Topic: ok Guitarists! what is your favorite brand and weight of string?

[bucky katt]

i had to go and get strings for all my electrics today and i got to thinking that this might be a cool thread to do. my absolute all time favorites are Thomastik-Infeld blues sliders 9-42's but theyre 21.99 a set at my local store so only the danelectro gets those. after many many years i'm going back to Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies 10-46 for the SG and 9-42 for the strat and tele.

[Rocking-M]

ha, I use to use the EB super slinkies on an acoustic guitar.

On my acoustics now it's all Martin extra light.

[bucky katt]

yep, i use all martin bronze on my acoustic and banjo.

[CycleRanger]

Dean Markley Lights.

[Burke]

D'addario .009's on my solid body electric, 013's Flatwound on my Archtop.

Don't remember the brand on the flatwounds. I did hear that the Thomastik strings are great strings , but heavy on the price side.

[bucky katt]

D'addario .009's on my solid body electric, 013's Flatwound on my Archtop.

Don't remember the brand on the flatwounds. I did hear that the Thomastik strings are great strings , but heavy on the price side.

the Thomastiks are 21.99 for a set of electric guitar strings, they are around 45 or so for bass strings. they've been making strings for something 100 years, they started out doing violin and cello strings. pricey but worth every penny

[the technological J]

i prefer elixer lights for my gibson... they're not too bad for lighter playing but they need a good chance to stretch if u wanna wail on em

[kslrr]

I used Ernie Ball Extra Slinky (.008-.038) on my Peavy T-60 when I had it in the '80's.  Today I use Fender Super Bullets (.009-.042) on my Strat. For my 12 string, I use Ernie Ball Lights (.009-.046).

[azuredesign]

Uh, restringing is something I've never cared for. To maximize the length of time between changing strings, I used to use Labella flatwound 11's on everything electric, but I've been playing an old SG special and a frankenstrat lately with I think SIT .10's. I do like the Elixers for acoustic except I find them too warm sounding for an early 70's jumbo Guild that I put John Pearse strings on. I use standard .012 sets on the acoustics.

[bucky katt]

i tried elixir nanoweb strings on my Fender acoustic, they seemed to be a bit too bright for my tastes though.

[azuredesign]

i tried elixir nanoweb strings on my Fender acoustic, they seemed to be a bit too bright for my tastes though.

That's interesting to hear, as I've found the opposite, that the dental floss they stick in between the metal windings on the wound strings makes them not as bright as regular bronze strings. It does keep a lot of the crap from fingers and beer and whatever out, so the Elixirs seem to last longer though. Are phosphor bronze strings any help on the Fender? I've used nickel wound strings on acoustic sometimes to get more of an old funky sound, those aren't as bright too.

[bucky katt]

i use Martin bronze on the acoustic now. the sound is just nice and rich, plenty of bottom as well as midrange and top end. i've tried several different brands of acoustic string, the only ones that sound as good as the Martins have to be the DR Rare Phosphor Bronze but theyre about 2 dollars more a package. the Martin M540 Phosphor Bronze Light Acoustic Guitar Strings are my favorites. once i have money coming in i'll go back to thomastiks on all guitars.

[westondc]

Elixir Nanoweb Light Medium Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings on my Alvarez RF210C. Elixir Medium Nanoweb Electric Guitar Strings on my Deluxe Players Strat, Gretsch G5215 and Teisco del ray. I use these with GHS Fast-Fret String Cleaner and they seem to last forever. The acoustic strings seem a bit bright at first but they wear in well. I usually buy a few sets of each off of amazon.com because there cheaper than getting them from MF.

[johnspeck]

been through most of the brands when i was working on tour.

started years ago with GHS.  i liked that they were from michigan, support the home state, etc.
too bright to the point of brash when first installed, get dead and sound like crap very quickly, and i had a high failure rate with them.

d'addario sounds pretty good, but they also get dull quickly, and i also noticed a somewhat high failure rate.

don't have enough experience with dean markleys to say one way or another.

ernie balls are the best all-around for my tastes (rock, blues, country, jazz).  they sound good to start, they seem to last the longest and don't break more than normal, and they're easy to find about anywhere you go.  i like a 10-48 or 50 on my electrics.

i've tried SIT's, snake oil (boutique high end strings), gibson, etc...

i've been liking a set of john pearce strings on my acoustic, although the gauge i tried is a little too heavy.

