Stupid But I have to ask about strings

[tgoss]

You won't believe how many people come into my store complaining about the very same thing HolLoWskull. This does seem to be an on going problem..anyone out there from Elixir listening?

[SirDouglas]

I haveto agree with wyldbil on this one... use what you want to... try a few brands out... spend the money... leave em on for a week then try soemthign new.... its like sex.... experiment....

personally i use ERNIE BALL 8-38... always have always will...( used to live near the factory in San Luis Obispo Ca.) cant stand them thick ass strings.... people alwasy go .. i break them to easily... no jackass you jsut try to hard to impress so you thrash and pick to damn hard..... its one thing to know all those scales you try to play at 100 miles per hour you play... its another thing to put feeling behind so actual music...

Sir Douglas

Randy

[frankb]

Hmmm, I concur with others try some diff. brands to see what works for you. I used to use GHS 10's and found them to be consistent. I ran into some bad DR's which were my go to brand for 5 years but had some string breakage problems w/ them on my PRS and Hamer fm.

I've been using Snake oils for a while now and like them over the other listed brands. Initially had a problem w/ the high e but Dean has long since taken care of that. I like the fact that SOB's settle in tune fast and hold their tuning/intonation. I find the tone to be consistent even after multiple gigs/practices etc. with the other brands I had to change sets each gig which was a pain during a 2 or 3 gig week so the extra initial cost is offset by the reduced time spent stringing guitars and buying extra sets of strings. Of course, ymmv.

Good luck with your search.

[billhart22]

I use Elixir 10's on my other guitar and they sound pretty darn good, and I have NEVER had a problem with them....they are stand-up strings......now that I have a STD I want that Mohogany to do its job and the strings that will do their job, so JohnnyB, I will give the Tomastik-Infeld Power-Brights a shot as I want lots of sustain.....what the heck...I may just love them.

Do you recommend a thicker guage with the mohogany or a lesser guage such as a 9 for a STD?? I want to keep the tone, but I want brilliance and sustain also...

I know that I am carrying on about strings, but this is the place to learn.

Thanks,

Bill

[billhart22]

FrankB -

I have some PRS strings laying next to my computer here....I have some 9's and 9.5's..I bought them when I was in love with PRS guitars and have never used them...how do you like them??

Thanks,

Bill

[billhart22]

Looks like I am going string shopping tomorrow... I will get the B52's also.......probably spending a couple of weeks changing strings....thank God for a string winder...or I would probably get carpal tunnel syndrome! LOL

Bill

[holLoWskull]

I use Elixir 10's on my other guitar and they sound pretty darn good, and I have NEVER had a problem with them....they are stand-up strings......

I have no problems with their electric guitar strings, as I use them myself...good tone but I think that there are better strings out there when you factor tone vs. cost into the equation (I just don't like changing strings on all my guitars...so Elixer's do retain a pretty constistent tone from new to after a few gigs with them on). My problem is with the acoustic Elixer's...I've not had a good experience with them at all! I know that if I had a Hamer Duotone strung with acoustic strings, I would stay away from Elixer's brand unless I wanted to be changing a broken wound string in the middle of a song (you could reduce this chance of course if you put fresh Elixer acoustic stings on before every gig..but isn't that defeating the point of buying a $13 set of Elixer's in the first place?). Again though, no problems with the electric guitar set after using the brand for over a year.

[billhart22]

Everybody else in here says that the Elixir acoustic strings are a piece of crap also..........there must be something to it! LOL!

[JohnnyB]

now that I have a STD I want that Mohogany to do its job and the strings that will do their job, so JohnnyB, I will give the Tomastik-Infeld Power-Brights a shot as I want lots of sustain.....what the heck...I may just love them.

Do you recommend a thicker guage with the mohogany or a lesser guage such as a 9 for a STD??  I want to keep the tone, but I want brilliance and sustain also...

I know that I am carrying on about strings, but this is the place to learn.

Thanks,

Bill

Based on my experience with the Hamer Anniversary, I think the T-I Power-Brites will give a good balance of clarity, smoothness, sustain, etc., with more clarity than nickel and a smoother top end than stainless.

I'd go with 10-46's, at least to start. They've always sounded really good on the Anniversary, and I suspect the same would go for the Standard with that massive plank of mahogany.

And don't worry about going on about strings. Some strings help a great guitar reach its potential, and some kep it from getting there.

