Which strings on Guild A150 Savoy archtop for acoustic practice?

[BoogieKnight]

Hello,

I’ve recently bought a Guild A150 Savoy, lovely guitar, and the set up is also OK with the strings that they come with (flatwound D’addario 012-052 set I think). I love the acoustic sound for practice, not loud enough to disturb the neighbours, but full-bodied enough to get a real feel for making things sound right.

So I am able to play it, but it doesn’t play half as smooth as my other jazzbox: An old Chinese ES175 copy that has Pyramid Pure Nickel Round Wound 011-048 strings. But that one sounds very thin without amp (plywood/laminated so that makes sense)

So I’m thinking of changing the strings of the Guild to a set with less stringtension, and then getting it set-up professionally to finetune it. For acoustic solo practice so volume doen’t matter, tone does however. Amplified sound is not key.

I’m thinking of 3 options:
- Thomastik Jazz swing 012 - 050 flats (have those here)
- Thomastik or Pyramid 011 flats
- Pyramid Pure Nickel round wound 011-048 (also in the house)

Which would you choose and why?
Maybe it might make sense to change the strings on the ES175 to flat wound 011’s too?

Please help, I hate changing strings…they always prick me

[mr. beaumont]

I'd throw some Monels into the mix too.

[citizenk74]

Hello,

I’ve recently bought a Guild A150 Savoy, lovely guitar, and the set up is also OK with the strings that they come with (flatwound D’addario 012-052 set I think). I love the acoustic sound for practice, not loud enough to disturb the neighbours, but full-bodied enough to get a real feel for making things sound right.

So I am able to play it, but it doesn’t play half as smooth as my other jazzbox: An old Chinese ES175 copy that has Pyramid Pure Nickel Round Wound 011-048 strings. But that one sounds very thin without amp (plywood/laminated so that makes sense)

So I’m thinking of changing the strings of the Guild to a set with less stringtension, and then getting it set-up professionally to finetune it. For acoustic solo practice so volume doen’t matter, tone does however. Amplified sound is not key.

I’m thinking of 3 options:
- Thomastik Jazz swing 012 - 050 flats (have those here)
- Thomastik or Pyramid 011 flats
- Pyramid Pure Nickel round wound 011-048 (also in the house)

Which would you choose and why?
Maybe it might make sense to change the strings on the ES175 to flat wound 011’s too?

Please help, I hate changing strings…they always prick me

[Campos]

Newtone!
Newtone Archtop Double Wrap ARCH-1356 Electric Guitar Strings 13-56

[BoogieKnight]

Bit the bullit and stringed it up with TI Swing 12’s, not happy with the (acoustic) sound, much thinner than the D’Addario Chromes, no tone at all. Playability has improved a little bit.
Now leaning towards Chrome 11’s, locally available.

Monels might be an option, please make a case why they would fit my purpose (playability and sound).

Even thicker strings (Newtone) that seem to be unavailable online probably don’t solve the playability problem

I’ll keep you posted.

[Rob MacKillop]

I've tried all the above, but these I thought were the best, and not expensive either:

http://www.philippebosset.com/guitar...tique/?lang=en - choose the soft brass 80/20 option.

[BoogieKnight]

I've tried all the above, but these I thought were the best, and not expensive either:

Guitare acoustique - choose the soft brass 80/20 option.

Ok, no distribution in the Netherlands it seems, also they market their strings as “Western” strings, will it work with Jazz?
And playing with pickup might not be my priority but it still must sound right.

Difficult thing, comparing strings, takes about half an hour to change and you can never compare one to one (unless you have two identical guitars that is).

I’ve now restrung with the D’Addarios , sound Waaay better than the Tomastiks so the Tomastiks are out of the running for this application/guitar at any rate, might try them on the “ES175” some day.

[Rob MacKillop]

Depends what you mean by jazz.

This is what I use them for, unplugged of course:

[BoogieKnight]

Wow…. That’s beautiful!

I would classify that as Modern Classical myself.

I’m still figuring out the basics of jazz before I decide which direction to choose.
I’ve become interested in Jazz via Rhythm & Blues, Jump Blues and Western Swing on the one side and Souljazz on the other side, that’s a different sound (two different sounds actually).

I’ll definitely check out the Bosset strings for my flattop though, great for fingerpicking blues too I gather.

[John A.]

Bit the bullit and stringed it up with TI Swing 12’s, not happy with the (acoustic) sound, much thinner than the D’Addario Chromes, no tone at all. Playability has improved a little bit.
Now leaning towards Chrome 11’s, locally available.

Monels might be an option, please make a case why they would fit my purpose (playability and sound).

Even thicker strings (Newtone) that seem to be unavailable online probably don’t solve the playability problem

I’ll keep you posted.

Monels (or at least Martin Retros) are acoustic strings and are louder and brighter than any flatwounds, or any of the roundwounds that have been listed so far. The downside is that they give a lot of finger squeak noise, compared to flats, but that's true of all roundwounds. A 12 gauge set probably wouldn't meet your tension requirements (definitely more tension than a 12 gauge TI BeBop set) An 11 gauge set might.

[Chazmo]

I have a couple of Godin 5th Avenue acoustics with added floating pickups. One has the same DeArmond Rhythm Chief that is on your Guild. So, very much a similar setup.

Regular 80/20 bronze strings sound the best acoustically and still work okay with the RC pickup.

I currently have Martin Retro monel strings on it. They are pretty good acoustically and a bit more balanced amplified compared to the 80/20 bronze.

My other 5th Avenue has a Bartolini 5J pickup and I use D'Addario Pure Nickel strings. They work great plugged in and still sound decent acoustically, for just playing around the house.

I'd suggest you try those three string sets and see which works best for your Guild.

[rabbit]

BoogieKnight,

Congratualtions on your good taste in guitars!

I own one too.

I just need very soft strings & so can't offer useful info.

Good luck in your quest.

[mickmac]

My Savoy is very acoustically dead . Best with John Pearse nickel 11-50 . mickmac

[BoogieKnight]

My Savoy is very acoustically dead . Best with John Pearse nickel 11-50 . mickmac

Maybe you should consider other strings then Mine sounds rather beautiful with the Chrome 12’s it came with, playability was the issue.
I’ve adjusted the trussrod and action a bit, maybe I can learn to live with it.

[dkstott]

FWIW. I've been using Elixir nanoweb on my Godin Jazz archtop.

It sounds great with these strings acoustically and plugged in.

Just installed the Elixir nanoweb acoustic strings on my Godin 5th Avenue acoustic archtop.

[MikeJ]

I have tried a few on my 65 Gibson Johnny Smith.

Best Ive found to date for accustic and electric are Thomastik Jazz BeBop .014-.055

They are surprisingly easy to play and have a great unamplified tone.

[dkstott]

TI's are nice enough strings. But my humble ears couldn't hear enough difference to justify the high cost of the strings.

[mickmac]

The acoustic sound of my Savoy is fine but not very loud. I gig with this guitar ... THRU ALMOST ANY AMP IT SOUNDS AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN MY OTHER ARCHTOPS .tHE PICKUPS ARE FABULOUS. sWEET AND JUICY. tHEY ARE ORIGINAL TO THIS GUITAR GOOD LUCK. MICKMAC tHE PLAYABILITY IS PERFECT FOR ME .vERY SOFT AND FAST. MICKMAC