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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink The String thread

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I thought the same thing. I keep them in a drawer, but I wonder in what conditions they were kept in the store. Probably that is why Earnie Ball endured much longer - they are packed in sealed plastic bags, while Rotosounds and Dunlops are in paper envelopes.

just started using ernie ball 12's after using 10's for the longest time...got a really nice percussive sound to them...i have been using elixer nanoweb 13's on my acoustic for years to get that big bluegrass sound

I just added the low-six of an Ernie Ball 7-string set (13-56, recommended on the Poll thread), and while I haven't had the setup/action done yet, it does sound pretty spectacular. Vibe arm is next to useless, now, though. I'll ask my tech to 'splain the_ oogah-boogah_ mysteries of the adjustment screws down there (the guitar's Mysterious Lady Parts), when I take it in.

Cheers,
The Damnthing

"Anythin' worth doin's worth overdoin'."
-Louis Bert Lindley

I just put on a set of LaBella flats on my Tele/Jazz/Gretschmaster thing. They're pretty nice strings, very evenly balanced. Stainless steel, no nickel. Maybe that's why the two unwound strings aren't noticeably brighter than the others.

I finally ditched the 2 1/2 year old Thomastiks that I had on that guitar. Very Happy The wound strings were seriously dark and rubbery sounding.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

I recently got deal on an an Ibanez Jet King 4. It's a hot rod-ish offset thingy, kinda like it. I replaced the factory set strings with a set of round .10 d'Addario <u>pure</u> nickels and really like them so far. A lot warmer than whatever it had on it, I'd say leaning more towards a flatwound sound even (though I'm nowhere's near an expert there) but still with a little bit of sustain. Vintagy. (Is that a word?) A nice compromise between bright/mellow ... so far, so good.

I have to say, I'm really digging the LaBella flats. I think they're my new favorite, after having tried Thomastik, GHS, Chromes, and Fender flats.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

I go between D'Addario Jazz light, pure nickel 12 - 51 and Ernie Ball nickel-steel 12 - 54 both with wound G. I do sub in a 20 plain for the G string when the mood strikes. I'd like to use an 11 - 51 set of pure nickels, but I haven't had great luck with anything lighter than a 12 set on my Jazzmaster w/mastery bridge. I also use Lollar pickups and they have a stagger that matches the radius of the fretboard, but I am guessing 7.25", but mine is 9.5". The magnets are all the same length so they poke out the bottom in a convex radius.

I am going to try and get a custom set from Snake Oil Brand strings that would be similar in gauge to the Jazz light 12 - 51 set in pure nickel. I LOVE the 10 - 46 sets on my Strats and T-Bone (Tele). BUt, I don't surf with those.

Owner of Gunbarrel Custom Guitars!

We just hooked up with Knucklehead strings and I am quite curious to see how these things hold up. Do any of you have experience with them?

THE KBK ... This is the last known signal. We offer Sanctuary.

www.thekbk.com
http://www.deepeddy.net/artists/thekbk/
www.reverbnation.com/thekbk
www.facebook.com/thekbkal

Made the switch to chrome 12s on my tele. Gotta say, they are fine sounding strings. Now to completely redo my amp settings...

I've tinkered with D'Addario Chromes 12-52's in the past and bought a set this past week for my G&L Legacy.
I can't put anymore springs on the trem, so I tightened the screws to get the floater to come down.
With my RI reverb unit and '60 Vibrolux, my sound completely changed, coming from Ernie Ball 10's and 11's. (I used to use 11 rounds before. Just big enough, but not too much.) Doing my "play along with the Ventures '65 live album," I noticed these new strings are like resistance training on the left (fretting) hand. Bends don't come easy yet, but picking is really clean. It's like my right hand is faster,, and my left is slower, so it's frustrating. Fine for easy songs but tough for demanding ones.
The sound is really . . different. I can't hear myself in the mix as well at lower volumes. (ala playing through an old Fender Twin) The reverb is very pronouced, enough to turn my dwell WAY down.
I'll give it a few months, no rush.

and btw, I've got a Dick Dale pick from a show several years ago, and it appears to have indentations that look like a they're from a round wound. Also, how could be eat through those picks with a flat wound.

Last edited: Sep 08, 2011 20:03:08

For those of you who play Jaguars, what brand would you recommend to best get a Trashmen-like tone?

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

Surfzilla wrote:

and btw, I've got a Dick Dale pick from a show several
years ago, and it appears to have indentations that
look like a they're from a round wound. Also, how
could be eat through those picks with a flat wound.

Dick never used flatwounds. His sound was always all about roundwounds. Brian somewhere posted a quote from Paul Johnson about roundwound strings being commonly used by the 1st wave guitarists. It's definitely a myth that they all used flatwounds.

For me, by far the best roundwounds (especially for the money) today are Rotosound nickels. I have used Purples (12-52) on my Strats for the past 10 years or so. They rule. Give 'em a shot.

(I think the experience of most surf guitarists and a kind of a consensus on here is that Strats seem to like roundwounds better than flatwounds, and vice versa for the offsets - though there are players that have had good results with the opposite set ups, too.)

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
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The Madeira Channel on YouTube

My favorite rounds are the Labella nickels. Plenty of authority without being too shrill.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

Yeah, flats on my Legacy is like eating nasty tasting vegetables. It's not fun right now, but it might be good for future benefits once I get conditioned to it.

Is there a big difference between Electric Guitar Nickel versus pure nickel strings? I see Rotosound makes both and the pure nickel strings are more expensive($9.95) vs. 4.95 for Electric guitar nickel. I see this quite often for alot of brands as well.

hlieboff59 wrote:

Is there a big difference between Electric Guitar
Nickel versus pure nickel strings? I see Rotosound
makes both and the pure nickel strings are more
expensive($9.95) vs. 4.95 for Electric guitar nickel. I
see this quite often for alot of brands as well.

The cheaper ones might have a steel core. Slightly brighter than pure nickel.

http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk

Nickel Plated Steel Vs Pure Nickel.
Good question, apparently pure nickel went out of fashion 35 years ago. They have a duller sound but excellent magnetic qualities.

The Rotosound Purples are Nickel Plated Steel. I use and love 'em too! Ivan has probably done more for Rotosound strings than any of their actual endorsees Big Grin

I've never tried their Pure Nickel strings. Of the pure nickel strings, I really liked DR Pure Blues. The problem with them is that their .012 gauge has just got too much tension for me. When using those, I need to go down to their .011 gauge.

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

Here is the info I got from both Dick Dale and Paul Johnson on flatwound versus roundwounds:

http://surfguitar101.com/ygroup/post/14115/

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
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"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

Metal wound strings for classical instruments have been around a veeery long time by the looks of things. I ran a search for "vintage guitar strings" in google images and quite a few items popped up including some 1930s flatwounds with high technical specification. Strings for elecric guitars were called "Electric Spanish Guitar Strings". Fender had a range of Mastersound Strings in flatwound & Bronze, no dates but they look 1950s style packaging.

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