humidified, in a consistent manner, during the dry winter months. Otherwise, the body, AND neck, will move & shrink, throwing off even the best setup.

[Bokbok]

I agree. Flats let the guitar sound as it is naturally. Using rounds is like changing the pickup to one that adds colour...in the case of strings it is zing.

[Dennis D]

Yes a good setup by a decent luthier is Step One. I have a '52 also, -- and my next question is -- does yours have those skinny frets ? Mine does.
After some trial and error with string gauges, regardless of composition - -including flats - - I've settled on 12's. That is a 25.5. scale length, if it's like mine, and 12's just seem to be the sweet spot.
Also - - both my luthier and I missed a full crack in the nut, which had to be replaced.
And on my last setup, I changed to Elixir Nanowebs, ( 12's ) and so far I'm living with the pick chirp and extra noise I never got from flats.

Good luck and hope that helps.

[Hammertone]

Martin Monel strings update:

Martin has rebranded their roundwound Monel strings as "Retro" strings. They do offer the Tony Rice set, as well as the (slightly different guages) Laurence Juber set, but they also offer a range of other gauge sets:

Gauge	E	B	G	D	A	E	Tension	Model
Extra Light	.010	.013	.023	.029	.038	.047	131.63	MM10
Custom Light	.011	.014	.023	.031	.041	.052	149.54	MM11
Light	.012	.015	.025	.031	.041	.054	162.91	MM12
Medium	.013	.017	.026	.035	.045	.056	190.94	MM13
Extra Light 12-String	.010 .010	.013 .013	.023 .010	.029 .012	.038 .018	.047 .027	255.47	MM1012
Medium/Light - LJ's Choice	.013	.017	.024	.032	.042	.056	175.45	MLJ13
Bluegrass - Tony Rice's Choice	.013	.016	.026	.034	.044	.056	184.75	MTR13