Monel Strings on electric guitar?

[omphalopsychos]

I've got monels on my Gibson L4c with a DeArmond Rhythm Chief pickup. It sounds ... phenomenal. Anyone else using monels on an electric (besides Charlie Christian?)

I imagine that if you have screw poles, the volume balance should be no problem.

[mr. beaumont]

Yes, on my Godin Kingpin, and yes, I absolutely love them.

[radiofm74]

I use them with my Guitar Mike, and also like them very much. I don't have experience with other possible string materials (e.g. Bronze 80/20 or nickel bronze) so I guess I'll give that a try too. But for now it's monels.

[jads57]

What are Monels? I'm somehow how picturing older Gibson branded strings.

[nopedals]

I like them on my L7 for acoustic play. They did not work on my P90 ES300. I suppose I could have tweaked the pickup screws, but decided to go back to TIs for electric play. They are inexpensive strings though, so trying them out is no big deal.

[omphalopsychos]

What are Monels? I'm somehow how picturing older Gibson branded strings.

For example:

[oldane]

For example:

But mind you, the strings on the guitar in the picture is NOT monel but bronze. Monel strings are "silvery" like SS or nickel.

As I understand it, monel is kind of a nickel alloy.

[nopedals]

Those are the ones I buy. They have a number of custom gauges with celebrity endorsers; I get the cheapest set of 13s available at the time (it varies).

Read the fantastic blog article re the history of guitar strings on campus 5's site, and then google what the flatpickers on Martin sites have to say about them. That should tell you what you need to know.

[radiofm74]

Those are the ones I buy. They have a number of custom gauges with celebrity endorsers; I get the cheapest set of 13s available at the time (it varies).

Read the fantastic blog article re the history of guitar strings on campus 5's site, and then google what the flatpickers on Martin sites have to say about them. That should tell you what you need to know.

+1 on the fantastic read!

[campusfive]

Woot! I dig 'em on my ES-150, but some of you knew that already. Cheers.

[John A.]

Yes, on my Godin Kingpin, and yes, I absolutely love them.

+ 1 for that combination.

John

[cmajor9]

I find the Monels a good compromise for guitars that you want to play both acoustically and electric.

[darvil]

I mounted a Martin Retro Monel medium set on my Guild Savoy (korean) archtop because I'm currently using it just acoustically and I was hoping for a bigger, "woodier" sound. I'm in part disappointed, because the acoustic sound is not that different from that of the flatwounds set I had before on the guitar. At least to my ears, the difference does not justify my effort to deal with the squeak sound of roundwounds and their "grindy" feel on the pick, two things that I really find annoying. I'm in my first month into this new set but I'm already planning to go back to flats .

[neatomic]

if you can deal with a 12-52 gauge set..rotosound makes monel flatwounds..but only that one set

monels are in the (70%) nickel family...gibson had strings through the 50's called mona-steels..they were monel

nowadays pyramid and martin are making monel strings again as well

they will not sound as bold acoustically as bronze phospor or 80/20's..but because of their nickel content they will react much better with pickups...a good compromise string



cheers

[joe2758]

how would the monel flatwounds compare to TI swings? I'd love more acoustic sound on my 175

[ThatRhythmMan]

I’ve tried the Rotosound Top Tape flatwound monels. It’s been a few years ago now. I didn’t like them on the P90 equipped ES-150 I was playing at the time, but I can’t remember why for sure. I remember them not feeling as smooth as TI Swings though. I’m tempted to give the a try on a different guitar though.

[darvil]

if you can deal with a 12-52 gauge set..rotosound makes monel flatwounds..but only that one set

Thanks, that's useful. And in fact I should not blame Monel strings for what is more generally related to roundwounds. I'd see if I can find that Rotosound set, thanks again!

[rio]

Do Monel strings have the string balance issues that pure nickel strings have? I love the tone of nickel strings so Monel sounds intriguing but some of my guitars don’t have good string balance when using them so I use mostly steel strings now.


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[entresz]

I found the Monel strings had volume issues on the wound strings, more so than pure nickels.

[omphalopsychos]

Do Monel strings have the string balance issues that pure nickel strings have?

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big time. They work best with pickups designed for that type of string or pickups that have adjustable pole screws.

[mr. beaumont]

Interesting, had almost no issue on my Kingpin-- although I was already using pure nickels for a few years and I think I remember doing some adjustments with the polepieces when I switched to them...

[omphalopsychos]

Interesting, had almost no issue on my Kingpin-- although I was already using pure nickels for a few years and I think I remember doing some adjustments with the polepieces when I switched to them...

I'm no physicist, but I think the difference in ferromagnetism between nickel and steel is greater than the difference between nickel and monel.

[TedBPhx]

Tried the Martin Monels on my D-35. Did not care for that sound when my ears are used to hearing the ring of phosphor bronze. I’ll give them a try on an archtop electric.

[John A.]

I found the Monel strings had volume issues on the wound strings, more so than pure nickels.

Which particular brand/models of strings are you comparing? From what I've been able to figure out, I don't think there actually is such a thing as a literally pure-nickel wound string. Rather, the word "pure" is used to distinguish between strings with windings made entirely from a nickel alloy (typically nickel + copper + some other metals) and strings with windings made from steel that is plated with a nickel alloy (typically called something like "nickel wound" without saying "plated"), as opposed to steel windings not plated with anything. Monel is a trade name for a range of nickel alloys (with varying pcts of nickel and copper), and I think in many (maybe all?) cases what's labeled "pure nickel" _is_ one of the Monels, but marketed by the string company without calling it that. Based on this, I think it's difficult to compare strings via the broad marketing terms; you have to actually compare strings with known composition/specs to adduce anything meaningful.

FWIW, I've not compared a string labeled "Monel" with one labeled "pure nickel". I've only compared Monel and nickel (plated) sets of the same gauge (specifically Martin Retro and D'Addario XL120 "Nickel Wound"). Plugged in (P90), I can't tell which is which, and I don perceive any difference in string-to-string loudness or any need to adjust pole-piece height. Unplugged, they sound different on my guitar. The Monel is a richer more acoustic sound with a lot of sustain; the "nickel wound" is brighter and more jangly with less sustain and bass and mid range overtones.

John

[sgosnell]

I usually use D'Addario "pure nickel" strings. I decided to try some monel strings on my Wu, to see if the acoustic sound was any different from the pure nickel, and I honestly cannot tell any difference between monel and pure nickel. I may start using the Martin monel strings just because they're cheaper. I really can't tell any difference in tone, either acoustic or amplified, between them and the D'Addario pure nickel. Does anyone know who makes Martin strings? I don't think it's actually Martin. The D'Addario nickel bronze strings are somewhat interesting, in that they're not a nickel alloy, but rather nickel-plated bronze. That would make them closer to bronze acoustic strings than monel. I bought a set to try some time ago, and that's what I vaguely remember. Mostly what I remember about them is that they were expensive, and I didn't buy more.