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Rich Severson is a wonderful player and gifted teacher. So I listen to him.
His string selection works for him but is unusual. I'd appreciate comments.
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10-18-2016 11:56 AM
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about 15 yrs when he was in town I spoke w/Pete Bernstein about his strings
he said his 'secret' was 14-52 gauges.
this makes sense as big archtops will have a tendency to sound boomy on the lower strings.
I'm using 13-54's but might change to 13-52 for a better balance when my current stash of strings is used up.
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I suspect that most of you would be horrified with my string setup. Clearly a lot of folks buy into that idea of the fatter the string the fatter the sound, but most of the time when I try a setup like that I can't get anything out of a guitar. I find them clumsy, stiff and really unresponsive to the way I play. Tuned to standard pitch, I'm most comfortable with a set of 10's. Tuned down to C#, I use a set of 12 to 53 TI Swing Series. That feels about like a set of 10's with the action low, maybe even a bit lighter.
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or just use a set of thomastiks...
The other thing nobody addresses is string action. You can compensate for that pingy sound by just raising the action a tad. The reason Martino's sound in the '60s was so fat wasn't just that he used super heavy strings (.016 - .058). He also had extremely high action. He demonstrated that he could not play an F Barre chord due to the string guage and action.
But to Soloway's point, when you move up to a heavier guage and assuming you are playing 2+ hours a day, it will feel stiff and clumsy but after a month or more, your hands will become stronger and it'll feel more fluid and loose but will give you the fatness of the heavier setup.
I use thomastik .012s for the most part but am really liking the d'addario chrome .11s on my Pat Metheny PM-120. If only, I could reliably count on them keeping the G string flatwound...
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MG,
The reason use TI jazz swing 12's is it takes one thing away from playing and gear that I don't have to think about.
To me, they are the perfect string. The tension is perfect. The sound is Jazz all the way. They last a while and they are consistent. The gauges are by no means heavy or light. They just work. They work on my Tal, 175, they work on acoustic archtops - Heck, if they worked on my CornFlakes, I wouldn't need milk..
I will never get as far into refining my sound as Rich has. And I don't want to.
My opinion, find a string and a pick that works for you and ride it. Now that I am done buying for a while (haha), I will spend all my time learning and then remembering what I learned. New strings? I need that like a whole in my head..
JD
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The idea makes sense, but i would like to hear a bit more of his "light" bottom strings.
I normally use TI swings .13 to .53 and replace the 13 with a 14 on some guitars. I was astonished how much it changed when i replaced the B string on the same TI set (normally .17) with a .18. - i couldn't go with the .18 as it felt too clumsy for me.
The result of mixing gauges as he does will probably vary from guitar to guitar. A instrument with a strong bass response will most certainly benefit from thinner bass string, but i believe a guitar with weak bass response will sound too thin down there.
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I have to chime in and say that the last few sets of TI flats I've put on have been very bright. The Chrome .011 strings I have on my metheny sound beautiful. Another consideration with flats is that they are not very versatile. Trying to play anything modern on them is not very rewarding.
Originally Posted by Max405
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I've noticed that the TI flats that I've put on my Gibson Johnny Smith, ES175 and the Heritage JS were bright and zingy when I initially installed them. And I was hoping they would stay that way.. But they toned down within a couple of days on both guitars. But I agree, they are a lot brighter out of the wrappers than they use to be. 100% for sure.
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Perhaps but I really like the hair trigger feel of lighter/looser strings. I feel like it forces me to play with a lot of control, especially with the amp turned up potentially much louder than I want to actually play. Originally Posted by agentsmith
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thomastik puts their sets together with balanced tension in mind..thats why they only make very specific gauges..they think they have it perfected..can't disagree..the flats also use thin cores with a double outer wrap of soft pure nickel..can't beat 'em
cheers
ps- i've seen rich s ^ at the guitar shows..he makes any guitar handed him sound good..regardless of strings!Last edited by neatomic; 10-18-2016 at 08:22 PM. Reason: ps-
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My favourite flats are the Thomastik 12-50 set. They're the string equivalent of a comfy old pair of shoes. You don't notice that they're there and you can focus on music. That's my opinion. Only thing I don't like is that they're quite expensive. I've tried the D'Addario flats, but never was happy with them. I have the 11 gauge set on my Tele, and they're great for 'non jazz' music too.
