Conference napalm::guitar

    Hmmmm, I used Ernie Ball Super SLinky's also but over here in the
    states it runs from 9 thousandths (high E) to 42 thousandths (low
    E) ...

    
    Way back when, an old teacher had me start using a set made of singles.
    I guess it can be considered to be a light top-heavy bottom set.
    Try:
    
    	.010 .012   .017   .028  .038  .050
                   unwound
    
    I think this gives a nice full sound with bendable E, B and G strings.
    They also seem to stay in tune a little longer than other sets.

    My Martin is set up for mixed sets, heavy top/medium bottom:
    
    	.014 .018 .026 .036 .046 .056
    
    This tends to give more balance across the strings for playing
    especially in a bluegrass environment where the guitar is often
    overpowered by banjo's, mandolins, and fiddles.  It also tends
    to be brighter across the treble end of the guitar while playing
    any leads.
    
    For my Gibson ES150, typically more of a jazz instrument, I tend
    to use a medium gauge string.  I recently discovered the Dean
    Markley Magnum High Output strings.  These have a very nice feel
    and excellant tonality.  The gauge is:
    
    	.011 .013 .020W .030 .042 .052
    
    When I finally do buy the Strat I've always wanted I'm going to
    have to really work to get used to smaller gauge strings.  Should
    be fun.
    
    =ken

    I use Kahman performers exclusively on my electrics. They can take
    the beating of the whammy, as well as lasting better and staying
    in tune better than anything else I've tried, and I 've tried
    everything.
    
    dave

I use Ernie Ball Regular Slinky's on my Gibson Les Paul Custom. I find the 
gauges to be a good trade off between not to thin, but still easy on bending.

Scott

    In case anyone is interested there is a little music shop in
    littleton, i forget the name but I can retrieve it, and they
    sell strings and things real cheap!
    
    mostly gibson and daddario.
    but i use and like daddario.
    for 2.50 a set!
    guitar straps for 2-3 bucks
    picks for $.05
    guitar polish and fret-fast and stuff like that...real cheap!
    
    it's only open...mon,wed,fri from noon? till 5?
    I think.
    actually, calling ahead is a good idea.
    
    they also have electronics stuff. casio keyboards etc.
    but I'm not sure how good a deal those are.
    
    one would have to check.
    
    rik
          
    

    I use Adamas strings on my Takamine acoustic and like them very
    much.
    
    dave
    

    I use Fender Bullet lites on my strat (010 1st). Tried various other
    makes (Ernie Ball's, Nashville Straights,etc) but kept coming back
    to the Fender's. Strange, for some reason I can't get the ultra-lite
    (008 1st) set to intonate correctly - not enough saddle adjustment.
        
    Jimi.

    I use S.I.T. (stay in tune) strings on my Gibson GGC-700.
    No s#!t, once they stretch, they really do stay in tune like no
    other string I've ever used.
    

    Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone here know roughly
    when metal wound strings started being used?
    
    --- jerry

    I have an old (circa 1960) Hofner Senator acoustic electric bass
    guitar, which for years I used tape wound strings of various types.
    I always ended up with a 'dead' "G" string very soon after changing
    the set.
    	In frustration, I decided to try round wound strings of varying
    gauges during the last year or so, together with the addition of
    a second (bridge) pickup. I have finally settled on a med/light
    guage set, (exact sizes not to hand) and am now experiencing a
    revalation in new sounds, from deep, growling bottom notes sometimes
    produced by accomplished double bass (bull fiddle!) jazz players,
    to sharp rock bass sounds  (Barbed Wire Bass!!!). 
    	So far the "G" string is holding out quite well!!
    
    			Dave Clark...(One of many!!)
    

Here's another question about strings.  Does anybody know what the ratio
might be between increase in string gauge and pounds of pressure exerted
on the neck?

The practical application of my question is this:  if I put a standard set
of strings with a .010 1st string on my Strat which has heretofore only
had .009s on it, might the curvature of the neck be affected?

Paul

    re .12:
    
    I think the ratio of tension is the square of the ratio of string
    diameters. However, that would be strictly true only for unwound
    strings. I don't know how good an approximation that would be for
    wound strings. Gibson used to publish ads for their Grabber strings
    which would tell you the tension of the strings. I think it was
    77 pounds for the 9's and 90 pounds for the 10's. 
    
    From experience, necks do curve a little more with 10's. This has
    been true of every guitar I ever owned. However, I also think you
    need a little more curvature with 10's so you can get underneath
    the strings to bend 'em easier!
    
