Two week evaluation of String Set C.
This is technically a day early, as tomorrow will be the 14th day; but it's evening, I'm not going to be playing any more before tomorrow, I have the time now, and I've already formed my opinion; half a day won't change anything.
Tone and playability:
I really, really like these. If anything they are better at two weeks. Tone is just perfect for this instrument. They're warm as opposed to bright, but that is not to say that they lack highs. High end is fine; the balance across the fretboard remains nicely even, as I stated in the earlier reviews. Flatpicking runs remain even, chords remain nicely harmonized without discordant overtones. I will say they could be louder; they're better for more moderate play than they are for energetic play. This was also my observation with the Dunlops (Set B), but the lack of volume was a dealbreaker for the Dunlops, whereas it's still within the acceptable range with these.
A special word about tuning stability is in order. Two weeks ago when I put these strings on, my whole-house humidifiers were not working correctly, and the house was getting pretty dry. Right around that time, I fixed them, and since then the humidity has come up to a more acceptable range. On top of that we've been having pretty wide temperature swings outside, which also affects humidity indoors. So the guitar has been subject to a fair amount of environmental variance. This means I've come back to the guitar a couple of times to find it generally sharp or flat. I can't lay that on the strings; that's the humidity. But I will say that when they are brought back to pitch, they stay there; they don't start out on pitch and then wander off pitch during the sustain period, as you so often see. I'm using a Peterson tuner, which is pretty sensitive, so I can say with confidence that their tuning stability is good.
Two-week grades:
- Construction A- (this will almost always remain unchanged throughout the test unless something breaks)
- Volume B+
- Playability A
- Tone A+
I would definitely buy these again. Of the known strings I've tried on the guitar so far, I've liked Martin SP the best. These are in the same class as those; very similar sound, tone, and playability. But I don't think they are Martin. It's time for me now to go get the package and find out.
Isn't the suspense killing you? I'll be right back.
And String Set C turns out to be Webstrings Portland Acoustic.
You'll recall that my spider sense said these were the Webstrings when I put them on. This was because of the end wraps being a little bulky, and the slightly out-of-place end loop, which I've seen before from that brand. Of course it was possible that they were some other brand, but it seemed familiar and I guessed right.
Nonetheless, this outcome is flat-out hilarious. Webstrings are the cheapest set in this test, by a considerable margin, yet so far I would consider them the leader, beating out the generally highly-regarded John Pearse. If I were to stop the test right now, I'd probably just start buying Webstrings consistently for this guitar. It's still early in the test, of course, and we have a long way to go. Something better may come along. But these are plenty good, especially for the price.