I'm in a pickle with strings at the moment- I do a mix of big band swing rhythm guitar (where a more acoustic sound is needed), and small combo work (usually vibes and double bass) where flats would be better. I put on a set of Martin "Retro" monel wound strings. They're not bad, but the balance between the wound / plain strings though my Biltoft floating CC pickup is a bit strange. Nice sound through the amp and acoustically they're good.
I think the ultimate solution is getting another guitar, an archtop acoustic for big band work (Mr Wu???) ....
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They do make some singles that you can use to make a custom set. My standard set these days is Swing Series 12's with the bottom string bumped up to a 53. I use this set to tune down to either D or C# and the bottom string needs to be a bit heavier to maintain the lower pitch. (A disclaimer though ... I've technically been a Thomastik endorser for about 20 years and I have no idea if they do this for someone who isn't on their artist roster) Originally Posted by neatomic
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d'angelico strings had a bronze 80/20 flatwound set in the 60's... the italian company galli still does! 11-50 & 12-52
cheers
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speaking of which, just read that the new d'angelico guitar company is releasing a line of d'angelico strings..made for them, of course, by d'addario
ghs had been making the most recent d'angelico brand strings
cheers
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MG,
If it works for whomever, I say go for it. It's not my cup of tea. I took classical guitar lessons back in the early '70's from a great player that bought string sets by the box, and would sort through the sets to get a balanced set. I thought it was a bit compulsive, but, it wasn't my compulsion, so, to each his or her own. It made me think about it.
Also, broken string replacement from a full set is a bit annoying because you're left w/o a full set on the standby. Bummer. Good to discover what's causing the string to break and fixing it before you accumulate a pile of set's w/o, say, a G string. But, it happens. It would be good if more string makers offered single strings to us. Jim S says he's got a special privilege with TI to get individual strings. That doesn't help the rest of us.
And, I hate mixing different brands or types of strings for a set, so I never do that either.
As a past good friend and fishing buddy (RIP) taught me long ago, he'd say, you see these guys out in a $100K boat, sporting all kinds of expensive gear, then, on the end the fishing line of the $1K pole and reel they'd put some el cheapo lure they got off of the $.50 bargain table by the cash register, and then complain that they hadn't caught fish.
The moral of the story, don't cheap out on strings on your expensive guitar. That makes no sense at all.
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Where to buy ? I can find Galli's but neither of these sets. Originally Posted by neatomic
In any case, it's encouraging. Maybe a US manufacturer will look at this.
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It always cracked me up that they were called "strings".. They should be called wires..
JD
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don't forget, they were originally cat gut strings. Originally Posted by Max405
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cat gut your tongue? Originally Posted by wintermoon
I'll be here all week.....
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9x out of 10 a string will break at one of three points- the ball end/tailpiece...at the bridge saddle (especially with tune-a-matics)... or at the tuning peg where it passes through the hole in the peg...sharp edges!!...most of those can be remedied by some light filing.
i'm not against replacing unwound strings in a set..basically they are all the same..and d'addario makes some very good ones and sells them 5 in a pack..so you can have 5 -12's or 5 -16's, etc around for when you need them...
i would not replace a wound string with another makers though...ex. a steel d'addario chrome for a thom pure nickel swing..no way
cheersLast edited by neatomic; 10-19-2016 at 04:58 PM. Reason: ex.-
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I have used TI 12-50 Flats for as long as I can remember, prior to that D'Addarios, TI.s
were hard to find and very expensive I seem to remember 20+ years ago.
The plus with them I suggest is their lower tension and consistency ,On the Es275s I use
11's and they suit those guitars very well, but on the TF, L5, and Byrdland , 12-50s are
ideal.
I tried 13-53's for a month on the Byrdland but could not get on with that gauge.
( everything seems tougher in one's twilight years ! )
Rich Severson's idea of mixing gauges is good but as already stated he sounds great on
anythingLast edited by silverfoxx; 10-19-2016 at 05:38 PM.
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I also mix my flatwoud set up. I use D Addario chromes 11/50 and throw away the top three strings and mix the wounded 50-40-30 with non wound single strings Elixer 12-14-18. The coated single strings last longer and can be changed once before changing the lower strings. This works just great for me.
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Originally Posted by neatomic
Here's how to help with two of those three trouble areas.
Mitchell Abrasive Cord | stewmac.com
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