What kind of strings do you use on your main guitar?

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Disregarding hyperbole, how long will these strings last before losing intonation/pitch? What is the quality you see based on your playing experience that makes them different?

I can't tell if the post about which you inquired is pro or con. I'm hoping you get a response that will tell us whether it's humorous hyperbole or crafty criticism. But FWIW, here's my experience. I've used Chromes for years. They're the modern incarnation of the Guild EA610s I used from the mid-'60s until they stopped making them - excellent strings with the "right" sound for me, consistent, and fairly priced. I thought about trying TIs many times after reading laudatory reviews and reports, but I balked at the price.

One day (Feb 10, 2021 to be exact) I woke up with a desire to try them and ordered a set of TI JS112 Jazz Swings to put on my Ibanez AF207 (I use 0.074 or 0.080 John Pearse strings in the 7th slot on all my guitars). I put them on, tuned up, and discovered that they really do sound "better" to me (at least on the 207) than Chromes. The guitar was a bit more woody and deep, and I thought the highs were a bit more mellow. It's plywood, so I didn't expect and didn't get a transformation - no one will ever confuse it with my Eastman 810 CE7. But it sounded a lot better than my 175 ever did with Guilds or Chromes on it, even allowing for the extra 1" of body width. As the scale length is the same and the body's shallower than the 175, I think it's a fair comparison.

The first time I took it to the club, both the band and the audience spontaneously commented on how good it sounded through the DVMark Jazz 12 - a few of those who'd heard us before asked if I had a new guitar. The TIs also felt better in a few ways - a bit smoother to direct touch and easier to play on. But more important to me, they seemed to require less attention to the mechanics of playing. This guitar is set up with very low action, and I realized that with the TIs I was thinking only about what I was playing and not at all about how. I keep my touch very light, which gives me a lot of mechanical "headroom" for digging in. The TIs seemed more responsive to this than the Chromes.

As for longevity, the same set is still on the same guitar and I've been playing it regularly both in daily practice and at our Thursday jazz shows since I put on the TIs 4 months ago. They've been functionally perfect - intonation, stability, sound and feel have all held up quite well, and I definitely think they're worth the cost on this guitar. We'll see how long they hold up. Interestingly, the unwound strings appear to be brass plated, so I haven't replaced them yet because I want to see how they age. I don't do much bending on this guitar, so I don't expect much breakage and am curious as to how long they'll hold up for sound and intonation. Other than changing the unwound strings every 2 to 3 weeks on any solid body guitar I play more than once a week or if it's been unplayed for weeks and I need it for a specific gig, I don't generally change a full set for several weeks to months, depending on the guitar and how much play it's getting.

I only take the Eastman out for special gigs, so it's played only at home for an hour or so a few days a week. But I do plan to try TIs on it when I get in the mood to change its strings. I hope this helps you.

[Marinero]

Thanks nevershouldhavesoldit for your thoughtful response and time. When we speak about strings its always in relation to sound/tone and we're all looking for the Holy Grail of sound. For example, I played Savarez Carbon Trebles and Regulars on my CG's for over 10 years. And, since I perform on exclusively Cedar-topped guitars which have a darker component to their sound, I thought the Carbons would give me a wider tonal palette. One day I sat down and they didn't have what I wanted in sound. I switched to D'Addario Pro Art HT which in my opinion are not as bright as Savarez strings, and haven't changed brands in 11 years. Did I change or the strings? Currently, I'm playing D'Addario Pure Nickel strings for about 1 1/2 years on my ES125TC/TDC and am not displeased with the sound but want to remain open-minded since price is not a factor for me. I play mostly without a pick so "attack" is a major factor in your sound irrespective of string choice.
Thanks again for your detailed response. Hopefully others will provide their personal experiences.
Play live . . . Marinero

[citizenk74]

I'm using Elixir on all 4 guitars. I've experimented a lot with uncoated strings and flatwounds, but Elixirs felt perfect from the start so it pretty much closed the topic for me. 11s on my Teles, 10s on my Strat, and 12s on my acoustic.

[citizenk74]

I use Chromes (13-56) on the majority of my guitars due to price and availability. My nicer axes I use Pyramids on, also 13-56.

[citizenk74]

For my archtop I recently switched from bronze round-wound 13-53 to La Bella's Jazz Tapes 14-67. I had tried the 12-56 Tapes but they drove me crazy intonation-wise. Moderate fretting pressure made the notes go sharp. Too much elasticity. I don't have that problem on the 14-67 set, tho. They're so big (only semi-fitting into the nut slots) that the strings felt a little too close together, but I've adapted to that. I really enjoy the 14-67. The unique sound is full and thick, and on the darker side.

