Long-term scientific "blind" acoustic string test

[dwasifar]

Well, it's been five days now with Set E, and they still continue to settle in and sound better. Flatpicking a solo sounds good, actually, but chording is still a little below par.

I have also noticed their tuning stability is iffy. I find myself having to do a lot more little tuning tweaks, which is especially annoying on this particular guitar. (If I could fault one thing about this instrument, it's these open tuners. They're fussy and I wish they were geared at a higher ratio. But I digress.) The 6th string in particular is not staying in tune consistently. That could be because I bend it a lot in blues progressions, but a lot of times I'll hit a chord and it's just wrong, and I find the 6th is like a quarter-tone out of tune. Again.

Part of me wants to keep them on for the full two weeks to see where their metamorphosis lands, and part wants to end it at one week because I already know they're not going to be winners.

 

[dwasifar]

I've decided to cut it short. This will be the final grade.

Tone and playability:
As I've already noted, they have changed considerably since they were put on, mostly for the better, but still not really what I need them to be. The tone now is just okay, not harsh anymore but not super musical on chords. Playability is okay. Tuning stability is below average. Maybe they would get a little better with more time, but a string that takes the better part of a week just to begin to sound acceptable is a non-starter for me.

Final grades:

• Construction B
• Volume A
• Playability B-
• Tone B-

So now I can look to see what they are. I've been thinking all along that they're Black Diamond, so off I go to see if I was right. You guys wait here, I'll be right back.
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DING DING DING DING DING!



Black Diamond has upped their game in marketing and packaging since I tried them last. It's a nice looking package, and it's sealed, which is relatively new for them. But the strings themselves are pretty much as I remember them, obviously.

There are other GSM products I like a little better. Their Sfarzo and Nicola lines are okay on my Taylor. But the BD N600L is a definite "would not buy again."

Set F will go on tomorrow.

 

[dwasifar]

String Set F is on.

Measurements and observations:

• Actual gauge measurements: 1st .012, 2nd .016, 3rd .023, 4th .0315, 5th .042, 6th .052.
• The strings are varying lengths, with no core wire showing on any of the wound strings except the 5th, and on that one it's less than 1/8", too short to be able to tell if it is hex or round core.
  • 1st: 40"
  • 2nd: 40.5"
  • 3rd: 38.5"
  • 4th: 38.75"
  • 5th: 39"
  • 6th: 40"
• Deflection of the sample 6th string on the testing jig is 61mm, not surprising seeing as these are the lightest set yet.
• Ball ends are plain brass. Ball end windings are nice and tight, of average length, with no finger-poking spiky ends.
• The wrapped strings look and feel excellent, no detectable faults. Color is typical phosphor bronze.
• Plain strings are completely smooth end to end, no detectable faults.

Tone and playability:
Could not be more different from the previous set. Tone is immediately warm and pleasant, with virtually no new-string jangle. Initial tuning stability seems good. They fret and bend easily, again not a surprise given the gauges. However, they sound a bit muted and lack volume.

Initial grades:

• Construction A
• Volume B-
• Playability A
• Tone B

Guessing these are La Bella.

EDIT: I unwound a little bit of the wrap on one of the wound string trimmings to get a look at the core, and they are round core. So not La Bella, probably. Ordinarily I'd say Sunbeams, but I don't remember DR strings being cut like this.

 

[dwasifar]

String Set F second day report.

Tone and playability:
They remain warm and pleasant-sounding, very musical round tone, nice sustain. They bend nicely and play easily. There are no jangly overtones, even as new as they are. I would call the tone balance mid-to-treble; the bass is not prominent. It's not a bad balance. But they are so soft in volume that I don't think I could stick with them. I try to sing along with them and my voice drowns out the instrument, unless I drop to a conversational tone, which is not where my voice is at its best.

Initial grades:

• Construction A
• Volume C
• Playability A
• Tone B+

I know I'm undercutting my own process by trying to guess what the strings are before I look, but I can't help myself. These just have to be DR Sunbeams. But time will tell.

