Mellow roundwound strings

[rpguitar]

Wondering what secret strings you guys have discovered that provide roundwound frequency content, yet sound jazzy and warm.

I've been using John Pearse acoustic electric nickel roundwound strings on my electrified archtops. I like them; they have nice warmth and life. They are warmer than nickel plated steel (D'Addario XL), but much brighter than flats. I'm just curious if there are some other smooth, warm roundwounds that bear recommending.

I don't want to use flatwounds. Please don't suggest TI Swings or D'Add Chromes.

I'm also not interested in D'Addario half rounds; I dislike the feel of those strings.

I am aware of these:
TI Bebop (have used these, but $$$ and need a set of 12s with a wound 3rd)
Pyramid Nickel Classics (never tried)
Newtone archtop (never tried)
??

[Dylanfan424]

I imagine they will be more of what you are using, as in acoustic strings. Ive heard of guys even using acoustic strings I know Julian Lage does on his archtop. I just tried TI swings and compared to chromes they feel and sound a lot more like round wound strings but I know you said you don't want flats. Id say just try a bunch with as cheap as round wound strings are. The daddario NYXL strings are really nice if you can get them in a big enough gauge.

[Fred Archtop]

Hi Roger,

Definitely TI Bebop on my 175CC - 12/50. Great dynamics, great tone, brings a lot to the instrument. I tried them on my ES 300 with much hope but I was very disapointed and went back to TI Swing.

Hope this helps

[jorgemg1984]

Roger you could try TI Bebop or Newtone but honestly don't know if they will be much darker than JPs...

[jazz.fred]

D'Addario Jazz Lights EPN21: Pure Nickel 12-51 wound 3rd.

DA Pure Nickel EPN 115: 11-48.

[bananafist]

I use Newtone archtop on my Slaman, as I don't like the dead, bassiness (to my ears) of flatwounds. I like the sound of Newtone Ph/Bronze on my little Rex acoustic archtop.

[Frank67]

Definitely TI Bebop 13. quite a bit more mellow than John Pease (which I also like)

[medblues]

Rotosound 13s (Roto Greys) work well for me.

[Bluedawg]

My favorite roundwounds were the old Gibson Sonomatics ... though I've switched to Thomastik flats lately and don't see myself switching back

Gibson changed the name a few times and the last time they were available I think they were called L5 strings or something like that ... I have a few sets of these some of them from the 80s


But I don't see them on Gibson's website anymore ... they don't even have anything larger than 11s ....

not sure what they are putting on their new archtops, but it's not 11s

Looks like they don't sell these strings anymore .....

But here are some old ads FWIW


Gibson L5 Pure Nickel Wound Jazz Electric Guitar Strings

Gibson L5 Pure Nickel Wound Jazz Electric Guitar Strings

[rpguitar]

"D'Addario Jazz Lights EPN21: Pure Nickel 12-51 wound 3rd."

I just bought 5 sets of these via StringsAndBeyond's 20% off sale. We'll see how that goes.

Jorge, you are the guy who hipped me to the Pearse strings, which I've been happily using for months. Obrigado!

[jorgemg1984]

Had no idea Roger! De nada

And now I remember - I've had tried the EPN21 on my Kingpin and they are indeed quite darker than the JPs, at the expense of making it sound too "dead" (to my taste, of course). Hope you like them!

[neatomic]

dr pure blues..they are a vintage spec string..round core (not hex) with a pure nickel wrap...and they around at bargain prices ..gc sells 'em



12-52 with wound 3rd

cheers

[Dennis D]

My favorite roundwounds were the old Gibson Sonomatics ... though I've switched to Thomastik flats lately and don't see myself switching back

Gibson changed the name a few times and the last time they were available I think they were called L5 strings or something like that ... I have a few sets of these some of them from the 80s


But I don't see them on Gibson's website anymore ... they don't even have anything larger than 11s ....

not sure what they are putting on their new archtops, but it's not 11s

Looks like they don't sell these strings anymore .....

But here are some old ads FWIW


Gibson L5 Pure Nickel Wound Jazz Electric Guitar Strings

Gibson L5 Pure Nickel Wound Jazz Electric Guitar Strings

I recently played 3 new L-5's up at Dave's.........
1. An L-5 Acoustic prototype - -w/ BJN P/U 11/56
2. An L-5 Acoustic, no P/U -- same string, didn't verify either 11 or 12
3. An L-5 WesMo - - -12/56

All strings were round wound, and not a phosphor bronze or bronze color.....not sure if they were half rounds, cause I don't know how those look ( yet )....but they were all ' shiney steel silver ' in color, w/ wound third's.........

.....and to me, they all sure seemed to be the same string.......

[Bluedawg]

I recently played 3 new L-5's up at Dave's.........
1. An L-5 Acoustic prototype - -w/ BJN P/U 11/56
2. An L-5 Acoustic, no P/U -- same string, didn't verify either 11 or 12
3. An L-5 WesMo - - -12/56

All strings were round wound, and not a phosphor bronze or bronze color.....not sure if they were half rounds, cause I don't know how those look ( yet )....but they were all ' shiney steel silver ' in color, w/ wound third's.........

.....and to me, they all sure seemed to be the same string.......

I saw some comments on a Gibson forum that suggest they may be using some variations of their Vintage Reissue strings .....


I'm gonna try the Pearse nickel strings on my Campellone acoustic if I can find some locally .... I only want a couple of sets and I feel funny ordering just a couple of sets on line.

[neatomic]

btw, the current line of gibson pure nickel strings are on the dark toned side..they are called the vintage reissue series..unfortunately heaviest gauge set is 11-50



there are also some pure nickel rounds in their signature series ie. bb king, les paul...but those are also lighter gauges..bb set is 10-54

cheers

[entresz]

I too am using the John Pearse archtop pure nickel strings- they last well, have a very sweet tone that is a bit more mellow than typical round wound strings, and they feel very nice under the fingers. It's worth mentioning that they are very affordable too. They sound absolutely great on my old Hofner Senator. With bronze strings it can be a little 'clanky' sounding, but the nickels smoothen the sound up that bit with out much sacrifice of volume.

[Eddie Lang]

Depends on the guitar. I've tried many on my '34 L-4 and settled on TI Plectrum 0.012. On my '52 L-4C, it's finally TI Bebop 0.013. I have Newtone Archtop on an Eastman, I like them, but I haven't tried different strings on that one. Sister 3 has TI Swing but I will experiment with other strings. Roger, which ones do you have on Sis 1?

I still have to try the JP and I think I will soon..

[richpiv]

When I got my '59 VOS ES175 last year, GHS technical support told me that the strings were Nickel Rockers and they weren't bad at all. I have been experimenting with flats ever since and currently have Pyramid round core flats, which are brighter than D'Addario flats. Probably go back to rounds just because it's so much fun chasing my tail!

[neatomic]

good info!..was going to mention ghs nickel rockers..had a feeling that gibson strings might now be manufactured by ghs..vintage reissues=nickel rockers?..makes sense!

ghs makes very good roundwound pure nickel strings..the nickel rockers, the burnished nickels (thinner core with slightly burnished pure nickel wrap...lower tension ala thoms) and the heavy core martinez/santana/ nickels..that are slightly larger gauged due to a bigger inner core..but very resonant strings..a fave..

ghs good old school manufacturer

cheers

[rpguitar]

Sister 3 has TI Swing but I will experiment with other strings. Roger, which ones do you have on Sis 1?

Richard, I pretty much eschew flatwounds. However, Sister 1 has TI Swings on her. They sound and feel delicious on that guitar. It is my only guitar so equipped. I want to put rounds back on as a matter of principle, but each time I play her (doing it right now as it happens), the voice with nickel flats is just sooo right.

[djl]

The George Benson 12s have a wound 3rd. They're great strings, although probably identical in construction to the bebops, only more expensive. I've got them on my L5 Wes at the moment and they're the best strings I've tried on it thus far.

[helios]

"I'm also not interested in D'Addario half rounds; I dislike the feel of those strings"

I use similar GHS Brite Flats, but if you slip a thin piece of cardboard between the strings and fretboard, and take some "0000" grade steel wool and run it back and forth lengthwise along the surface of the strings a couple of times, you will remove the micro machining imperfections which cause the unpleasant feel to the strings (without suffering through playing several times before you fingers do the same thing).

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Homax-4-0-12-Pad-Steel-Wool-Super-Fine-Grade-10120000/100212006

[neatomic]

i've never had the need to "buff" a string like that, but you'd be better off using a very fine sandpaper...like 1500-2000..steel wool dust can be bad news when there's a magnetic pickup involved...

drawn to it like a magnet!! haha


cheers

[Hammertone]

Roger:

Try a set of Martin Retro Strings.
They are roundwounds with a Monel wrap. Monel is @2/3 nickel, 1/3 copper, with trace amounts of other elements like iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. I think old Gibson Mona-steel strings used a Monel wrap back in the day. I think Martin is the only string maker using Monel for roundwounds, Just as Rotosound is the only maker using Monel for flatwounds (Rotosound "Top Tapes", available in only one set - RS200 - .12 .16 .24w .32 .42 .52).

I've had good success matching them with few guitars, using the the "Tony Rice" set, which introduced the line a couple of years ago. That set now seems to be called the "Bluegrass" set and is part of the "Retro" line that was launched last year - maybe they no longer have an endorsement relationship with Rice, but you'll notice they still code that set as "MTR-13." It's nice to see that there are a few sets available.

The "Light" set looks like it matches your preferred guages. Or perhaps the "Custom Light" but with a .12 on top?
From Martin's site:

Weight	E	B	G	D	A	E	Tension	Model
Light	.012	.015	.025	.031	.041	.054	163.33	MM12
Custom Light	.011	.014	.023	.031	.041	.052	149.80	MM11
Medium/Light	.013	.017	.024	.032	.042	.056	173.4	MM13
Bluegrass	.013	.016	.026	.034	.044	.056	184.9	MTR13

[neatomic]

big monel string fan here, but they are actually a bit brighter than pure nickel

cheers