JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Guitars and Guitarist Forum What guitar strings do you use? Acoustic and Electric

I have just put a pair of Martin Phosphor Bronze guitar strings on my Tanglewood acoustic and the difference in sound to the stings on it when I bought it is amazing.

For electrics I'm gonna try out some Roto Pinks to see how they compare with the EB Slinkies and Fender Super Bullets I usually use.

Lucian

I have a number of guitars to maintain and I like fresh strings so I look for inexpensive strings that sound good. I have settled on Darco strings, both acoustic and electric, which are made in the Martin factory in Mexico and are probably exactly the same as Martin strings. They are available in bulk very cheaply in the US. They sound excellent.

The long shiny ones.

Yes, I like phosphor bronzes on acoustic, light gauge...any brand is OK by me. On electrics I've always used light gauge whatevers, but I think I'm going to try mediums next...I'm a bit heavy handed on the electric.

I use Blue Steel strings on my electrics and Earth Woods on my acoustic.

depends. On acoustic, it's either the Elixir nanowebs or the Martin Marquis - depending on if I want bright and shimmery, or warm and full bodied.

Electrics, it's typically D'Addario .010's

For decades now, I have used strings for my acoustic, electric guitars, mandolin, and electric basses that have been given to me by various string companies. I hope to find some that give me strings for my upright bass.

I usually ask for Phosphor Bronze strings, I even have a set on my acoustic-electric bass.

Right now, the J-200 has phosphor bronze strings; they were recommended by a luthier I know. This is the third set I've had on the guitar in two years, and I have a set of spares.

The Strat has, I believe, Ernie Ball slinkies. What I did with that is go to Guitar Center, where all the hotshot punk guitarists hang out, and show the kid behind the accessories counter the Strat, and ask him if he had strings for it. "Yup." Could he put them on? "Yup." I'll probably do that again.

I wouldn't take the acoustic guitar there. I'm not sure there's anybody there who knows what one is. (I did hear rumors there was a guy who came in once a week for a couple hours, and they referred all acoustic guitar questions to him. There reportedly wasn't a lot of demand for his services...0

joe

Luckily the Guitar Center in Clearwater,Florida has an excellent Luthier.Steve.
Tampa also has an excellent Luthier.
His name is Charles.
Both of the guys have worked on my guitars and they really know what the are doing.

Thanks for replies, it certainly seems Phosphor bronze is the way to go for acoustic.

I'm hoping the roto strings will be right for me because they are British made and this Britisher wants a little piece of England on his guitar! It's mostly Mexican, Korean and Indonesian with a little bit US for good measure at the moment - nothing wrong with that, it would just be nice to have a bit of blightly on my guitars.

Thanks Lucian

Hey Lucian - here's a little tip for you. When you change the strings, keep the brand label in the case. When it's time to change strings (for me, it sometimes takes years), you can reference the label, decide if you liked them and know exactly which brand and gauge to get. If you didn't like them, you know exactly which set NOT to get.

I have always used Martin and Martin Marquis string, light gauge, as well as the brand made by McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica.

Emily

I just went through an experiment with a friend, where we tried several different makes and styles. I quit after a couple of sets but my friend is still trying it.

I can't badmouth any brand that we have tried, they all have a place or use. I also get to play my friends guitars a lot so I know the feel and sound that we are getting.

Some strings didn't last the week. Others went the distance. So far the top choices are D'Addario, both nickle wound electric and phosphor bronze acoustic; Darco bronze wound with silvered steel; Martins and Gibsons.

Elixir polyweb on 6 string acoustics and electrics
Ernie Ball on the basses

I use different strings on different instruments. Right now, I've got:

Martin Acoustic SP Phosphor Bronze on my Ovation Legend, .012's
Elixir original polywebs on my Martin D28, .012's
Fender original 150s pure nickel wound on my Tele, .009's
Pyramid Gold flat wounds on my Rick 330 12 string, .010's
Thomastik-Infeld JS111 flat wounds on my Gretsch 6196T, .011's
D'Addario EPBB170 phosphor bronze acoustic bass strings on my Hohner acoustic bass guitar, .045
Rotosound RS66LC on my Rick 4001 bass, .040

All are round wound except for the two noted above. I don't remember what is on my mandolin.

ive always used ernie ball on everything. I like hybrid slinkys on most of my electrics, and earth woods on my acoustics. Im looking to try something different one of these days though. also looking for a good flatwound, havnt found one I like yet

When getting back into playing some in 1994 I tried several strings. I did NOT like phospher bronze strings. I have acoustic guitars. I finally settled on Martin M1000 or M-170 extra light 80/20 bronze strings. Do you know the last time I looked they still made Black Diamond Strings?

I use Ernie Ball Power slinkys on my strats and teles, regular slinkys on my Gibsons, Martin Marquis on my acoustics, and D'Addario flat wounds on my archtops. The only time I've tried something different was when an artist I knew was being chased down for an endorsement by GHS, and he gave me twelve sets. After I busted those I went straight back to what had worked for me in the past... didn't see a need to change what had worked for years.

Back in my early days the only kinds of strings available were Ernie Balls and Black Diamonds. You could put together a set with the size of your choice. They were sold individually and in packs.

