Badger
Joined: Nov 16, 2013
Posts: 4536
Wisconsin
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 01:55 PM
D'Addario EXL115's on the Strat 11-49; have a bunch of them & the Strat gets played more than the JM. On the VMJM I just put on the 6-string set version of the Oops-Award above (same error too), chrome flats, wound 3rd, and am in love. MUCH better balance across the pickups for that guitar. I need to get a little Princeton now to sit next to the Vox-ified BJr.
— Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel
DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.
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SaschaReynders
Joined: Dec 26, 2013
Posts: 251
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 02:05 PM
IvanP wrote:
 Maybe you should have started with, oh, I don't know, ONE??! I'm very confident about my recommendation, but everybody IS different!
Good luck!
 No worries, I needed to re-stock on roundwounds anyway and not just for the Strat. The thing is, where I live there isn't a single guitar shop that carries Rotosounds (or Pyramids for that matter) so I had to order them online. And since I play 12-52's on almost all of my guitars, I thought: why not order "a few" sets at once  Besides, I see no reason why they shouldn't be at least as good as the d'Addarios (with which I've had a few bad experiences recently by the way...), plus the Rotosounds were less expensive than d'Addarios AND you get a free spare high-E string with each set: how cool is that !
My post was very much tongue-in-cheek, but I'm confident your recommendation will be spot-on.
crumble wrote:
They are a nice string but the beautiful sound goes dull all too quickly I found.
That's always been my experience with the Chromes actually, time will tell if the Pyramids 'll do better in that department. The Pyramids are a bit more loose than the Chromes though, and I really like the way they play. Just for that I already prefer them.
Cheers !
— "Duck Tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speedball-JR/151771678181829?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/SPEEDBALLJR
https://itunes.apple.com/be/artist/speedball-jr/id389972205
Last edited: Sep 27, 2014 14:15:19
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10321
southern Michigan
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 02:11 PM
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 02:14 PM
Ivan just out of interest what strings did you prefer when you used the Jaguar.
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josheboy
Joined: Mar 13, 2009
Posts: 2351
Twin Cities, MN
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 02:24 PM
I used D'addario's a lot the last few years, bu the 12s sounded weird to me and the 11s a little thin. Plus I've broken more d'addario strings than any other brand, so I wanted to give other brands a shot.
I recently ordered Rotosound pure nickle 11s. The high strings were really bright and radiant, but when I strummed hard or dug in, they would get too bright for my taste. Also, the low e string sounded dull (more like a flatwound). So in the end I just wasn't thrilled with them.
When MoAM played LA a couple weeks ago, I asked Star Crunch what strings he uses and he said GHS Boomers 11-50. I picked up a set yesterday and installed them on my JM. They sound pretty cool so far, but we'll see how they sound in the weeks to come.
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derekirving
Joined: Nov 03, 2011
Posts: 658
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 05:20 PM
I've been going back and forth between 10-46 and 11-49. I like the tension of the 11 gauge, but at times I feel the 11-49 hit the amp too hard / or I play them too hard. Where as the 10's have a bit more bounce to them, I can lighten up on touch and they play a bit easier. Tone wise the 10's are still pretty fat/full sounding when plugged in.
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EJ
Joined: May 05, 2012
Posts: 351
Virginia Beach
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Posted on Aug 06 2014 08:34 PM
I put flats (11)on my 57 AV Strat and really like them. Most people don't, but with the staggered pup poles and that wound G it really sounds the best it has in the 25 years I've had it.
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SaschaReynders
Joined: Dec 26, 2013
Posts: 251
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Posted on Sep 28 2014 01:04 PM
IvanP wrote:
...I'm very confident about my recommendation...
And you should be, I finally got around to putting a set of Roto purples on my Strat and they're by far the best roundwounds I ever played. That's it: no more d'Addarios for me, thanks again Ivan !
— "Duck Tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speedball-JR/151771678181829?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/SPEEDBALLJR
https://itunes.apple.com/be/artist/speedball-jr/id389972205
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Sep 28 2014 06:33 PM
I'm 8 weeks into a set of coated D'addario EXP110 the first coated strings I've ever used. Not bad they are showing a few dark spots on the unwound strings, I wouldn't record with them at this point but they are still ok for practice.
There's a youtube corrosion test whereby the D'addario fared well and the Rotosound came off dreadfully. Salt Test
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10321
southern Michigan
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Posted on Sep 29 2014 02:11 AM
SaschaReynders wrote:
IvanP wrote:
...I'm very confident about my recommendation...
And you should be, I finally got around to putting a set of Roto purples on my Strat and they're by far the best roundwounds I ever played. That's it: no more d'Addarios for me, thanks again Ivan !
