Good durable strings????

[Ridgemont]

First off, if I had a blues nickname like "Lighnin" Hopkins or "Big" Bill Broonzy, my name would be "Acid Hands." It seems no matter what I do, I can't get strings on my GAD 30 to last. The guitar is not naturally bright sounding by any means, and after a day or so, it sounds like every Nick Drake song. I like Nick Drakes stuff (a lot!), but sometimes I want that metallic twang from new strings to stay longer than a 48 hour period. However, it does sound great with light pick strumming (Bob Dylanesque). Right now, I have a set of DR PB lights and those dulled out within a day. Before, I used JP 80/20 lights with the same result. I have used Elixers, which I am not too keen on. Was thinking D'addarios coated strings (both PB and 80/20). I have been listening to a lot of Big Bill Broonzy's stuff lately and want to capture his guitar's sound (000-28), but haven't been able to with my GAD 30 (big surprise huh). I am going to get some new strings today and give the guitar a good cleaning and see what happens.

Any suggestions? Besides getting another guitar.

Ridgemont

 

[Treem]

I have so many D'Addarrio Points laying around the studio.....I think it's time to turn them into a D'addario stool or something or another. :lol: :lol: 8) Lately I've been changing strings a lot, different brands like D'Addarrio, John Pearse, Martin, Thomastik, Cleartones and etc...

And what I've learned is that 80/20s makes my D30 maple Back/Sides ROAR :shock: :lol: 8) as beautiful as it looks, you know. :lol: :lol: 8)

Strings are important too! :shock: :lol: 8) 8)

I reccommend this: http://www.cleartonestrings.com/
8) 8) 8)

Happy String Hunting!!
8) 8) :lol: 8)

 

[BluesDan]

I can't help with the durability issue, I break alot of strings regardless of brand.....I have a kinda "agressive style" of playing that dislikes strings and pickguards. :wink: As for the twang thang, I was thinking Drop D tuning but you mentioned wanting to sound like Big Bill, and he primarily used standard tuning so that may not help. One thing about Big Bill though was his style of playing incorporated a pretty heavy "thumb thump" on the top two strings on alot of his tunes. Maybe a brandy new set of PB's and good "thumping" will get you closer to where you want to go!

quick edit......BB also used a drop D tuning, not sure of its "proper name" but its"
DADF#AD (at least to my ears thats what it sounds like).

 

[Bobby McGee]

+1

Cleartones. Been my string of choice lately.

Bobby.

 

[adorshki]

Any suggestions? Besides getting another guitar.

Ridgemont

A: Do it on your D25.... :mrgreen:
B: Martin P/B's had more treble emphasis than the Guilds, that's what was on mine when I got it back from fret job and I noticed it right away. Only kept 'em on there for about an hour's worth of playing.
C: I have an educated suspicion that D'addario was Guild's supplier back in the day and that their strings are going to be the closest to what was orginally intended for the guitars, light P/B. My hands aren't too acidy but I usually play 'em to death, like 40-50 hours 'cause I hate changing strings. But yeah, they always take about two hours before I think they're in their prime which lasts about 20 hours. Sounds like you like that absolutely brand new tone.
D: 80/20's are supposed to have that brighter/more trebly tone.
E: See "A" above...
How do you anchor 'em on the machine post? A long time ago when I thought about it, I wondered if the habit of "putting a knot" in 'em at the post hole might affect the string's sound characteristics so I started using multiple winds on the post to anchor the string with absolutely nothing but the friction on the post. I believe it adds a tiny bit of extra tuning precision if nothing else.. the idea is to let the string have a little give in the windings instead of being locked up at the hole with no give. 'Course it takes about 5 minutes per string to do it that way....

 

[dreadnut]

Yeah - play the D-25 instead.

But seriously folks, standard D'Addario phosphor bronze mediums have always done it for me. Light strings have never lasted long for me, nor can I get the sound out of them that I like.

 

[RussD]

Acidhands!
Ridgemont, I have that exact issue with my sweaty hands destroying strings. I leave Elixir Poly's on most of my guitars, unless I just need strings for a night or two, then it's usually D'addario PB's.

 

[12stringer]

Hi Ridge!
I've been happy with D'addario EXP 80/20's...they last a long time and keep their brightness as well...I don't have the acid hand problem so I can't comment on how they stand up to the acid, but being coated would help I am sure.
Best of luck, 8)

 

[dane]

Hey Ridgemont,

I’m going to make this short. You may do well with “Contact Core Bright Bronze” strings. The claim to fame on these is that the cover winding stops short of the ball allowing the core wire to ride on the bridge. Very bright sound! And since it is the core wire that is on the bridge and not the winding, they may even last longer for you. Or if they do muddy up, that may be the sound you’re looking for, given how bright they are. Give them a shot; they’re about $8.50 a set. Oh, by the way, they’re made by ghs. Now there’s a blast from the past! :shock:

On my Guild I’m using D’Addario 80/20 Bronze lights and find them OK; but I think I still want to try a set of John Pearse.

