Anyone using Cleartone strings

[taabru45]

There are some very impressive comments here, and from some real pros too....
http://www.cleartonestrings.com/real_su ... tories.asp
http://www.cleartonestrings.com/press.asp
I find it interesting too that one guy said his new Larrivee came with them on...
Lots of comments here, mostly about their expense though. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/arc ... 72476.html Steffan

 

[twocorgis]

There are some very impressive comments here, and from some real pros too....
http://www.cleartonestrings.com/real_su ... tories.asp
http://www.cleartonestrings.com/press.asp
I find it interesting too that one guy said his new Larrivee came with them on...
Lots of comments here, mostly about their expense though. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/arc ... 72476.html Steffan

I caught a buy one get one free sale on them at Strings and Beyond, and put a set on both of the 12ers, largely because of the hassle restringing them. So far I really like them, and plan to try a set of Bluegrass gauge on the D50 next up. So far, so good.

 

[taabru45]

Times change, eh Sandy..in the wild west days, 'string 'em up' had a completely different meaning..... :lol: :lol:
I do hope the price becomes more in line with others....Still might try them one of these days, keep up informed... :wink: Steffan

 

[fab467]

Times change, eh Sandy..in the wild west days, 'string 'em up' had a completely different meaning..... :lol: :lol:

Reminds me of the old 3 Stooges line uttered by Curly as he cavorted on the dance floor:
"My daddy died dancing...at the end of a rope..." :lol:

 

[fearless]

Uniformly good testimonials on the website - a bit more mixed at Musician's Friend customer reviews.
$24 a set here in Australia and I can buy d'Addarios for about $6 per set online in bulk. So they'd have to come down in price for it to be worth it, even if they last 4 times as long.
They sound interesting though and 1 micron is very thin. I'm very tempted to try a set.
No reason they won't slowly come down over time, provided sales volume keeps growing.

 

[cjd-player]

A couple of years ago, I needed a set of strings on a Saturday for the next morning at church. I went to Guitar Center, but at the time they had stopped carrying Elxirs. So the sales guy suggested I try Cleartones.
I tried them but did not like them as well as Elixirs because they do not reduce string squeak like Elixirs do.

 

[eastcoastbuzz]

I tried them but did not like them as well as Elixirs because they do not reduce string squeak like Elixirs do.

I tried them and agree about the string squeak. Also, they did not last as long as Elixirs.

 

[Dr. Spivey]

My D40 came with a fresh set of Cleartones. I'm not a fan of coated strings, but I liked them better than any other I've tried. A couple months later, I tried a second set. Tone wise, I liked them better than any other coated string. Martin has a new series of strings using Cleartone coatings, I may give them a go next time I order strings. I always preferred Martins until I switched to JP's.

 

[Bill Ashton]

Several weeks ago our favorite Central Massachusetts music store had a (gasp!) Martin clinic and a free giveaway of SP+ strings, which are supposedly made with the "Cleartone Technology." ...one set per guitar per owner, installed in store by a Martin tech...

I was hoping they had Bluegrass gauged but they did not...in fact they had 80/20's in Lights and Mediums but only Mediums in PB Well on the endless search for strings that would make my Gibson J-30 sound good to me again, I had some 80/20 put on. Now, the tech and Martin player/endorser made this ax sound wicked good, so I was happy...for a while. Then they just sounded too bright for me.

I believe my problem with this guitar may well be that it sounds to bright or clanky or whatever to me as a player, but sounds fine out front. I don't perform or record so sound to the player is important to me.

So, as these strings were so bright I decided to transfer them to my D-55, as that is so bass-heavy anyway. Of course in the process I put a good scratch on the headstock of my otherwise near mint guitar...so far these free strings ain't working out so well :?

OK, final report is they sound pretty good on the D-55, and play much easier than Martin strings I have tried in the past (I usually find them very stiff). Now, I am not versed in all the adjectives as they apply to guitar sounds and those used always befuddle me, however I guess I can say the Martin SP+ 80/20 strings with the Cleartone Technology are very articulate and piano like. Very good note definition, in fact so good they are not very forgiving...everything you play is transmitted loud and clear...sort of like the difference between a Gibson Les Paul or SG and a Fender Telecaster if that makes sense. Tuning is stable, no apparent drift over time.

It is my intention to try the SP+ in Phosphor Bronze to see how those stack up. I shudder to think that I might acutally like Martin strings... :shock: :shock: :shock:

Note, somewhere I read that the Cleartone Technology is not a coating but some computer thing...?????