Fantastic! Very happy to hear this. Especially since you bought so many packs!
crumble wrote:
There's a youtube corrosion test whereby the D'addario fared well and the Rotosound came off dreadfully. [Salt Test]
I've never had any problems, and all my Rotos last a pretty long time (though I'm very fortunate to have very non-corrosive sweat - I've seen some people whose sweat completely rusted out their bridge in a matter of a year or two!). But I did have an exchange recently with the president (I think) of Rotosound. The latest Rotos I bought came in different packaging, similar to D'Addarios - all the strings are now bundled together, not separately in individual paper wrappers, as they used to be. Well, when I tried to install them, it turned out to be a real PITA. The problem is that they actually wrap low E and G together, A and B together, and D and high E together, so as you go to replace the low E, you also have to unfurl the G and just have it sitting there - by the time you get to the D string you have 3-4 strings unfurled and lying around you. Unlike GHS, each string doesn't have a different colored ball end (they have them colored in three colors only), so it gets a bit confusing. In addition, in pre-gig conditions, when you're lucky you have a dirty bar table to use to replace the strings and very low lighting, it sucks having to have those strings all around you. Anyway, I was kinda pissed off about this new packaging and sent an appropriate email to Rotosound, only to have this guy reply. They apparently have had a lot of problems with corrosion the past couple of years, and they couldn't figure out why for the longest time. Eventually they figured out that their paper supplier changed their paper formula and that it was interacting negatively with strings, especially in hotter and more humid climates. This new packaging is supposed to fix this problem. I went back and forth with him for a while, explaining that this new system really isn't very practical for gigging musicians, but though he was polite, he maintained that they tested this system with real musicians and that they are confident it's the best they could come up. (I wonder if those 'real musicians' are top-name guys whose roadies do all the string changes!)
So, the bottom line: I'm a bit frustrated with Rotosound at the moment. I am really not looking forward to having to change strings before a gig in some bar in the future with this new packaging, but I still love the strings and will probably continue using them. But I'm disappointed and sad that they got rid of the old system, with individually wrapped strings, which I thought was extremely practical for gigging musicians. Crap....
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
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The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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SaschaReynders
Joined: Dec 26, 2013
Posts: 251
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Posted on Sep 29 2014 02:40 AM
Thanks for the heads up Ivan, when I received mine I got 6 packs of individually packaged strings and 4 of the new packs (didn't use any of those yet). Guess I'll be saving some of the paper packagings and cardboard boxes to recycle when I run out of "old" sets.
I completely understand your frustration, without sufficiently colour-coded ball ends it's quite silly (to say the least) to pack strings together like that... Guess those musicians they refer to all have dedicated roadies at their service.
— "Duck Tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speedball-JR/151771678181829?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/SPEEDBALLJR
https://itunes.apple.com/be/artist/speedball-jr/id389972205
Last edited: Sep 29, 2014 02:45:22
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SaschaReynders
Joined: Dec 26, 2013
Posts: 251
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Posted on Sep 29 2014 02:40 AM
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SaschaReynders
Joined: Dec 26, 2013
Posts: 251
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Posted on Sep 29 2014 06:23 AM
crumble wrote:
There's a youtube corrosion test whereby the D'addario fared well and the Rotosound came off dreadfully. Salt Test
I find it interesting that the non-coated strings did fairly well in comparison to the coated ones, makes one wonder if coated strings are really worth the extra dough.
It would also be interesting to see this test repeated 10-20 times with absolute identical amounts of water and salt to see if the results would be consistently the same.
— "Duck Tape is like The Force: it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Speedball-JR/151771678181829?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/SPEEDBALLJR
https://itunes.apple.com/be/artist/speedball-jr/id389972205
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Sep 29 2014 07:47 AM
I didn't notice or forgot there were uncoated in the test. But as with most bare metals corrosion begins immediately and string makers usually coat the strings in something or the other to extend shelf life. So the uncoated strings might coated in something which is designed to wear off quickly. Apparently these strings which are coated for propose of extra life don't always feel so good, the D'addario coating feels a similar to the matt coating on the back of modern guitar necks (for a few days) but nothing really distracting.
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1351
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Oct 02 2014 12:42 PM
Hey guys, Guitar Center wants to keep my new guitar 2-3 days to change the strings and do a setup. Is this normal? I guess I will just continue to play with the factory 9's that came with it.
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Oct 02 2014 12:54 PM
I don't know if it is normal, but if you know how to change your own strings and do a set-up then you should let them. And tell them how you want it setup, which strings, how you like your action, etc...
2-3 days is a long time for a setup.
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1351
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Oct 02 2014 03:59 PM
I don't know what that means, "which strings," "how I like my action." The sound I am going for is kind of similar to Gerry McGee of the Ventures. Please help!
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Oct 02 2014 04:03 PM
Sorry, didn't realize you didn't have the experience with different sets of strings.
Which brand and set of string... Personal preference abounds in this around. They can put most any set of string and gauge on for you, so I was just saying to be sure they get the string you prefer on there or the setup will be useless.
As for action, personal preference. Some people like a low action, other likes to dig in. String spacing at the nut... lots of variables.
I'd let Guitar Center take care of you for now.
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SixStringSurfer
Joined: Sep 23, 2014
Posts: 1351
Memphis, TN
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Posted on Oct 02 2014 04:12 PM
OK, thanks for your help. I should be OK upgrading to some 11's, right? Thanks again, this site is really helping me learn a lot!
— MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Oct 02 2014 04:26 PM
Yeah, .11s would be good. I've used a vast array of strings in my day and I currently use .11s on all my 25.5"(strat/jazzmaster/tele) length guitars. I use heavier on my shorter scale length guitars as there is less tension with the same set of strings due to the scale length.
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