[pdxPope]

I like the D'addario flatwound mediums for my Gibson Sunburst. I found the ultralights a little too light. (I was bending notes when I didn't want to.)

But I also play mostly rhythm.

True, they aren't the best strings or the longest lasting, but they are cheap and I replace them pretty religiously.


-JP

[UK Pete]

I used to make Guitar strings for rotosound and superwound here in the UK, they were very popular with many famous musicians across the world
Pete

[westondc]

I used to make Guitar strings for rotosound and superwound here in the UK, they were very popular with many famous musicians across the world
Pete

i've used rotosound bass strings with good results, reasonably priced too.

[bucky katt]

Elixir Nanoweb Light Medium Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings on my Alvarez RF210C. Elixir Medium Nanoweb Electric Guitar Strings on my Deluxe Players Strat, Gretsch G5215 and Teisco del ray. I use these with GHS Fast-Fret String Cleaner and they seem to last forever. The acoustic strings seem a bit bright at first but they wear in well. I usually buy a few sets of each off of amazon.com because there cheaper than getting them from MF.

any idea what year your teisco is?

[bucky katt]

for bass strings (i might be getting one in the next week, in trade for a pair of house speakers) i prefer the flatwound strings as well, i'm hoping to get a Danelectro Longhorn bass

[westondc]

Elixir Nanoweb Light Medium Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings on my Alvarez RF210C. Elixir Medium Nanoweb Electric Guitar Strings on my Deluxe Players Strat, Gretsch G5215 and Teisco del ray. I use these with GHS Fast-Fret String Cleaner and they seem to last forever. The acoustic strings seem a bit bright at first but they wear in well. I usually buy a few sets of each off of amazon.com because there cheaper than getting them from MF.

any idea what year your teisco is?

mid to late 60's i assume. fun little guitar that i pickedup at a local pawn shop for cheap. cool thing about it is if you shout into the pickups it comes out through the amp. looks great with my Ampeg Gemini I tube amp, really retro!

[lordmoonpie]

D'addario XL 110s for me on my ESP-M1 strat.....even though I'm rubbish at playing it

[azuredesign]

I used to make Guitar strings for rotosound and superwound here in the UK, they were very popular with many famous musicians across the world
Pete

Rotosounds are well known for sure here in the US and I can't think of those strings without hearing Chris Squire's tone.
Superwounds, which I think were the guitar string brand, were not as well know here, probably because import tariffs made them too expense compared to domestic strings.

[bucky katt]

Elixir Nanoweb Light Medium Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings on my Alvarez RF210C. Elixir Medium Nanoweb Electric Guitar Strings on my Deluxe Players Strat, Gretsch G5215 and Teisco del ray. I use these with GHS Fast-Fret String Cleaner and they seem to last forever. The acoustic strings seem a bit bright at first but they wear in well. I usually buy a few sets of each off of amazon.com because there cheaper than getting them from MF.

any idea what year your teisco is?

mid to late 60's i assume. fun little guitar that i pickedup at a local pawn shop for cheap. cool thing about it is if you shout into the pickups it comes out through the amp. looks great with my Ampeg Gemini I tube amp, really retro!

i had a del-ray years ago. i have really gotten to enjoy the inexpensive electric guitars

[simon#42]

i play quite alot and am forever changing strings , tried every brand over the years but have now pretty  much settled on elixir nanoweb 13-56  sound better on a cedar top guitar but still nice on a spruce top

[robert550]

For years I've always played 10 gauge GHS Boomers on my electrics. For accoustics I usually use Martin stings, but then I keep them on forever since I don't like the brightness of new strings on an accoustic.