    -Dave

    re: .10
    I am not sure as to when steel strings were introduced to guitars.
    Martin guitars made before 1928 were generally braced for gut strings
    which exert much lower tension.  But steel string were around before
    that.  Martin only changed the bracing and truss rods in response
    to public pressure and they are notorious for being slow to react.
    Banjos had used metal strings for years.  I can only guess, but
    I would say 1900 would be close for their introduction for guitars.
    Paul
    

    This month's issue of Frets magazine has a focus on strings and
    a wealth (unnecessary overabundance?) of material on tension, diameter,
    tone, stress on axe, etc.
    
    - Evan
    

    Yes... your neck will definetly bend more with the heavier strings
    ad infact my have to be adjusted for them. all necks curve a little
    to eliminate the fret buzz at the lower frets.  
    
    Neck adjustment procedure:
    
    Hold the string down on the neck at the first and last fret.Using
    the string then as a straight edge observe the distance between
    the string and the 5th fret. You should just be able to see daylight
    there. Adjust the torsion rod accordingly (remembering to exert
    external preshuer on the neck to avoid shearing the rod or nut).
    
    After this the bridge must be adjusted for height and intonation.
    Intonation is best done with a scope.
    
    This is a fairyy simple proceedure that every guitarist should know.
    
    Have fun
    
    Jim
    

    Will somebody please suggest a combination of strings for a semi-solid
    electric? I want to get a blues sound and I noticed in an earlier
    note (4.3?) a mention of a combination which included the use of an 
    unwound "G" for extra bendability.
    
    I want to try light gauge strings for a bit more movement.
    
    Any suggestions?
    
    Billy

    Re: 4.17
    
    The note with the unwound "G" was 4.2.
    
    
    Question: Would .09's be too light?

    .09s are great for an accoustic electic. You need a light touch,
    and if you use a pick, a thin pick.

    
    I always use D'Adderio (sp) .009 - .042  on my
    ES-335.  If you have a heavier playing hand, though,
    you may want to use a heavier set of strings. 
    I used to mix the EBG strings from a set of .009's with the
    EAD strings from a set of .010's to get a little more 
    gutsy bass sound.
    
    Frank
    

    I need some help on when to change bass strings? I have heard from
    never to every month.
    

    
    I usually change them when they are dead.That is no sustain left.
    It usualyy works out to be every 4-6 month,with 2 changes in the
    summer due to sweat.
    
    I think it's all a matter of the sound you like.I heard that Duck
    Dunn only changes strings when one breaks.I read in GP that 
    John Entwhistle had his strings change before every gig!.
    
    I use Rotosound Swing Bass strings,and I wish I could afford to
    change 'em every month!>
    
    Tomg
    

    My experience with bass strings was that flat wound strings literally
    never need to be changed. I never noticed any significant difference in
    tone between new strings and older strings. Round-wound strings, on the
    other hand, do seem to lose something over time. I expect this is
    because dirt and moisture enter into the windings and deaden the
    response somewhat. I used to do something to liven them up, but I don't
    recall exactly what it was. It may have been soaking them for some time
    in boiling water and then wiping them clean very thoroughly. But this
    could be bum advice, it was so long ago and my memory is slipping (too
    much loud music). Has anyone else tried this?
    
    - Ram

    You're not losing it! I remember one of my friends telling me (we were
    in college, hense poor) that his guitar teacher told him he could boil
    guitar strings to 'rejuvinate' them.  I guess it removes all the crud
    from the windings. I've also heard of people soaking them in alcohol.
    
    Eddie Van Halen used to boil new strings *before* using them, to
    'break them in'.  I really don't know what this was supposed to
    do.
    
    Quite honestly, I never tried it.
       
    Greg

>    Eddie Van Halen used to boil new strings *before* using them, to
>    'break them in'.  I really don't know what this was supposed to
>    do.
    
I believe that by boiling them beforehand, there is very little stretching 
of the strings after they are on the guitar. Therefore (obviously) it is 
a lot easier to tune and keep in tune a guitar with new strings.

Alan S.

    But how would you dry them without them rusting ?????
    
    
    			Scary

    I did it and it seems to work. After the cleaning the strings have
    a brighter sound. In my case rust was not a problem to worry about
    since it was either buying string now or later. I like later better!
    

