-
Originally Posted by lawson-stone
Actually it's a thing I've noticed - guitar shops string up their acoustic archtops with flats because they think that's the thing to do. It can sound quite nice but you don't get the true sound of the instrument.
I really like the Martin Retro strings that someone else mentioned here. They seem to last forever as well, and don't have that obnoxious brightness of phosphor bronzes. In terms of squeaks etc, I can't say I've noticed. But then it's not a thing that really bothers me.
If you are a prewar jazz guitar nerd, these strings are particularly exciting because these are the type of string played by Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian and so on. Bronzes weren't available back then....
And they are gauged right for jazz! Heavy top, light bottom. And cheap as chips. Thank you Martin!
TI Bebop's can't take a beating, which is important to me as I play a lot of rhythm, but may not be to you. Other than that, great strings, the tension on them is very light BTW, gauged heavy top, light bottom, which I love. Shorter lifespan than the Martins in my experience, but I gig them heavily, mind.
I put my Retro's on my guitar about 6 gigs ago. Still going strong
TI bebops last about 3 gigs before sounding dull and dry.
I'm not rich enough to play TI's, therefore :-)
Half rounds? In the spirit of compromise ;-) Or those Galli's look interesting. TI spectrum's I haven't tried. I don't like the look of the gauging, but they will be top banana strings, I'm sure.Last edited by christianm77; 06-15-2016 at 06:41 AM.
-
06-15-2016 06:30 AM
-
Careful with the TI spectrums - they are very short and in most cases cannot be used on an archtop! I bought a set and sweared and cursed but there was no way to get them on.
nice recommendations all around here!
-
-
I used TI swing 12s on my acoustic archtops for years until I discovered the TI AC111s. They are fantastic, and last for months (still on my first set). They are a little bit cheaper than the swings, too.
The AC111s have a wound E, flat ADG.
The AC112s are completely different; significantly heavier in the bass than the AC111s or the swing 12s,
the E string is .059!; and most significantly, the only flatwound string is the G. Tried a set, did not like them.
AC110 Extra Light .010 .013 .016(F) .022(F) .030(F) .041(R).
AC111 Light .011 .014 .019(F) .027(F) .036(F) .050(R)
AC112 Medium Light .012 .015 .024(F) .033(R) .044(R) .059(R)
AC113 Medium .013 .016 .025(R) .034(R) .047(R) .061(R)
The TI swing 12s:
JS112 Medium Light 12 16 20 27 37 50
The AC series is called "plectrum"; they are not the "spectrum" which IIRC are silk and steel.
I was a little disappointed that I had to step down to 11s, and was planning to swap out the plain strings, but they play and sound great, so I left them on.
Currently using them on a long scale (25.5) 1940 L7.Last edited by nopedals; 06-15-2016 at 08:53 AM. Reason: added last sentence
-
Man, flats on an acoustic archtop always bum me out. If I had nickel for every time I nice vintage acoustic archtop in a store that was robbed of any acoustic voice or project by having flats on it... I could probably buy one of those guitars and rescue it.
Please try something like Martin Retro Monel 1st.
-
Well you are the guy who ought to know. I admire very much your playing on these types of guitars, so I will try to make it work without going to flats. Originally Posted by campusfive
-
Lawson, what type of wood is the top on your L50? Also, is it laminated or solid?
-
I put Thomastik Swing flat 12s on my Sweet 16 and Le Grand a few years ago (both have floater pickups) and they're still there. I like the acoustic sound of the Thomastik flats and the electric sound. For my ears they tame the highs and bring out the bottom end more. These strings are a few years old and I still don't see any need to change them ...
I gigged the Sweet 16 quite a bit. With an amp the flats still delivered the classic swing era rhythm sound that my band's music called for. If I was going to go acoustic for swing rhythm the rounds would have been a better choice.
I picked up an acoustic 18 inch Campellone last year and it came with bronze strings which were annoyingly bright. I have the John Pearse 12s on it now and they are an improvement. They are starting to mellow out and I'm growing to like their sound. Eventually I'll try to the TI flats, but I may try the Martin Retro's first.
-
The monels are very cool strings.
-
I would like to put an acoustic pickup system in the Campellone as opposed to mounting a floater on it. Originally Posted by christianm77
Do you have any recommendations?
I was thinking of getting the K&K cello pickup and having that installed inside.