What I used to do with a new guitar is buy maybe 5 or more sets of strings that varied by brand, composition, and build technique, as candidates for that guitar -- like Tomastiks, Elixirs, Ernie Ball Classics, D'Addario Chromes, etc. Then I would restring and play the guitar every day until I went through the selection range. By the end of the week I had a pretty good idea which strings did what -- or took away what -- from the guitar's tone, playability, tuning stability, etc.

I figure over the life of the guitar, it saved money and time, because in the first week I found whatever I was looking for, rather than trying a new string now 'n' then over a period of years.

[bobsessed]

The only ones I've tried that were absolute Doo-Doo: Rotosound, and those that are gold-plated (cant think of the name). I used Dean Markley for 10 years, Ernie Ball for probably 15 years, And now Everly. I change my strings often, but NEVER actually clean them. You can believe this or not.....I've played guitar 39 years and never broke a string ! Am I doing something wrong? -Bob-

[JohnnyB]

thank God for a string winder...or I would probably get carpal tunnel syndrome! LOL

I hope you have something like one of these:

They are soooo worth the extra money.

Dunlop Turbo winder, illustrated above. I have one and I'll never use a cheap winder again.

Planet Waves Pro Winder/Cutter

Planet Waves Ergonomic

[frankb]

FrankB -

I have some PRS strings laying next to my computer here....I have some 9's and 9.5's..I bought them when I was in love with PRS guitars and have never used them...how do you like them??

Thanks,

Bill

Sorry for the delay in responding. Long day after weekend gigs. Anyhoo...

I tried the PRS strings but they really didn't stand out for me. They weren't bad but they weren't that different from anything else. The GHS were readily available and inexpensive which was important as I was using 2-3 sets a week depending on my gig schedule.

[billhart22]

I went and got some DR's 10 guage and D'Addario 10 Guage today...haven't putthem on yet, just haven't had time........I tried to buy some Snake Oil's and Tomastik-Infeld Power Brights, but the guy at the store looked at me like I was crazy, LOL, he didn't even know what I was asking for.....I told him - guitar strings man! He goes Uh, Uh, Uh......and I said to not worry about it, I would get them elsewhere.....see what happens when you shop at botiques??

So, I will pick some up off of the net this week and try them also....I appreciate all of your guys input!

That Dunlop Turbo Winder!! Ya, Way better than anything I have. I will order one of those also. Thanks JohnnyB!!

I am NOT, I repeat, NOT putting my 18V DeWalt drill driver on that thing. LOL!! I will use the hand crank option. I use my cordless for driving 3" Deck Screws and would probably end up ripping a tuner off, especially if I was drinking beer before I started.

Bill

[tombo]

I've had a set of Elixir acoustics (light) on my acoustic for 11 months. Just changed the strings today to D'Addario Phosphor Bronze. I like both sets. The Elixirs last and last and I've had no string breaks with them. The D'Addario's sound more "steely" and bright, but sometimes that's good. I'll use both.

Electrics

Good strings - D'Addario, Pyramid, Everly, DR, GHS, Elixir (ymmv)

Bad strings - EB Slinkys (die in 30 minutes), Fender (die in 20 minutes)

[pesocaster]

99% of the time D'Addario 11's

Used DR's for a while.. but kept getting "bad" batches

Ernie Balls are fine in a pinch

I kill GHS strings in about an hour .... dead dead dead....

I do like stainless strings too... especially for summer gigs when I'm sweating more than normal... they stay brighter longer... but they do kill frets...

[billhart22]

Pesocaster, by looking at your Avatar, I will take your word for it! You look like a man that knows that he is talking about!

I must be some kind of sissy.......I couldn't kill a set of strings in a week!

Hard Hearted Bill and couple of others said that DR's rock! And I really respect him and the others. They say that DR's hold up well. I am not a gig musician, so I don't know what I am talking about...but maybe some day before I die.....mayber another 10-20 years, I will get it down.

Great input for everybody.....maybe next week we should have a thread on picks!

Bill

[pesocaster]

Pesocaster, by looking at your Avatar, I will take your word for it! You look like a man that knows that he is talking about!

I must be some kind of sissy.......I couldn't kill a set of strings in a week!

Bill

ha ha ha ha ... the avatar is a tribute to Warren Zevon... well that and I thought it looked cool.. ha ha ha ha

I think my body chemistry (ph maybe) and GHS's alloy blend do not agree... I'm not a big sweater, and have no problems with most string makers (and I do wipe down the strings when I'm done playing)... just something about GHS...

Good luck in your search...