    
    
    I do that (boil strings) all the time when I change my strings.
    I take them straight from the package, boil 'em for about 5 
    minutes, wipe them dry with a clean towel, and put them on.
    This save some of the initial stretch time.  And I've never
    had problems with rust on them either, of course if you leave
    strings on for a long time, it could be a problem.  Right now
    I change them every couple of weeks.  When I was actively gigging,
    I was changing them every couple of gigs.  Gunk can really build
    up quick when you're sweating alot.
    
    rc
    
    

    Try boiling the strings in rubbing alcohol, after you boil them
    in water.  The alcohol has a lower boiling point, so it won't aid
    in the stretching of the strings, but it will get all kinds of nasty
    gook out of the strings, and leave a really bright timbre.
    
    Ashley

	from what i've been able to determine from talking to my mechanical
    engineering friends, boiling of strings in water or alcohol for
    anything less than a few months cannot induce metallurgical or
    mechanical changes in strings.  you have to get steel up to hundreds
    of degrees centigrade in order to affect it at all.  as for streching,
    unless the strings are under some tension, they cannot be prestreched
    by any heat treatment of any sort - how does the string know to
    get longer instead of fatter??? 
    
    	strings wear due to cold working.  this makes them brittle and
    less 'springy' which accounts for lack of sustain, deadened sound
    and finally snapping. boiling of old strings probably helps sound
    due to the oils and such being removed.  this is also the most likely
    effect on new strings as well.  they probably don't slip as much
    around the tuning machines with the oils removed and hence seem
    to break in faster.
    
    	i personally would be hesitant to boil strings in alcohol,
    especially over an open flame such as a gas stove, for fear of igniting
    a fire.  i have never tried it but i should think soaking strings,
    whether old or new, in tepid soapy water and then rinsed under running
    water would have the same basic effect as the boilings.
    
    	all of this is, of course just opinion.
    
    						jt

    I've revived dead strings somewhat by washing them in lukewarm soapy
    water, so I'd guess the effect was mainly from cleaning.  
    
    It's been a drinking-age since I had a physics course, but I'm pretty
    sure that a temperature change from room temp to boiling water is
    enough to cause measureable thermal expansion of a metal.  Of course
    the string would shrink to its original size after cooling.  I'm
    not about to try to work out the geometry of this, but maybe the
    heat causes the winding to open just enough to get really clean.
    Maybe?
    
    Bob
    

i'd bet that your right .31!!. jt

    Since I started all of this discussion about boiling strings with my
    suggestion, let me get in my $.02 worth. I don't think the purpose of
    boiling them is to effect changes, or "revive", the metal. It is simply
    to soften, loosen, and remove embedded oils and dirts that accumulate
    from playing. The idea is that the built-up deposits deaden the tonal
    quality of the string. We only used to do this with round-wound
    strings. I doubt that it would have any significant effect on flat
    wound strings, which are wound too tightly in general to allow deposits
    to collect in the windings. As far as I know, flat-wound strings are
    good for the life of the instrument, or the player, whichever comes
    first.
    
    - Ram

    	You might want to try some baking soda in the water when you
    boil your strings, for Roto Sound Swing bass (which loose their
    edge after a couple weeks), this brings them back at least half
    way.

    Victor Litz music sent me a catalog las t night and Darco Funky
    strings are being blown out at $28.95 a dozen...given the relative
    speed with which I burn out strings and the low cost here I'll probably
    give them a call and exercise some plastic.
    
    Does anyone have any good reason why I should avoid Litz or the
    darco funky strings?  
    
    Oh yeah Victor Litz has a toll free order phone 800-828-5518
    
    dbii

    Dave,
    
    	I've used Darco Funky and noticed a difference between those
    and other brands life expectancy wise. Unfortunately they last
    a week. They are not as bright as Daddario and don't last. I was
    breaking string's regularly so they were a cheap. $2 to $3 a set
    and come with an extra 1st and 2nd. Matter of fact they sounded
    dead after a couple of days..... But this only my opinion.....
    
    
    							Rick
     

    Has anyone used Schaller strings? I tried 9s on a Schecter strat
    with a locking nut, trem., etc. I never gave much thought to the
    brand of string that I use, but these Schallers s*ck. I can't get
    them to stay in tune worth a damn. At first I thought they weren't
    broken in, but I've had them on for two weeks and am still having
    problems. They seem to be seated properly, the nut is locked down,
    but they just don't seem to stay in tune for very long-even without
    leaning on the whammy.
    
    Looks like I should go back to GHS strings. Ironically the Schaller
    strings are supposedly made for guitars with whammys. Could've
    fooled me.
    