-
Finger squeaks in the hands of Keith Jarrett, or any noises whatsoever from Long Tall Dexter, command attention and deservedly so. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
But for every Keith Jarrett and Dexter Gordon, there's millions of players who ' ain't there yet '......and then these noises are just distractions.....
MHO....
-
L50's were solid spruce. I know mine is because in one spot of the f-holes I can easily discern the grain. Originally Posted by jbucklin
-
I believe the L-50 was solid spruce topped all the way through its run. It ended with the 1971 Catalog, I believe.
-
With Martin Retro Monels, which gauge do you use? Originally Posted by christianm77
-
I also really like the Martin Retros on an acoustic archtop. I use 11s, because I'm not a real man.
-
12's Originally Posted by kkfan
-
Originally Posted by kkfan
Originally Posted by Jehu
13s. Phwoar! Originally Posted by christianm77
.....Because they were on sale. $4.50 per set.
-
13. Originally Posted by kkfan
-
i use TI jazz swings 13 (flat) on my accoustic
a 60's Hofner Pres
Its a bright guitar and i like dull so it works
for me ....
they last for ages too ...
-
Originally Posted by pingu
That's me, too .... I like the acoustic "Wes Montgomery" tone of the flats ... LOL
and the TI flats have enough "brightness" to keep it from being completely dull to my ears
I understand why folks like the roundwounds on their acoustic archtops ... it can sound great as well
I really did not like bronze roundwounds on my Campellone
-
I use the TI Swing 13s on everything. I'm a floating pickup guy and very rarely use a straight acoustic guitar unless I'm practicing at home. Since I don't play out anymore, it's become a moot point. I tried several brands and types of round wounds in hopes I'd find the exact ones that would give me what I want but to no avail. The TI flats just sound the best of all of them even acoustically.
-
Originally Posted by hot ford coupe
I am with HFC , except that I use TI 12's on my Guild Benedetto AA as it has a 25 5/8 scale. All of my other acoustic archtops get the TI 13's. I usually use a Dearmond with my acoustic archtops, but once in awhile, I will do a gig with an acoustic archtop with no amp (I prefer Selmer type guitars for a pure acoustic gig, as they "cut better". On those I use Argentine 10's, which work great with their 26 3/8 scale) and find that the guitars sound great with the TI flats (to me, and that is what is most important). I like dark tone and TI flats deliver. Bronze strings, and even Chromes are too bright for my taste.
I have tried Bronze strings on all of my acoustic archtops. If I was playing without an amp in a loud setting (meaning with a drummer or a bunch of horns), I would no doubt use the bronze. They add trebles and cut. To a purist, this is the way to go. But to my ears, TI flats on an acoustic archtop sound great.
At the end of the day, one should try many different strings ( meaning different brands and different string types) on each guitar that one owns. Choose the strings that feel best and sound best to you. Regardless of what anyone else thinks, that will be the best choice.
-
Flats can sound pretty nice. Have you given the Retro's a go though? Kind of a middle ground, but you get plenty of volume in the mid range where you want it, unlike with the flats. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Actually I agree re: Selmers. You get the cut for melody playing.
Only thing I'd be careful of is that it can be very hard to work out how things project acoustically. In the same way as oval holes Sel-Macs can be really deceptive, so are old school archtops - they are designed to throw out and project the sound to the back of the room, not allow the guitarist to hear themselves so much. Look at where the F holes are.
Archtops are great for rhythm and chord solos - they can be really powerful for that stuff and output acoustically in a different place from the Sel-Mac guitars. I dislike playing Selmers with drums, but unamplified archtops can work great, if you have a drummer (and a soundman on bigger gigs) who knows what they are doing (there's a whole rant in there.)
In practice, few get to do it the way the 1930's US cats did it, which is a shame.
In practice I use my Loar LH600 gigging box with an aftermarket magnetic pickup and monel strings. It gives me the best of both worlds on a small gigs....
But I can see why Django hated archtops, wouldn't have suited his playing at all.
-
I use Chromes on my laminate archtops and they sound great. On my carved archtop, not so much. I then tried Ti flats and was no less disappointed. I finally went with rounds and it sounds great!
-
just for info sake..pyramid also makes a monel roundwound..with a vintage round core...may be cheaper for euro players...tho the gauges are kinda light..11-48 and 10-52 being the heaviest
also had pretty nice results on solid spruce archtop with dr pure (nickel) blues..which also have the vintage style round inner core
cheers
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos