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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink The String thread

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I have a Airline Twin Tone from Eastwood. She has 11 gauge Dean Markley Misfit Skullcrushers right now, and I really like them. Also Good for downtuning if I play in Drop C or C#, which I do a lot. 11's are awesome

Winter's razor at the base of my spine. I don't mind being divinely aligned.

Just bought some new D'Addario Chromes and noticed a pretty bad spelling error. Argh

image

Being a graphic designer myself I can both sympathize and laugh hysterically!
They probably printed a TON of those.

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

Big Grin

Last edited: Mar 13, 2016 06:11:35

Would you suggest flats over rounds for a downtuned faux-baritone stratocaster (with vintage spec-ed 57/62 pickups)?

https://zakandthekrakens.bandcamp.com/
https://www.dirtyfuse.com

RaistMagus wrote:

Would you suggest flats over rounds for a downtuned faux-baritone stratocaster (with vintage spec-ed 57/62 pickups)?

I put the bottom 6 strings (.015 - .065) of D'Addario's Jazz Light/7-string set of Flat Wounds ECG24-7 on my B-B Baritone Strat. I needed to cut a new nut for it, but the guitar intonated easily, the strings are tight and quiet, and it sounds terrific.

The suggestion originally came from heepeejeep (click here to read about it) and it works perfectly on my Strat.

To summarize, I initially tried the same approach with the bottom 6 of a 7-string set of round wounds designed for deep drop-tuning. They didn't have enough tension and were floppy and scratchy-sounding. They were also boomy-sounding and not at all surfy. I didn't try to get a heavier set of rounds.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Sep 20, 2013 08:26:36

Thanks Noel, I remeber this thread, I'd started while looking for a baritone. Will I need a new nut if I go for heavy roundwounds?

https://zakandthekrakens.bandcamp.com/
https://www.dirtyfuse.com

RaistMagus wrote:

Thanks Noel, I remeber this thread, I'd started while looking for a baritone. Will I need a new nut if I go for heavy roundwounds?

Definitely. The bottom few heavy round wounds I started with were so fat, they just sat on top of the stock nut. They were so thick there wasn't enough depth in the nut to cut into it enough to make those strings level with the others; they just sort of stuck up above everything. The nut slot on my Strat is arched (yours too I suppose) complicating this a little more.

I didn't finish slotting the nut until the flats came in, and they simplified everything. I had made the new nut just a little higher than the stock one, but gave it a matching arch, so all the strings have a nice outer radius and the thickest strings don't fret out up at the top of the neck.

Playing Miserlou, the bottom rounds were floppy and horribly scratchy. The flats are tense and quiet. No contest.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Thanks!!!

https://zakandthekrakens.bandcamp.com/
https://www.dirtyfuse.com

RaistMagus wrote:

Thanks!!!

You're welcome. Couple other points. The big strings fit through the holes in the tuning pegs of my 2011 MIM just fine. This Strat has a Callaham trem block, and the strings go through it just fine, too. I don't know for certain about yours, but probably. It also needs 4 springs to stay in tune and keep the bridge plate properly low and floating. The whammy bar works up and down, and the guitar stays perfectly in tune.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Sep 20, 2013 09:30:49

I got a ca. 1999 Danoblaster Baritone like new last year, with original strings on it that had good tension. I replaced them with a D'Addario 13s baritone roundwound set and am not digging either the tension or the sound – in combinatin with the cheap stock pickups, the tone is exceedingly pingy and clanging– not at all vintage sounding. I also have a similar-vintage (sic) Dano Longhorn bass, for which I got some med-lt.guage flats and I am crazy about the sound of that instrument.
Can anyone suggest a string set that will tame the top end of my Danoblaster Bari and make me fall in love with an otherwise pretty cool cheap guitar? I see talk about D'Addario 12-65 flatwound chrome 7-string sets (High 'B' string is 15– just about right). Chromes are pretty darn bright. Is there another brand of flatwound out there that has a mellower soundor are the D'Addario Chromes pretty good?

Squink Out!

Reading further on a Tele forum, players discussing relative merits of flats and rounds say variously that:

You get the string you pay for– Tomastik and Black Diamond, and Pyramid are worth the extra $$

D'Addario flats are darker sounding than LaBellas, which some say are the brightest flats.

Squink Out!

I need guidance, just switched from D'Addario EXL-120 Roundwound .009.042 to D'Addario Chromes XL-ECG23 Flatwound .010-.048 on my 24" scale Jagmaster and am NOT feeling the "love". I still haven't recovered all my hand strength for heavier gauge strings due to the injuries sustained when struck by the car as a pedestrian back in 2006. Today my hands especially the left (fretting) hand is cramping terribly after using the snowblower.

Any other suggestions in strings and gauges? Do I really need heavy gauge flatwounds to get the "surf tone"? Will Halfrounds suffice in .009/.010-.042/.046?

blackheartsfan wrote:

Do I really need heavy gauge flatwounds to get the "surf tone"?

No. The ability to play in comfort trumps any perceived advantages in tone. Just use a gauge that doesn't exacerbate your injury and hang 10.

Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio

Hi everyone,I've just shod all my surf guitars with "flats" after many years of unjustified prejudice due to the fact that 40 odd years ago I put a set of flats on my gibson copy and it sounded horrid(I was about 14 at the time and totally ignorant about strings).I've seen the light.I've got better tone,better playability(smooth strings for glissing) and after a four hour rehearsal today my fingers don't hurt.Gauges?? I base my choice on what nut width the guitar has:- 12's for 43mm nut,11's for 42mm but also 10's for my maple fretboard twanger.Please note though, to be able to obtain satisfactory "bends" I downtune to D on all guitars.I keep the roundwounds for my "shredder" guitars,which at my age I'm too embarrassed to play!!! cheers all

Boo on flatwounds, still. It makes sense on studio/just because guitars. The ability to really attack roundwounds still wins. So many added things you can do with just a slight touch to affect dynamics.

I generally prefer roundwounds. Gotta try halfrounds/groundwounds sometime.

But... I just bought an old cheap Japanese guitar from an elderly gentleman, who told me he got it new in the late 60s/early 70s, tried it, found out he couldn't play so he put it in his closet and forgot about it. A real closet classic... The guitar still has the original flatwound strings, the two plain ones look fairly oxidized, but the four wound ones are all clean and shiny, like new. I can see why the seller couldn't play it... I can't either, the action is half an inch high -- badly cut neck pocket. Nothing a shim wouldn't be able to solve though. Can't wait to try those 40 year old strings!

Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.

Last edited: Feb 09, 2014 17:10:39

Ooh! Can you identify the make?

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

I use Ernie Ball .009 - .042. I like the tone of heavier strings but after a nasty bout of tendonitis and carpal tunnel problems several years ago I use the lightest gauge that I can get a good sound from. So I use nines.

RevGeo wrote:

I use Ernie Ball .009 - .042. I like the tone of heavier strings but after a nasty bout of tendonitis and carpal tunnel problems several years ago I use the lightest gauge that I can get a good sound from. So I use nines.

Nothing wrong with that. Here's a partial list of EIGHT-gauge users: Brian May, Tony Iommi, Billy Gibbons, Yngwie Malmsteen. These guys are not often accused of getting bad guitar tones! (Of course, it helps when using such thin strings if you're playing through heavily distorted amps, which in surf we don't get to do in general.)

Ivan
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I've moved to D'Addario EXL115 Nickel Wound 11-49. I don't care the the sound at first (brand new strings sounded hollow to me) but once they broke in they sounded good.

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