Strings for Archtops

[Steelpickin']

I recently received an Archtop as a gift! ( non-Guild)
What do you folks use for strings? Regular, Flatwounds?
Not used to these animals....dont know much about them...I like it though...
Thanks!

 

[Walter Broes]

I use rounds, elevens. Bigger on an acoustic archtop.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I would think it depends on what you play, and where you play.

If you're going to play jazz on it electrified I would go with the flatwounds.

If you're going to play rock or blues on it electrified, I would go with some roundwounds.

If you're going to sit on the couch and play acoustic, you can go with either though the rounds will be louder.

I know some people who even put PB acoustic strings on their archtops for just sitting around playing acoustic.

There's my $.02

 

[Graham]

I put flats on my DeArmond really just because I wanted to try them and they are pretty cool. They are light on sound though unplugged. Still fun.

 

[Jeff]

Steele,

Serious advice from me is ludicrous but flatwounds are a Gas to play. Put a set on my T5 a while back & it's like the action is waxed.

Graham; why would you be playing a D Armond unplugged ?

 

[Steelpickin']

Thanks for the advice ,all.
I am not sure what type of music I'll be using it for.About 30 yrs ago I thought I knew something about music ...then I took a few jazz lessons....only to find I know NOTHING about music! :shock:
The guitar came with roundwounds on it but they were heavey enough that I think I could use them to wire my shop with 550V 3phase! hah!
I'm gonna just have to experiment I guess. Get me some 11's roundwound and some Flatwounds and have at it. What brandsFlatwounds do you floks like?

 

[jp]

Hey Steel,
Generally Thomastik-Infeld jazz strings are the flatwounds of choice for many players, but they're pricey if you're just experimenting. They tend to have lighter string tension. D'Addario chromes are cheaper and don't stay as bright as long, but they're completely fine for messing around. I like at least 11s or 12s. Flatwounds feel really smooth and buttery after roundwounds, and they have a mellow and dark sound.

 

[bradk]

I've used the TI Swing flats and Bebop round wounds on my Guild X150. Also tried some Labella Black Nylon Tape Wound which have a really great tone, I just didn't care for the strange, rubber band like feel of them. For now I'm back using D'Add Chromes (.13's). They don't last (intonate well) as long as the more expensive strings but I like their darker tone on the Guild. There's a place called Bigcitystrings.com that has good deals on these. My .02

 

[teleharmonium]

I like the Thomastiks too. I use those (.011) on my '66 T100D and Starfire III Special, and Pyramids (.012) on my '60 T100D.
bradk - LaBella makes a black tapewound guitar set ? That sounds so weird I may have to try a set. Could you describe the tone you got from them ? And did you get grounding hum when you were touching only the wound strings while playing ?

 

[bradk]

teleharmonium, it's been nearly a year since I tried them so keep that in mind, but the tone was similar to round wounds but a little darker. Or I guess you could say they sound like a brighter, punchier flat wound. Hard to describe really. They are round wound strings covered in a black nylon wrap, very low tension and they last a very long time. They do have a very strange feel that you'll love or hate right away. No hum that I noticed.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Billy D. Light,

Do you ever use flats on your CE100D with Franzes?