The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    K- after watching Tim playing the Manzer I decided to jump from TI Benson flatwounds to some roundwounds looking for some of that lovely roundwound string tone I think I could hear. To be honest I have been finding my usual TI Bensons a bit dark and thumpy ( is that a word?) lately.
    Tried the D'addario EJ21 set on my 51' Gibson Super 300 and while great sounding they were just a little too lively for me . I had a set of DR Rare Phos Bronze 13-56 in the drawer which are a little darker and more mellow sounding so maybe halfway between TI Benson's and EJ21's . All good so far.

    I am a Thumb player for single notes and Thumb+ fingers for chords and have a feeling I have been digging hard into the Benson's lately trying to get a fuller more dynamic tone . So on trying the roundwounds I started out hitting them way too hard . Backing off a bit and I am getting a nice rich tone.

    Big Question !!!!- how do you stop the string noise/squeaking - now I remember why I went to flatwounds a while back))) Is there a technique ? I mean sliding into chords just sounds odd . I'm sure it is related to having played flatwounds for a while and probably being lazy and just gliding my fingers silently across the strings between chords. I don't hear much if any string noise when Tim was playing the Manzer - it sounded very clean- any insights ?

    Will

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    [Come to the Dark Side!] I like Stringjoy's stuff.

    Aren't the phos strings primarily for acoustic? I'd try an electric round wound (nickel, etc.); I don't think you'll get too much unwanted noise ..

  4. #3

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    Elixir Nanowebs

  5. #4

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    The EJ21's I tried first are Nickel wound and the finger on string noise was very much evident with those as well - I felt they were also too bright for my guitar. I feel like it is maybe a technique or lack of technique thing on my part. Something like lifting my fingers off the strings at an angle backward or forward rather than straight off the fingerboard at 90 degrees - so I think I am kinda scuffing the strings all the time. It is most apparent and distracting with chords/multiple note combinations .

    Will

  6. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter C
    Elixir Nanowebs
    Yes!

  7. #6

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    I bet if you put some strings on your guitar, they'll sound good.

  8. #7

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    Nose grease up those strings and play em hard. Or roll a candle over em before recording.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by WillMbCdn5
    Big Question !!!!- how do you stop the string noise/squeaking - now I remember why I went to flatwounds a while back))) Is there a technique ? I mean sliding into chords just sounds odd . I'm sure it is related to having played flatwounds for a while and probably being lazy and just gliding my fingers silently across the strings between chords. I don't hear much if any string noise when Tim was playing the Manzer - it sounded very clean- any insights ?

    Will
    TI Bebops are round-wound but more finely wrapped than most and give little string noise. I use these on some guitars, and GHS half-rounds on others, again with little or no string noise.

  10. #9

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    My Fa- 71 Aria Jazz box sports Flats. My Holdsworth Fatboy has.010 roundwounds & the tele in 12 rounds. I go through phases and switch my guitars out routinely. Right now the Jazz box with the flat chromes is sounding pretty darn good.

  11. #10

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    I just lift my fingers a little as I change positions. I use EJ21s, and lately just the nickel-plated steel strings, and I don't get enough string noise to bother me. I don't understand the attraction of flat-wound strings. I like the sound of round-wounds much, much better.

  12. #11

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    ^^^
    this.

    I've never been bothered by string noise, I don't do it much because I've compensated like sgosnell and couldn't agree more w/his post. that little lift is enough to mute the noise.
    I just tried a set of pure nickel EPN22 and bought a box of EJ22's from Craigslist for cheap, I like them but wish they came 13-52, can't seem to find that gauge in nickel rounds anymore.

  13. #12

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    Newtone Archtop strings are double round wound for the best of both worlds. Round-wound clarity, but with less screech from the fingers.

    Roundwound Strings for Jazz-nkcceq4lawr2fqm6nbqw-jpg

  14. #13

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    String-noise is only an issue when I'm playing solo, with minimal amplification - so almost never. It doesn't bother me at home and the guitars that I use
    most often for solo gigs are strung with D'Daddario Halfrounds. These have a little more definition and sustain than flats and are a good compromise, easy on the fingers with almost no squeeks, neither from the pick nor the lefthand fingers.
    When I'm after the Kenny-Burrell-type sound (or early Benson, Russell Malone, etc) my Super400 with TI flats hits that nail 100%. So I like to have different guitars set up for specific situations and tonal needs. I only wish this indulgence would be less costly ...

  15. #14
    When I went from flats to rounds I was really shocked by the string noise. I was wondering if I could tame the string noise by buying the "right" set of rounds and while there are some differences the main problem was my technique which became extreme rusty because of long flatwound usage. Flats are very forgiving in that regard. You just need some time to adapt.

  16. #15

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    Elixir Nanowebs !! A real Game changer for me.

  17. #16

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    +1 on Elixir Nanoweb

  18. #17

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    I think the TI Bebops sound great on an acoustic-electric guitar. L5-CES? L5C w/floater? Johnny Smith? etc.? Try the Bebops.

  19. #18

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    Thanks for all advice - I will definitely have to try the Bebops they sound like an interesting solution , but for now I think I will first try and finesse my technique a bit and see if I can achieve something I like with full on roundwounds , it can't hurt to learn to play with a quieter left hand anyway.

    Will

  20. #19

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    On semis and solidbodies, I've always preferred roundwounds. On archtops, I've gone back and forth. I play my current archtop (Godin Kinpin) unplugged a lot, so the acoustic sound matters to me. When I got it, it had flats (not sure what kind, except that I don't think they were Chromes) that sounded pretty dead to me, so I switched to rounds, and experimented a bit (regular nickel-plated electric roundwounds, Martin monels, TI Bebops, GHS "rollerwounds" nickel strings, this far). They're all pretty squeaky -- the Martin monels are probably the squeakiest, but the I did not find either TI's or the GHS's (despite what others say they experienced) to be a appreciably better. Hitting them with a dose of Fast Fret helps a little, temporarily, but not completely or for long. So I decided to try D'Addario Chromes. I had used on my previous archtop, but that was several years ago and I'd forgotten what they were like. I'm actually liking them a lot. Acoustically, they're really not bad -- much less different from rounds than I expected --- and they don't squeak at all. Plugged in, they're definitely a darker tone, and in one environment I was having some feedback issues that I wasn't having with rounds, so I'm still figuring that one out. But if I do, it seems like once again, reliable, high quality and cheap D'Addario comes through again. As Bart Simpson might say, good old rock ...

    John

  21. #20

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    Wow ! I ordered two sets of TI Bebop strings 12-50 gauge. A couple of hours later I discover they have an unwound G strings wtf? It is not till the 13-53 set they include a wound G. grrrrrrrrrrrr yes I have a wood saddle set up for a wound G.

    Will

  22. #21

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    Depends on the guitar I think. Good to try out different things....

  23. #22

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    Play the BeBop .013s. they have the string tension of D'Addario .012s.

  24. #23

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    FYI, you can no longer get Newtone Archtop strings in the US. I learned this because they recently became my preferred string for electric archtops and I haven't been able to find them in a while. Wonderful strings and they feel great. TI Bebop are the next closest in feel but they don't sound as good and the gauges are a little weird. I'm hooked on the feel of double wound strings. If anyone knows of others, please let me know.

  25. #24

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    Try GHS Brite Flats. Also, lift the fingertips from the strings before shifting positions. Get as close to perpendicular as possible. Good luck!

  26. #25

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    I've always played rounds, on everything. Good enough for Charlie Christian, good enough for me.