Do nickel strings offer advantages over roundwounds with P-90 pickup?

[mad dog]

Just got the coolest old guitar, a '62 Guild X-50 archtop hollowbody. Single Franz pickup. The seller had all nickel .12s on there, with a wound G. The guitar plays a little stiff. Not bad, but I'm going to try the custom set I use on other archtops:

.50, .40, .30. (.19), .15, .12

Regular round wounds, not full nickel. I'll substitute a .21 wound G so it'll work with the stock bridge. Question is, do all nickel strings offer noticeable advantages over regular roundwounds with P-90 type pickups? I will get to hear for myself, but wonder if any of you have experimented in this area.

Thanks!
MD

[whiskey02]

Unless you know the guitar has recently had a set up by a good tech, you may want to have your tech set it up properly for you. If you like .12's have him get it as good as it can be with.12 then try different brands. It can be amazing how a really small change at nut, frets, saddles, tailpiece, neck, all add up to a significantly changed guitar.

[oldane]

I suggest you try various strings sets out yourself. First, peoples preferencies vary a lot. Second, there are several variables in your equation: String material, gauge, round wound/flatwound etc. Third, you may hear people describe the sound as bright/dark, sharp/soft etc. But I have often noticed that my definitions of those words are not necessarily the same as others definition. Some say that nickel TI flatwounds are "bright" compared to SS D'Addario Chromes - but in my book it's the opposite.

As for a stiff playing feel, this can be due to string gauge, action (set at the bridge), neck relief and - not to forget - that the nut slots are cut too high. If you want to be able to dig in without excess buzzes and string slap you need to have the action higher up and that will give a deliberate "stiff" feeling - but one gets used to it. If you want that super smooth, soft, low action, you need to use only a gentle touch when playing. There was a reason Freddie Green used a high action as he needed a lot of volume. (However, I have never understood why it had to be THAT high, but maybe it also helped in his "half muting notes" technique.)

[christianm77]

Get it set up. Truss rod adjustment can make a BIG difference to how your strings feel

[mad dog]

Thanks all, for the helpful suggestions. I hear you on the importance of setup. It does make all the difference.

My impression of this guitar is that it is set up just the way the seller wanted. He had it refretted at some point not long ago. Looks like they did everything right. The nut has been carefully filed. Very little relief in the neck, just about what I'd look for. He liked heavier strings and action a touch higher than I like. I lowered it. Which leaves strings. I already know what I like on other archtops. Just curious if anyone here has an opinion on tonal difference with the all nickel strings he preferred vs. conventional roundwounds.

So I'll put on different strings and see for myself of course. And probably will find a way to get a good luthier to check it out soon. Another option: though the frets have a lot of life, they're on the small and narrow side. Maybe I should pony up and get the larger frets I prefer on other guitars. That would definitely affect feel. I'd rather not spend the money, but this old Guild is one cool, worthy instrument, with great sound. So we'll see ...
MD

[deacon Mark]

Strings are not the Space Shuttle in complexity, try different ones and unless you make jumps it should work. I think my ears are pretty good and I personally do not hear differences in tone to pay for TI. Many disagree with me and depends on the guitar. Strings respond to guitar individually. Best thing to do is buy a few different sets and do the test for yourself. Worst case senerio is you burn $50 in learning. Cheap compared to many other lessons.

[neatomic]

pure nickel roundwound strings will be warmer toned than "regular" strings...tho regular could be nickel plated steel, stainless steel, monel, alloy 52 or cobalt!!!...

in any event pure nickel would be the warmest and closest to true vintage spec for what would have come on a guild with franzs...the pure nickel also matches with the alnco mags used in the pups

the franz can be a bright pup..they are a slightly underwound p90...a pure nickel will tame the highs a bit...nps and stainless will give you a bit more snap and brightness...cobalt will be even moreso

but other factors like pickup height and setup are equally important..how the strings are made is also a factor...round core- hex core, double wrap etc

but definitely worth experimenting with

very generally warm to bright would be pure nickel- monel- nps-ss-alloy 52 and cobalt

cheers

ps-actually, strings are pretty complex!! hah

[mad dog]

Thank you Neat. That was exactly the kind of info I was looking for.
MD

[sgosnell]

I don't find any difference in feel for pure nickel or steel wound strings of the same gauge. I do hear a slight difference in sound, though. Steel wound strings are a little brighter than pure nickel, and I much prefer nickel. But my taste is not your taste.

