Flatwound Strings for an Epiphone ES-175

[Peter C]

So, if you're a beginner living in Europe looking for somewhere to start in your string quest, go ahead and try Thomastik Swings and/or D'Addario Chromes, bearing in mind that the relatively higher gauged 1st and 2nd strings and skinny wounds in the Swings can feel odd, at least at first.

As for roundwounds, D'Addario sort of have it covered, both sides of the Atlantic. I believe Chromes are really cheap in the USA, as are the well-regarded John Pearse roundwounds.

Anyway, get your ball-park strings and get on with learning. You'll have plenty of time to waste later on searching in vain for the perfect string Been there.

[Oneofthe]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I'm sorry if it appears I have ghosted but it was a lot to process. I don't know who to thank first because everyone was helpful. So, thank you everyone. Thank you, again, this is a beautiful forum.

Here is what I will do after reading this. I'm going to buy a set of Flatwound 11's I like the idea of Thomastik Jazz Strings for the low tension, but I have been able to find the D'addario Chromes very easily so I will probably start there. I'm really excited about discovering flatwounds because as someone else mentioned the Epiphone ES-175 is on the brighter side of tone--luckily not too bright and I have the Roland JC which helps.

Also, my town has a small guitar store where I will ask the technician to set the guitar up correctly for Flatwound 11's.

Thank you again.

[rio]

Awesome - enjoy! Chromes are on the brighter side of flatwounds so if you don't like it then let them settle in for a week or two of playing and go from there. They are bright enough that I wouldn't even say that they are darker than roundwounds, just a different tone due to the flat wrap vs. round. Have fun!


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[pingu]

I'm really excited about discovering flatwounds because as someone else mentioned the Epiphone ES-175 is on the brighter side of tone--luckily not too bright and I have the Roland JC which helps.

Also, my town has a small guitar store where I will ask the technician to set the guitar up correctly for Flatwound 11's.

Thank you again.

I recommend 12s minimum for any archtop ... you've gotta drive the top
you'll adjust in two days and be fine

Note I don't think Epi 175's as a particularly bright guitar .... (is it chaps ?)

but note Roland JC is a bright amp ....

They're both absolutelly fine tho ,
just dial in the sound you want

but I'd go with (TI) 12's
(minimum , ie don't go with the 11's)

but its just me , obviously do what you like !

[Fred Archtop]

Hi there,

Just entering the topic. This video might help making up your mind between flat & roundwound. I've used very similar guitars each erquipped this different sets of strings : TI flatwound 13-53 and Dadd nickel roundwound 12-54.

Both sets are great depending if you like smokey or bright sounds.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[sgosnell]

The Epi 175 is a bright guitar, IME. Replacing the TOM with a wooden saddle helps tame it, but it's still brighter than average.

[Jx30510]

Yes I agree as well.
I made a recording with my brother this Weekend, and when listining to the Epiphone parts it confirmed what a bright and clear sounding guitar it is (even with flatwounds and wood bridge).
Some say a bright instrument is better than a dark one since you can always tame a bright guitar and not the contrary..

[Epistrophy]

I had JS112 for years on my ES-175 (165), but I have noticed that they feel too thin and unresponsive to me because of the thick top and very heavy construction of the guitar (vintage 175s had thinner tops on them), so I might try JS113 on it some day. I think Epiphone 175s are built with thinner tops and overall construction than their Gibson counterparts nowadays. I might be wrong ofc. The Thomastik flats that I used sounded kind of dead to me, so I put D'addario rounds in it. I have more response out of the instrument now. Thinking of trying RS200 since they are so cheap and have the same tension as JS113, if I ever feel the need to put flats on it once again. With my vintage archtop with a carved top, it has a thinner construction so I can use almost any strings on it and it responds to them better, both acoustically and when amplified. I wouldn't go any thinner than 12-52 set.