Ray;

www.blackdiamondstrings.com

Elixer Polyweb .012 on acoustic
Ernie Ball Regular Slinky .010 on electric

Thats something Jerry. Now if they still made 55 Fords, Chevys and Plymouths!

For any beginners: Strings also sound as the player plays them, and the thickness of pick used.

I just put Elixir Nanowebs on my Yamaha F-310, (Light: .012 to 0.53). I also went to a .60mm pick from a .50mm for the easier tunes, and will go back to the medium pick for the rockers. The Elixers on this Yamaha won't produce a thick warm tone I usually prefer, but it's perfect for being in a band, to have the higher range tones shine through to sit in the mix and not compete with the guitar and other keys, even with that rather inexpensive guitar.

I tend to play with a strong attack on the rockers, but also need to be soft and more full/rounded on the easier tunes where less strong low mids are going on with the band. So for the Elixirs on this Yamaha, I'll be using my fingers and not a pick, to get those deeper tones to dominate.

I have been playing guitar for over 40 yrs the best strings I have found and use are Martin's SP-plus strings , they resist the oil from your fingers and last virtually forever holding the tones

Martin SP's on my Martin DC-16
I've been looking for a good brand for my Washburn - I still have a few sets left of my favorites for it - Washburn used to make strings that had a particular wind to them. Low string noise and they wore forever. I bought a case in about '94 and still have a few sets left (wasn't playing much until 2004 though).

Electrics, I put GHS Boomers .010's on both my Tele and Paul.

I used to play with D'addario's on everything. Once tried the SIT strings, which they promise stay in tune even if you bend a lot, and I've found that to be true. Those are great.

Recently I've played with the Elixir's, and found those to be quite good. The coating makes them so smooth to play, and they last longer. I think I'll continue with the Elixirs for accoustic rhythm playing - I like the crisp sound they produce.

I've found them to be a little stale, though (I have very fragile fingers :-)), but will try out the Elixir's for electric as well.

Anyone know of good strings for classical/ concert guitars?

Used to use nothing but Martin 12's

Now I use Elixir polyweb 12's

Andy

99% of the time i play with d'addario's ej-17's on both of my martins. right now i have ernie ball's.

I use medium Elixer polyweb or nanoweb on a Taylor acoustic/electric dreadnought. I prefer the polyweb but lately have a hard time finding them in stock. The strings seem to last a lot longer.

I used to use elixers and saw that hardly made a difference. Now I use D'Addario

I use DR strings on all of my guitars. DR pure blues 10s on my G&L ASAT Tele's, Rare 11s & 12s on my Acoustic, & Low Riders on my bass.

www.kriskarr.com
www.myspace.com/kriskarr
www.myspace.com/8thnotemusic

Elixer Nanoweb 10s on all my electrics.
Elixer Nanoweb Polychrome 12s on all my acoustics.

I used to use Martin acoustics - I forget the exact type, I think Marquis, but they sounded wonderful. However, the convenience factor of the Nanowebs is hard to beat. Plus, I tried a couple packs of Martins recently and they rusted out on me in less than a week so I went back to Nanowebs. If I was doing serious recording with my acoustic I'd probably put non-coated strings, but for live playing and 99% of my playing at home they're just fine.

I restring my classical guitar so rarely I don't have much to compare, but I always use D'Addarios and they're fine.

I'm in the DR Strings camp for guitars as well but....
I have one acoustic guitar strung up with John Pearse strings and my bass has a set I purchased from Carvin. When It came time to replace strings on the 12 string I went with D'Adarrio because no one in town had DRs.

I've used those Elixir things (medium) last three times on the J-200, and they seem to do okay. Hold tone a long time, yada yada. On the Strat, I have Ernie Ball Slinkies. The punk kid in the Strat Department at Guitar Center recommended 'em. (I know nothing about electric guitars. i just have one.)

Joe

I like the D'Addario EJ18's on my Gibson jumbo
http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/sf_48-1836-1680/c_5/p_EJ18.aspx
Very heavy strings, but I tune a half step down, so the tension is near mediums tuned standard. It growls

On my Yamaha beater, I use Darco D2300's, tuned a half step down.
http://www.firstqualitymusic.com/c_48/p_D2300.aspx

I just recently got 2 electric guitars, both Squire Classic Vibe strats, and the shop gave me a set of DR Pure Blues to try. (pure nickel, round core) I asked for 11's because I like the double drop D tuning and needed some beefy E strings that wouldn't flop around. I put them on my 50's CV and I love them. I did have to steal 2 springs off my 60's trem though to handle the extra tension. The trem is stiffer, but the guitar stays in tune now. I went back today and got a set of them for the 60's CV. And 4 springs lol.

Players who bend a lot won't like 11's probably, but I'm one of those nut cases that will sacrifice playability for tone any day. Within reason of course. I won't max out a truss rod for the sake of using the heaviest strings possible. Actually, my 50's CV had too little relief with the 9's on it, and had some minor fret buzz. The 11's fixed all that. The relief is now about where I'd put it anyway. The 11's have been on it a week now, and the neck seems stable. Now I can go ahead and tweak the saddle height and intonation.

So yes, Phosphor Bronze on the acoustics and vintage style pure nickel/round core on the electrics.

btw, if anyone tries a set of the DR's, don't stretch the strings before you tune it up. Vintage round core strings don't need it.