[Cunamara]

My observations match Neatomic's, although I have never tried Monel strings. I also find round core nickel strings are a bit warmer still than those wound on a hex core. I like Pyramid and TI nickel rounds on a round core.

Going towards the brighter end of the spectrum, by reputation, I have some Vinci nickel plated steel round wounds to try. The neat thing about Vinci is that you can order custom string sets very easily. Mine are .013-.017-.024w-.032-.042-.050. I don't know if I will like these for jazz- Jerry Garcia touted Vinci strings and his tone was not exactly in the Jim Hall ballpark! I have heard on the Interwebs that Vinci no longer makes its own strings and that they are really D'Addarios wound for Vinci to be rebranded, but I don't know if that's true. D'Addario makes a lot of strings sold under other labels.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Yeah, I use nickel strings to tame unruly highs. I could also see how they'd help a jazzbox if you like your tones warmer.

[neatomic]

, I have some Vinci nickel plated steel round wounds to try. The neat thing about Vinci is that you can order custom string sets very easily. Mine are .013-.017-.024w-.032-.042-.050. I don't know if I will like these for jazz- Jerry Garcia touted Vinci strings and his tone was not exactly in the Jim Hall ballpark! .

strings can tell much about the player!! haha

jerry garcias string case-



jim hall was a d'aquisto flatwound user..great string..sadly no longer in production...i have a few packs left...a fave!!

cheers

ps- d'merle was originally d'angelico string rebranded/renamed

[mad dog]

Let the trials begin.

Just swapped in a custom set of .12s, nickel wrapped roundwound, for the slightly heavier set of pure nickel D'Addario .12s that were on the Guild. Definitely a difference in feel and playability. Not sure if it's brighter exactly, but does sound different now. Something on the bass strings when comping. Not sure how to describe it. A little less thump. Could be the slight difference in string gauge too.

Time to order more pure nickel strings. I'll piece together sets from bulk strings, to get the gauges I want. And will get bigger frets on the X-50. It's playing really well now even with narrow frets. I think bigger frets will make it even better.

This X-50 has the balance and clarity I didn't hear in the older ES-125s I tried. Which means I probably did not find the right one. Sure am happy I found this Guild!
MD

[wzpgsr]

Mad dog, lemme know what you decide on.

I picked up a mid-50s X-50 several months ago. It's definitely player grade: it needs a refret, has been refinished, has had the binding replaced with some sort of black goo, has an Epiphone bridge P90 screwed directly into the wood in the neck position...

It's quietly waiting for a turn on my busy luthier buddy's bench. Well, not too quietly. Today I took it out of its case and played it for the first time since I first got it. It's strung with a set of standard D'Addario 11s and it has a round sweetness in the higher registers of the plain steel strings that my Eastman AR-371 lacks. I'm really looking forward to getting this guitar in better playing shape.

[mad dog]

WZ:

A pleasure to meet another X-50 appreciator. I hope you get this one sorted out to your taste. They do indeed have a very cool sound. My X-50 is getting larger frets on it right now. I experimented with my usual nickel wrapped set ... will be switching back to pure nickel as it does add a little something to that sound. It's a '62, in rather good condition luckily:

[christianm77]

Get the TIs bro.... .13 or .14 TI bebops.

They'll feel lighter than the gauge

*looks like the guitar has a truss rod, right?

[christianm77]

Lovely looking guitar BTW... I'd be in the market myself for something like that myself but I already have a laminate electric archtop that I'm very happy with.

Happy playing!