 

[dwasifar]

Strange, but when I went back to play Set F again, they seemed to be taking a turn for the jangle-y. This is odd.

 

[Stuball48]

So many variables to take into your ears. I am enjoying this thread but glad you are doing it.

 

[dwasifar]

So many variables to take into your ears. I am enjoying this thread but glad you are doing it.

As opposed to having to do it yourself?

 

[GGJaguar]

Strange, but when I went back to play Set F again, they seemed to be taking a turn for the jangle-y. This is odd.

That is odd. I've never had strings get brighter or my jangly over time. If they are Sunbeams, my experience has been they settle in quickly and stay that way until they die.

 

[dwasifar]

That is odd. I've never had strings get brighter or my jangly over time. If they are Sunbeams, my experience has been they settle in quickly and stay that way until they die.

I have occasionally noticed guitars get temporarily more jangly when the humidity rises. Perhaps that's the reason. But yeah, my experience with Sunbeams has been much the same as yours.

 

[dwasifar]

It seems like maybe the wound strings have settled down and become even quieter, but the plain strings not so much, and that's why it sounds jangly now.

Clearly these are not a good match for this instrument. I'll leave them on until Saturday and then move on to the next set.

 

[dwasifar]

It seems like maybe the wound strings have settled down and become even quieter, but the plain strings not so much, and that's why it sounds jangly now.

Clearly these are not a good match for this instrument. I'll leave them on until Saturday and then move on to the next set.

Well, I don't know what is going on, but they are no longer jangly. So maybe it was the humidity after all. Or maybe I'm just losing my marbles.

Anyway. The tone is pretty nice, except still somewhat muted. I might leave them on a little longer.

 

[dwasifar]

String Set F two-week (well not quite) report.

I'm reporting now because I have time to do it, and while I have not taken them off yet, I probably will sometime next week.

Tone and playability:
Once that temporary jangly thing stopped happening, which I now think was humidity, these are very nice. The midrange-focused tone settled down to be very warm and sweet, especially when flatpicking, fingerpicking, or soft-to-medium strumming. String to string balance is good. Sustain is long. They do start sounding a little unsettled and unbalanced when you want more volume out of them, however. Fingering and bending is easy. Barres are easy. But the reduced volume makes these probably the quietest set tested, and it translates to a slightly muted sound. This is fine if that's what you want, but on this guitar I would prefer a string set that is a little more forward sounding.

Final grades:

• Construction A
• Volume C
• Playability A
• Tone A-

I already know these have to be Sunbeams. Let's see:

tick tick tick



"Full • Rich • Loud" I'll go with two out of three. Full and rich... okay, sure. Loud? Only in comparison to having no strings on the guitar at all.

I actually like Sunbeams on my Taylor. Their reserved character tames that guitar's brashness. Maybe I should try Sunbeam 13s on the D-55.

While I have you, dear readers, can I have another show of hands about whether anyone is downloading the spreadsheet?

 

[geoguy]

I am following this thread, & making notes about some that might be of interest to me. But I probably won't download & save that big spreadsheet until the end (or at least until you've tested the strings that most interest me).

 

[dwasifar]

I am following this thread, & making notes about some that might be of interest to me. But I probably won't download & save that big spreadsheet until the end (or at least until you've tested the strings that most interest me).

Which are those? Now I'm curious.

 

[Rickenmaxer]

While I have you, dear readers, can I have another show of hands about whether anyone is downloading the spreadsheet?

Still following and have one set to try that I wouldn't have considered otherwise (the Webstrings Portland set). Will definitely be downloading the spreadsheet for future reference once the exercise is complete or winding down.

 

[geoguy]

Which are those? Now I'm curious.

As a long-time D'Addario user, I am curious to see how those fare in your tests.

I previously tried some John Pearse strings (they were recommended by numerous folks on this forum), and wasn't thrilled. So I enjoyed reading your review of the JP set.

And the Webstrings were unfamiliar to me . . . so thanks for introducing me to something that I would not have otherwise found.

 

[dwasifar]

And the Webstrings were unfamiliar to me . . . so thanks for introducing me to something that I would not have otherwise found.

