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Sorry to start yet another string thread
I have been playing professionally for around 50 years, but always in blues, rock, funk, jazz/fusion bands, playing Strats, Teles and/or Les Pauls. Now that I just purchased my first true Jazz guitar (Eastman 905ce) I am struggling a bit with what strings to use on it. I am pretty sure I want round wounds, but not the brightest ones. I went to Long & McQuade (largest music store chain Canada) to get some strings this morning and realized I didn't have enough info to make an informed purchase. Plus, they have a very limited selection there, especially in the Jazz end of things. I use 11's on my solid electric guitars, but I want 12's on this jazz box. I was hoping to get some Thomastik-Infield Bebops, but it appears that no one stocks that brand in Canada. The Bebops appear to be 12-50 and I was thinking I would want 12-52 or 53. So what are some brands and string choices I should look at that would do this guitar justice? If I was to suggest a style or sound I guess Pat Metheny would be a decent choice.
Another question is about electric vs acoustic strings. The guy at the store said I could use acoustic strings on this guitar, but I am not convinced they would be the best choice for use with a floating humbucker. Will they work fine? I see some strings say acoustic/electric and some just say acoustic? I ended up buying a set of Elixer Polyweb 80/20 bronze acoustic strings 12-53. I haven't put them on yet. Will they work okay? They are advertised as "warmer" strings as compared to the Nanoweb 80/20 bronze.
Anyway, I am in a new string realm now and would appreciate some advice and suggestions in this area.
Cheers
Tim
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12-22-2018 06:22 PM
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Every so often, Strings and Beyond offers free shipping to Canada. Takes a while but free is free. (Ordinarily free shipping with a minimum $39 US order).
Otherwise, you might try D’Addario pure nickel, half rounds and Chromes, all of which are generally pretty available in decent music stores.Last edited by Bach5G; 12-22-2018 at 07:19 PM.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I was not aware of the D'addario half wounds. I'll give them a look. Unfortunately the L&M here in Victoria does not have them though.
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get pure nickel rounds..they are softer feeling and sounding than nickel plated steel (nps), stainless steel, cobalt, alloy 52 etc etc
dr pure blues are nice..if you cant find ti bebops easily...but any pure nickel round will work
cheers
ps- with a magnetic pickup you are better off using electric type strings rather than bronze/brass acoustic type...might want to look at martin retro monels as well..similar to pure nickel
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Rather than phosphor bronze acoustic strings (which aren't ideal with magnetic pickups), try nickel alloy wound strings, such as Martin Retro Monels or D'Addario Pure Nickel. (I'd also sugggest TI Bebops, but you say you can't get them). They work well with magnetic pickups and have a good acoustic sound that's less bright than PB.
Originally Posted by Tim Z
Sorry to start yet another string thread
I have been playing professionally for around 50 years, but always in blues, rock, funk, jazz/fusion bands, playing Strats, Teles and/or Les Pauls. Now that I just purchased my first true Jazz guitar (Eastman 905ce) I am struggling a bit with what strings to use on it. I am pretty sure I want round wounds, but not the brightest ones. I went to Long & McQuade (largest music store chain Canada) to get some strings this morning and realized I didn't have enough info to make an informed purchase. Plus, they have a very limited selection there, especially in the Jazz end of things. I use 11's on my solid electric guitars, but I want 12's on this jazz box. I was hoping to get some Thomastik-Infield Bebops, but it appears that no one stocks that brand in Canada. The Bebops appear to be 12-50 and I was thinking I would want 12-52 or 53. So what are some brands and string choices I should look at that would do this guitar justice? If I was to suggest a style or sound I guess Pat Metheny would be a decent choice.
Another question is about electric vs acoustic strings. The guy at the store said I could use acoustic strings on this guitar, but I am not convinced they would be the best choice for use with a floating humbucker. Will they work fine? I see some strings say acoustic/electric and some just say acoustic? I ended up buying a set of Elixer Polyweb 80/20 bronze acoustic strings 12-53. I haven't put them on yet. Will they work okay? They are advertised as "warmer" strings as compared to the Nanoweb 80/20 bronze.
Anyway, I am in a new string realm now and would appreciate some advice and suggestions in this area.
Cheers
Tim
John
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Just strings dot com Shipping Info says they ship to Canada. They have a huge selection, great prices and fast service. You can get the TIs there for sure:
TI strings search results
I didn't look for the others.
Good luck!
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I've been liking Stringjoy, and you can custom select gauges if you want something specific. They have a Canadian distributor, but they also ship anywhere.
Marc
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Thanks very much for the help guys . . . . . really appreciate it. I have ordered from Just Strings before for D'Addario 11's, but they charge to ship to Canada and it is actually cheaper to buy them locally. Strings and Beyond appear to still have free shipping to Canada, but their price in US$ is higher than I can order them for from L&M. L&M do not stock the TI's but they will order them in for me. Anyway, looks like I should take these Elixer 80/20 Bronze back and get something else.
At L&M they have two shelves of strings: one is electric and the other acoustic. On the electric side I did not see any strings above 11's. So if I want pure nickel 12's, I am going to have to special order them. I think I will order a few sets and see what works best for me. You have all given me some great suggestions to look into.
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Uh-oh. Maybe you need to find a shop where there's an archtop or two hanging on the wall :-) Originally Posted by Tim Z
SJ
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Give Tempo Trend on Burnside or Guitars Plus (on Blanshard) a call.