Dane

 

[Bobby McGee]

Just stumbled upon a good site for comparing string sounds. Check this out:

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/soundroom.html

Has anyone ever tried Newtone Strings? They sound a bit louder and fuller than the rest on that site.
Might be just what the Maple needs.

Bobby.

 

[Ridgemont]

Hey everybody,

Acidhands here, and thanks for the responses. Cleartones was my first choice but wasn't able to find them. I guess I will have to stumble into the dreaded guitar center and have a look. I took Dane's advice and restrung with GHS Bright Bronze (couldn't find Contact Core Bright Bronze) last night. Sounded good and really tinny. The tinnyness died down after about an hour to a more mellow sound (a good thing). Tried again this morning with the same sound. Even though they are not coated, I am hoping the extra brightness form the strings will help out as my greasy sweaty hands begin to take over. Hey Bobby McGee, thanks for the website. It seems like a useful tool.

 

[dane]

Even though they are not coated, I am hoping the extra brightness form the strings will help out as my greasy sweaty hands begin to take over.

Thats what I was thinking too. Let me know how it works out for you. Just a word of warning, the contact core strings are even brighter :shock: , should you deside to try them.

Dane

 

[pickoid]

Just stumbled upon a good site for comparing string sounds. Check this out:

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/soundroom.html

Has anyone ever tried Newtone Strings? They sound a bit louder and fuller than the rest on that site.
Might be just what the Maple needs.

Bobby.

Interesting concept... but they are using an internal pickup (Taylor expression system) to make those recordings, so I don't think you can tell that much from them.

 

[Ridgemont]

Just stumbled upon a good site for comparing string sounds. Check this out:

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/soundroom.html

Has anyone ever tried Newtone Strings? They sound a bit louder and fuller than the rest on that site.
Might be just what the Maple needs.

Bobby.

Interesting concept... but they are using an internal pickup (Taylor expression system) to make those recordings, so I don't think you can tell that much from them.

You know, I went to the site and listened to the different strings, and I can't really tell a difference. Maybe it is my untrained ear, but they all sound the same. Even between 80/20 and PB. Would this be due to the pickup?

 

[Bill Ashton]

By my observation, D'Addario EXP 16's or 17's may be the ticket for you. I find that the phosphor bronze EXPs sound brighter on my gibson J-30 than the 80/20's. Martin SP's and Flex seem to retain their brightness, althought the SP's feel stiff to me.

Finally, if you like the bright/clangy/brassy/sound, then Red Strings may be just the ticket for you. I found on my GAD30PCE they made it sound like a mountain-dulcimer!...but across the room they sounded great...found the same on my friend's RTaylor. They feel good, I had to take them off as I just could not stand the zing any more...

 

[Scratch]

Guess my first choice is D'Addario Phosphor Bronze 80/20 followed closely by JP 80/20. I recently came upon DR Rare PBs and find them very nice. In fact, I like them so much I just ordered two 12er and two 6er sets from MF...

 

[Dr. Spivey]

My D40 came with a fresh set of Cleartones on it. I normally despise the sound of coated strings, but I've got to say the Cleartones weren't bad. I still prefer uncoated ( JP's or Martin SP) , but if I had to use coated strings the Cleartones would be my choice. They lasted a long time too.

 

[Paddlefoot]

I'm a fan of DR Rare PBs. They seem to last the longest for me. You might try dusting your hands with a little corn starch before playing, then wipe them on a towel every song or two. A friend of mine had a similar chemistry problem and would do that to keep from killing his strings in one nights playing. If nothing else try webstrings.com The strings are generic but they have all types and styles at very reasonable prices that get better with quantity. If you can find something you like the sound of you could at least afford to change them frequently.

 

[pickoid]

You know, I went to the site and listened to the different strings, and I can't really tell a difference. Maybe it is my untrained ear, but they all sound the same. Even between 80/20 and PB. Would this be due to the pickup?

Yes, I think so. All the sound clips I sampled just sounded like the Taylor ES pickup, with maybe really minor variations. The ES pickup is relatively insensitive to changes in strings, in my experience. For example, on my Taylor maple GS, I can hear a huge difference acoustically between 80/20 bronze (too much high end on this guitar) and phosphor bronze (much better), but they sound about the same plugged in. I would think the same would be true for any kind of pickup that didn't include a mic blender or something. A lot of work went into making that site. It's a great idea, and I've never run across another website like it. It's just really unfortunate that they didn't use a mic.

 

[JimbowF212]

I have always had very good fortune with Vinci and Guild PB. I have also used Martin SP+, they seem to last a long time on my Martins, Yeah I know this is a Guild forum but I am looking for the right Guild to go with the Martins and I'll be sure to let you ALL Know when I find it. BTW anyone got a nice Guild for sale???? And also BTW you can get the strings from First Quality Music Supply in Louisville, KY go to fqms.com, they have great strings and great prices. I of late have been using Darco PB that my dad had a big supply of when he died and my mom gave them to me.
Jim