I didn't know until this thread that bronze flat-wounds existed. Now I want to try those!

[citizenk74]

Hi folks. Another Thomastik Swing Flatwounder here.
I use them on my beloved Aria PE180. A buy a 12-50 set, and I swap the 12 out for a single 13.
I've tried Thomastik rounds, but found them a bit too zingy, and I don't like the plain G in that set. I remember not liking D'addario flats quite as much as the Thomastik flats.

[Christian Miller]

Hi, C,
Disregarding hyperbole, how long will these strings last before losing intonation/pitch? What is the quality you see based on your playing experience that makes them different?
Play live . . . Marinero

I think I could get a year out of them. I would need to reset intonation. This last set I’ve been playing since October. I decided to change the strings yesterday just because really. They were getting a little too thunky maybe (it’s my failing not the strings). Also intonation was going a little on the top E so I could have just changed that. On a guitar with a more adjustable bridge I think it would have been ok. I have an old school wooden bridge.

[Fat Fingers]

Related question, when you change string style and/or size do you have to cut a new nut or get a new setup? I'm thinking of putting flatwounds on my ES-275, but will I have to have major work to go from the factory .09 gibson stock rounds to bigger flats?

I'm wondering if i DO have to get a new nut, if it would be foolish to remove the original parts like that? Or is it sort of like tires on a classic cars, and designed to be replaced often?

[entresz]

Related question, when you change string style and/or size do you have to cut a new nut or get a new setup? I'm thinking of putting flatwounds on my ES-275, but will I have to have major word to go from the factory .09 gibson stock rounds to bigger flats?

I'm wondering if i DO have to get a new nut, if it would be foolish to remove the original parts like that? Or is it sort of like tires on a classic cars, and designed to be replaced often?

You wouldn't need a new nut, it would be a matter of widening the slots slightly.
A while back I had a new Gibson (L6-S reissue). I put 12-50 Thomastik flats and didn't need to widen the nut slots. They were wide enough.

[teeps]

... Chromes have been the brightest to me, particularly on the newer side. I actually stayed away from them for a long time because of that but now I like a brighter sound, possibly because of my hearing getting worse.

This makes sense. The hearing reduction is most prominent for higher frequency ranges. Chromes are quite bright but with my hearing they are more clangy or metallic sounding. I use them but roll the tone back a bit to soften the sound. As with bass strings I prefer the sound of the strings after some time ... a month or so. My Ibanez AG 75 came with heavy bottom rounds which arent bad sounding but when I need the more crispy sound I reach for my flat top acoustic.

I also tried chromes on my telecaster with some success but reverted to round wounds as this is mainly used for pop/rock.

Here is a link to the hearing test I have used: Online Hearing Test & Audiogram Printout

[Marinero]

Related question, when you change string style and/or size do you have to cut a new nut or get a new setup? I'm thinking of putting flatwounds on my ES-275, but will I have to have major word to go from the factory .09 gibson stock rounds to bigger flats?

I'm wondering if i DO have to get a new nut, if it would be foolish to remove the original parts like that? Or is it sort of like tires on a classic cars, and designed to be replaced often?

Hi, F,
When I restrung my Gibson ES125TC after a 40 year sleep, I had to widen the nut slots from my old R@B days using lighter strings to accommodate the 12's/13's I was intending to use. I had it cut for 13's but since have switched to 12's. No problem. In any case, nuts are not expensive and can be easily resourced from many materials. They last a long time if they're bone. I hope this helps you.

Play live . . . Marinero


P.S. And, if you're going to replace the old nut, save it for any future buyer that might want the original if you ever sell the instrument. M

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I put my first set of Stringjoy 10-52 RW pure nickels on my 7 string Tele clone yesterday (with a 70 John Pearce RW in the 7th slot). I use it for 90+% of gigs, which are about equally split between jazz and blues - the first with these strings is a blues brunch this afternoon.

The Stringjoys feel great - they’re pretty smooth for RWs, with surprisingly little finger noise. And they sound even better than they feel. This guitar has a mahogany body and neck (neck-through) with maple cap, 25.5” scale, 2.1” nut, and a pair of ‘buckers (hotter PAF + Bare Knuckles). With Chromes on it, the sound was warm, dark & old school, and only a little woody, like a decent laminated small body archtop through the neck pup with tone pot at about 1 o’clock, and bright / thin rockish from the bridge pup (a sound I’d never need). With both pups on, it was a little woodier and a bit brighter. No amount of knob twisting could get close to a good woody tone for chunky chord comping.