I've tried Webstrings in 13s and didn't care for them as much, but the 12s in this test were quite nice, especially for the price.

 

[dwasifar]

String Set G is on.

Actually they have been on since Thursday, so I am tardy in making this report; I'll be doing the two-day report immediately following this post, to get caught up.

Measurements and observations:

• Actual gauge measurements: 1st .012, 2nd .0165, 3rd .026, 4th .034, 5th .043, 6th .053.
• All strings are 39" long except the 6th, which is 40.5" long.
  • 1st: 39"
  • 2nd: 39"
  • 3rd: 39", 2.5" of core exposed, usable length 36.5"
  • 4th: 39", 2" of core, usable length 37"
  • 5th: 39", 2" of core, usable length 37"
  • 6th: 40.5", 1.5" of core, usable length 39"
• Hex core.
• Deflection of the sample 6th string on the testing jig is 55mm.
• Ball ends are plain brass. Ball end windings are sloppy on 5th and 6th. Each has a gap showing a bit of core wire at the top end of the ball end winding, and a single winding that sticks out past the others at that point. Because of this, these two strings were very difficult to seat in the bridge, as the one stray out-of-place winding would catch the slot and/or the bridge pin; as I tried to pull them up to seat them, the stray loop would catch the bridge pin and pull it out. I have never had so much trouble getting a new string seated in a bridge.
• 4th and 5th strings had slight bends, not quite kinks, about 2" from the ball end, apparently from being coiled for packaging.
• The wrapped strings look okay but feel definitely inconsistent to the touch along their length. Color is a bit darker than typical phosphor bronze, as if they have already aged a bit.
• Plain strings have some slightly coarse, draggy areas, especially 1st string, which feels markedly uneven to the touch along its length.

Tone and playability:
Given what I had observed about the quality as I was installing them, I didn't expect much, so I was quite surprised at how good they sounded. Bright, strong, not too jangly, actually a good sound for this instrument. Of course, that can be deceiving when they first go on, so the two-day report will have other things to say. But they actually sounded pretty nice, and the unevenness of the feel is not bad enough to be objectionable when playing. Bends and fretting are acceptable, tuning stability out of the gate was pretty good as new strings go.

Initial grades:

• Construction C
• Volume A
• Playability B+
• Tone A-

I have no idea what these are. I have never seen a string with ball end winding flaws like these.

 

[dwasifar]

String Set G follow-up report.

I'm all out of sync on this one, so instead of having a two-day report and a two-week report, we have a one-week report.

Tone and playability:
These have turned out to be quite nice. I would say the tone is still a bit brash; the plain strings seem to dominate more than they should when you hit them harder on a chord, but when flatpicking or playing more softly, they sound extremely pretty. String to string balance is mostly very good. The low E in particular is very definite, so when I go to hit a bass note to anchor a chord, it's really there. When not chording hard they have a soft, mellow sort of sound, almost as if there's a little hint of classical guitar tone. Bending and fretting is easy and fluid. Volume has diminished a bit but they are still quite full, loud enough to sing with. I have a loud singing voice, and if I don't have a loud guitar to go with it, I wind up having to try to scale back the vocal so as not to drown out the guitar, which interferes with my tone. The last set, the DR Sunbeams, had that problem; these don't, and I can sing full-throated with them.

Current grades:

• Construction C
• Volume A
• Playability A-
• Tone A-

I think this is my final opinion on these, so I'll go have a look at what they are now. Off I go...
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They're Magma, one of the few sets in the test not made in USA.

Dr. Evil approves:

However, I'm not sure I do. They sound nice but I'm not sure I can overlook the construction flaws.

I'll play them a while longer and see what I think.

 

[dwasifar]

Set G final report.

Not much new to say about them. They were starting to get a little deader-sounding by this past weekend so I took them off. All told I had them on for about three weeks. They remained mostly nice-sounding, but still a tiny bit brash and nasal. Not a bad choice but I've already seen better in this test.

Final grades:

• Construction C
• Volume A
• Playability A-
• Tone A-