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I phoned L&M back and they actually do have ONE set of DR Pure Blues Nickels 12-52. They have none in any other brand. You have to remember that it is a few days before Xmas, so their stock is fairly low. They normally do have 12's in DR, D'Addario and Elixer. I am going to grab the set of DR's and order a set of TI's and D'Addario's. They said it would be 5 to 10 days the get them. The DR's are $9.20 CAD and the TI's are $24.99. Are the TI's that much better??
FWIW, when I was shopping to get a solid wood archtop, there was NOT ONE music store in Victoria that had one in stock. There were a few plywood Epi's and Ibanez, but that was it and not what I was looking for. They said there is so little market for them here that they do not stock them and you have to special order instead. I ended up buying my Eastman 905ce from the Acoustic Music Shop in Edmonton, and he gave me a killer price on it!!
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no..if the drs are fresh and have no oxidation/rust issues, they are great strings... similar to the thoms in material and design..a pure nickel wrap with round core inner roundwound string!! hah..not too many strings like that around these days...vintage style goodness!!
go for it
cheers
ps- also check the acoustic string side to see if they have martin retro monels...because they are martins they are lumped into the acoustic guitar side..but they are equally good, if not better, on electrics!!!
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FWIW, Metheny endorses D’Addario and D’Addario says the following:
Electric Strings | XL Nickel Round Wound | D'Addario
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love d'addarios xl series..been using for decades ...but they are nickel plated steel...not pure nickel..a little more magnetic, bright, loud
have used on my solidbodies for years...crisp classic strat tone with some d'addario 9-42 nps xl 120's...they come standard on most new fender guitars!!
but not the same as d'addario epn series-pure nickel...
the pack has to say pure nickel..if its just says nickel, its nickel plated steel...very different
cheers
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Those are the exact strings I use on all my other electrics. Great strings, but I want something a little less bright and smoother for this guitar. Metheny uses a different style of guitar. With a nice solid wood spruce top archtop like the 905ce, a big part of the recorded sound is micing the acoustic sound of the guitar and blending it with the pickup through an amp. With those XL D'Addarios, the mic'd tone is a bit too scratchy and bright. I am looking for a bit mellower or fuller, if that makes sense. I am sure with all these suggestions, I will find the right ones for the job. I'll start with the DR's tomorrow and take it from there. Originally Posted by Bach5G
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TI Bensons 12-53
Or
Benedetto 12-52
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Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I can see the TI Benson's are flat wounds?? Not sure about the Benedetto's? Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
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Great . . . . thanks. What's better about them?
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Originally Posted by Tim Z
I know the store well...
I'd say don't be so quick to take those Bronze strings back. I love them on my Lehmann carved archtop with floater. This guitar has the hand wound Kent Armstrong with double rows of screws. It work sgreat for me. Not sure if the stock Asian KA will work the same.
Further to this: spend a bit more if you can, take that guitar to Dylan at Old Town and swap the pickup for genuine Kent Armstrong floating PAF.
I also have an Eastman Pisano 880. The pickup switch was well worth it.
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Thanks for the info, but I am in no hurry right now to be changing pickups. I have only had the guitar since last Tuesday and really want to play it for awhile before I decide about any swaps. My main goal first is to find the right strings that work best for me. So far, this pickup sounds pretty good to me. I know Dylan very well and if I am going to do any swaps, I can easily do them myself.
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Sorry for running off the rails. For sure that's the right approach. (RE Dylan: thought you might be new to town. Took me a while to find him.)
Anyway, my main point was in reply to :
I like D'Addario 80/20 bronze on one of my artchtops. Maybe you should put them on. You might be surprised.I ended up buying a set of Elixer Polyweb 80/20 bronze acoustic strings 12-53. I haven't put them on yet. Will they work okay? They are advertised as "warmer" strings as compared to the Nanoweb 80/20 bronze.
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I was born in Victoria in 1952 and have lived here my whole life Originally Posted by ccroft
I have known Dylan for about 10 years now. He does good work, and I use him when I need to, but something as simple as a pickup swap or wiring, I can do myself.
I am going to take your advice and try those Elixer Polywebs on the guitar today. I wasn't sure why others said they wouldn't work well, but all I have to lose is $17. I may like them as well.
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Sorry about the OT post. When I read "TI" I think "flatwound." Originally Posted by starjasmine
I really liked D'Addario RWs for tone and playability on my LP Deluxe but they seemed to lose their tone quickly and I stopped using them. I found myself changing them after just a week or so of daily playing. But you might like them after they wear in a bit. I've been using Ernies on my solidbody electrics for years and am quite happy with them. I get at least two weeks out of a set of those.
I got some Chromes as a throw-in by the dealer when I purchased my archtop. They were too light for the archtop (they were .010) so I tried them on the LP and played them for about a week before I bailed because they were just too dull-sounding right from the start on this guitar, which already has a very bright tone acoustically.
HTH
SJ
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Tim, wether they work or not is largely dependant on the pickup, which is why I mentioned it. The problem is string to string balance. The core is steel, but the magnetic 'footprint' is smaller than nickel wound. So you need a pickup that can adjust for that to balance with the unwound. In my case it's a pickup with 12 pole pieces - double the adjustability.
You'll get a nicer acoustic sound out of your fine archtop, but how it does plugged in is hard to say. Please report back.
(I was born here too around the same time. I dropped out and moved to the States for 25 years to play music. When I moved back I didn't know anyone that was playing so it took me a while to find my way around. Still working on that in fact...)
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