With the Stringjoys, it’s much more alive - there’s still a decent classic jazz tone from the neck pup with tone rolled further down, but it sounds more like a hollow guitar at all settings. With pup selector in the middle and tone rolled back a bit, it’s really fine for straight ahead chunky comping. The vocalist in our blues band loves jump blues, so we pretend we’re Joe Williams and Freddie Green a lot. I think this guitar with Stringjoys will be the first solid body I’ve had that does a convincing job. The bridge pup is much too shrill for my taste and style on its own, so I may swap it for something more to my liking. But I rarely use a bridge pup on any guitar, and this one seems to add just the right acoustic sparkle to comping when used with the neck pup - so I’ll probably leave it alone.

EDIT: just got home from the gig. The Stringjoys were a hit! Just enough wood for rhythm with selector mid and tone rolled back, just enough bright warmth for smooth, bluesy solos with selector mid and tone up, and just enough thunk for decent jazz tones on neck pup with tone rolled back. They feel great too. Let’s see how long they last.

[SFRanger]

I've played electric and acoustic guitars since 1962. It's all personal I know; however I've settled on Flatwound 12-52 for my Electric Archtop (Eastman); 12-52 Rollerwound on my Tele; and, 10-46 Roundwound for my Strat. 000-18 Martin uses Phosphor-Bronze 12s (haven't settled on a brand), and my Canin Negra, Alvarez Carbon Nylons. I experiment from time to time with brands. For now the Eastman and Tele uses La Bella Pure Nickel, and the Strat uses Fender Bullets Pures as well.

Just try flats, rounds and roller rounds. See what you like in feel and in their sound the most!

Robert Andres

[rpjazzguitar]

I'm not sensitive to brand. I use round wound. D'Addarios, sometimes Fender. I've tried TI's but I couldn't hear what others report.

On my Comins GCS-1 I found that the stock set 11 to 46 (or so) was too stiff for my hands. I tried 10's but I found the high E sound to be thin so, I went with an 11. For the rest, I like 13, 16 24 32 42. I buy 9-42 sets and separate 13s. Throw away the 09. The guitar has a stop tailpiece which gives a harder feel than a trapeze (has to do with the string stretching between bridge and tailpiece). It might be that I could use heavier strings with a trapeze.

I've been struggling a bit with tuning stability with this guitar, worst on the low E, which probably requires some work on the nut. Or maybe, the strings are just too light.

[itsmyname]

I got round 10-46 on my strato.

I had round 12-52 d'addario on my archtop, I like those a lot, but after playing every day several hours since I got my archtop, the d'addarios were not dead at all but my curiosity was too strong, I changed for the thomastick flat 12-50, and I like a lot those too, so the only thing I can say is that I like both type of strings on my archtop and will stay with round on the strato cause I prefer those to play blues and rock things on the strato (bend is easier on the strato).

[mmukav]

I’m a D’Addario fan, used them exclusively for many years. Just have had good luck with them, consistent, reliable, not too expensive.

On my Ibanez AF95FM I use 12 Chromes. Sometimes 11s.
On the Gretsch G5420T I fluctuate between 11 Chromes or Rounds.
On the Tele and Strat I use 10 nickel wound.
On the acoustics it’s phosphor-bronze 12s.

I never use coated strings. I’m with the ‘wet blanket over the strings’ crowd. Never liked them. I have the dreaded ‘toxic finger’
problem but since I started wiping my strings down with Dunlop string cleaner fairly often my strings now last much longer than they used to.

[Jabberwocky]

Pyramid Pure Nickel Wound Classics HAND POLISHED Round Core Electric Guitar Strings P450 Light 9-42

I tried the Pyramid Handpolished Classic Nickels 12-54 and they are all I use these days. Best bang for the buck. I don't know why they're not too popular.

[Christian Miller]

I like to use the stretched intestines of jazz critics

[Christian Miller]

They don’t work very well with magnetic pickups tho

[guavajelly]

I just switched from .012 flatwounds to .011 roundwounds on my ES-330. Feels like playing a piano ...
I like the flatwounds for their short percussive, woody tone but want/need a bit more versatility I hope to achieve with the roundwounds. Don't know if they'll last though. I'll see after the next gig.

[guavajelly]

I like to use the stretched intestines of jazz critics

Did they hurt you?

[JohanAbrandt]

They don’t work very well with magnetic pickups tho

They do if you plate them in silver

[garybaldy]

I guess now that I have at last got myself a 175 that it's my main guitar!
It came with La Bella flatwound 12s. Never tried them before but they're very good - or perhaps it's just the guitar!

[Woody Sound]

There a few guitars that are my "main guitar," all with different strings. But for jazz archtop, Thomastic GB 12 Rounds.

[garybaldy]

Apart from a faulty 1st string which broke whilst restringing, I find Martin Monel 12s the perfect strings for my Loar 700. (I managed to twist the broken string around the ball end and it seems to be holding out!).