I use GHS Vintage Bronze, I've tried the rest of the common stuff avalible and these are the ones i've liked the best. But strings are such a personal preference.
...do you like to use for your acoustic guitar(s).
I really like D'addario EXP16's on my Yamaha, which has a "bigger", mellower, darker tone. It really brightens up the sound and adds some nice clarity and definition without losing the fullness of the tone.
I'm finding that they sound a bit "chimey" on my new Washburn, though. That may be a good thing as I DI to the board and a thinner acoustic sound likely sits better in the mix along with bass/drums/keyboards.
I'm used to buying whatever is on sale and haven't needed to give it much thought before. Now I'm wondering if anyone out there makes an effort to match their strings to their guitar, much in the same way you might choose a certain pickup to go with certain bodies/wood etc.
What are you experts doing?
Electrics: Hagstrom Ultra Swede (Gold Eagle Burst) Gretsch 5120 Electromatic (Orange) Custom Nashville Blackout Telecaster (Black, Stat mid/neck p'ups; Lil Puncher (Modern Vintage) bridge p'up; Wilkinson Compensated Bridge w/ 3 brass saddles, Warmoth Vintage Modern Birdseye Maple Neck) Fender MIM Stratocaster (Blue Agave, Rosewood Fretboard, Fender Tex-Mex p'ups; GFS Trem/Block Kit) Highland Spitfire (semi-hollow, flame maple top w/ bubinga inlay)Acoustics:Washburn D10CEQSB, Yamaha FG160E
Bass: Westone Spectrum ST, Warwick Rockbass Corvette Basic Active
Amps: Vox NT15H/V112NT Night Train, Peavey Bandit 112, Hartke HyDrive 210C Bass Amp, Vox DA5
I use GHS Vintage Bronze, I've tried the rest of the common stuff avalible and these are the ones i've liked the best. But strings are such a personal preference.
For the longest time I used Martin M140's (light) on my Epiphone acoustic. More recently I switched to Martin M150's (medium) and they gave me a little warmer sound. I think I like the mediums more, but thats just the gauge change really. I like Martins, but I don't really remember what anything else feels like. The last set of strings I bought were D'Addario phosphor bronze medium, but I haven't used them yet.
My crafter came with D'Addario EXP's and I love them, but I haven't tried any other kind of strings on that guitar yet. The EXP's seem to last forever. (I think they are a bit pricier? never bought em..)
I agree, though, that strings are a personal preference more than anything.
Leonidas' Gear List:
Electric Guitars - Agile AL-2800 (S.D. '59 B, Pearly Gates N), Squier Telecaster Custom (GFS FAT PAFs + Mods)
Acoustic Guitars - Crafter ML-Rose, Epiphone PR-350CE
Amps - VOX AD50VT, Epiphone Valve Jr. (Modded), Fender Blues Jr
Pedals - Crybaby Classic w/ Fasel Inductor, Boss DS-1, Digitech Bad Monkey, Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus, Danelectro Fish & Chips EQ, Ibanez AW7
I have a set of Elixirs on one of my acoustics and like them. I like bright sounding guitars to go with deep lows so these work well for me.
Guitars/Bass - MIM Fender Classic 50s Strat, MIM Fender Standard Strat, Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Epi '56 Gold Top Les Paul, Martin DSR acoustic, Sigma Martin Auditorium electric/acoustic, Squier Jazz Bass.
Amps/Cabinets/Modelers - Model 2558 50 watt Marshall Silver Anniversary Jubilee combo w/ Celestion Vintage 30s, 4x12 Marshall cabinet w/25 watt Greenback Celestions, Fender Blues Junior w/ a couple of Billm mods, Line 6 POD 2.0, Roland Micro Cube
Pedals/Effects - Cry Baby Classic Wah, Boss TU-2, Boss NS-2, Boss RC-2 Loop Station, Ross Compressor, MXR Micro Amp, Danelectro FAB Echo, Danelectro FAB Chorus, Danelectro Chicken Salad, Marshall Guv'nor Plus, Marshall Echohead, Duhvoodooman's Zonkin' Yellow Screamer, Digitech Digiverb, Digitech Bad Monkey, Dunlop Fuzz Face, Homemade Loop Bypass pedal, Duhvoodooman's Sonic Tonic (Maxon SD-9 clone +), Voodoo Labs Superfuzz
Elixir Nanowebs on my Taylor 12 string; Martin SP's on my Adamas.
Just replaced the stock Martin's on my Jay Turser with D'Addario phosphor bronze lights. The instrument is already pretty bright for a full size acoustic, these strings brought out the warmer brightness to the tone. Now if I could just learn how to play the thing......
Right now, I'm using Guild Phosphor Bronze strings, mainly because someone I knew who worked at a train yard found a box that fell off a train and that's what was in there.....so, obviously, he gave them to me (along with a set of Fender Strat pickups, I think they were either Lace Sensors or Texas Specials, but those seem to have gotten misplaced in the move from Chicago to Oregon a few years back. Major bummer. )
Whatever I end up using after I go through the last few sets I have left, either way they'll be a very light set. Right before the Guild's, I was using .013's and they wreaked havok on my wrists and forearms. I went to the Guild strings, which are only like a .010 or .011 and all is well. I dunno....it's not like the action on my Takamine is even all that high. I guess I just have girlie arms or something.
Funny, that's how I got my TV, stereo, and my 62 Strat...they all just happened to fall off the train. lol At least that's what my cousin said.Originally Posted by Danzego
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
D'Addario Phosphor Bronze medium gauge. I like phosphor bronze strings in general, and D'Addario is one of the few brands that doesn't turn my fingers green. Plus I like the minimal packaging.
Martin 80/20 ultra lights for my Backpacker and Martin SP custom lights for my Fender
Ron Paul is like Kryptonite to Tyranny
Guitars:
MIM Fender Stratocaster, Ibanez AS73, Fender F210, Martin Backpaker Steel-String
Amps:
Behringer V-Tone 2x10 60W, Marshall G10 MkII, Danelectro E-Studio Honeytone.
Pedals:
Danelectro Corned Beef reverb, Johnson flanger, DOD FX25 envelope filter, Behringer Hellbabe wah, Digitech Bad Monkey