    -Tom

    I had a similar problem with Kaman 008's. After 4 gigs (over a 2 week
    period), they still would not stay in tune past a set (45 minutes).
    I went back to GHS strings (The Kamans were part of a free promotional
    give-away & I've never used them since). I don't use a vibrato, so
    it ain't 'cause I was tugging on them too hard.

								Jens
								

    " Shame down under "

    Hmmmmmmmmm
    Some thing really strange happened then
    
    	Well I would just like to say that if dont change the srings
    on my 87 Fender US strat once every 2-3 weeks , they break , and
    usually right in the middle of a show. But I think it is caused by
    the sharp edges on the tremelo arm , does anyoone else have similar
    problems.
    
    .....Brian

A question that hopefully someone can help me with.....

I want to get new strings to put on my Celebrity (Ovation) acoustic. 
Currently it has a set with a .011 high-E string, and a wound G-string.
Are there any sets of string that might be even lighter (ie. starting with
.010 or even a .009 on the high-E), but still with a wound G-string?

Any recommendations on what to try?

thanx,
Alan S.

    D'addario has an extra-light set that had a .010 for the high-E,
    then .014, .023 (wound), etc. I have them on my acoustic. They
    sound good. The neck really flattened out after I put them on;
    and my action got super low (almost too low!). That's the only
    thing I'd be worried about.
    
    -Dave

    
    
    
    
    	Sheesh... A guitar playing friend of mine had me try his Strat
    strung with a set of Ernie Ball 10's except he was using and 11
    B-string and a 16-G-string... shoot I love this set-up... I thought
    that it was illegal, kinda like the mattress tags.. to break up sets of
    strings...  I get great (ahemm... ok I guess for me) Steve Ray sounds
    on the bass strings but I can still bend the B abd G easily...  Why
    didn't I think of this???
    
    
    
    Steve

    Talked to Mac McCloud at the jam last wed....his new set up is .011
    thru .052. Sheesh! He had to have a new nut installed to accept the
    monsters. The neat trick, however (ala SRV), is that he then tunes down
    a WHOLE step! (1st and 6th string are 'D', etc.) He says he gets the
    tone and sustain of big strings, yet they feel like  a set of .009's.
    (I heard SRV tunes down 1/2 step)
    
    I'm still using .009 thru .040 (Fender 150XL) on my strat....what a
    wimp!  8^)

    > (I heard SRV tunes down 1/2 step)

      Are you *sure* about that?  I don't think so!  His "E" chords
      sure sound legit to me.

      cheers/mike

>> (I heard SRV tunes down 1/2 step)

> Are you *sure* about that?  I don't think so!  

I think the studio albums may be mostly in E. But I know that most of the live 
album is tuned to Eb, except for "Voodoo Chile" and "Love Struck Baby", which 
are both in standard E (I think 'cause they have brother Jimmy jamming on 
them).

Alan S.

    re: .45
    
    No, I'm not sure....I "heard" that he has tuned to Eb, enabling him to
    use bigger strings without getting finger hernias....
    
    Steve

    Wow, that's really weird!  I never noticed when seeing him in concert.
    
    It does bring a question to mind, though...
    
    What advantage does one get by tuning down a half step from a 'sound'
    standpoint?  How does one adjust finger positioning?
    
    cheers/mike

    Mike,
    
    The "sound" standpoint as far as Mac is concerned, is the use of
    heavier guage strings. He just plain likes the tone of 'fat' strings,
    but didn't like the heavy feel; hard to bend/shake, etc.
    
    As far as finger positioning, he either gives the rest of his band
    (guitar & bass) the chore of transposing the position, or he does it.
    I watched him at our weekly blues jam, and he was doing most of his
    cover tunes in the key that his band always played them, and HE was
    moving up a step to match. (Ex: Band plays "thrill is gone" in Bm, Mac
    has to move to C#m position on the neck to match). It's not a big issue,
    as most of their music is 12 bar blues, and blues/rock standards.
    
    Seems like alot of work to me...I like my .009's......
    
    Steve

    Make sense to me Steve.
    
    I heard that Leslie West alledgedly used thinner guage wound strings
    on his low strings and thicker guage unwound strings on his "B" and
    "E".  So what he basically got was strings that were pretty closely
    matched, as far as guage goes, on all six strings.
    
    Interesting!  And you really can't argue with West's sound.
    
    cheers/mike

    Geez, there are sooooo many variables to consider when looking to
    alter your sound.  Seems endless!

    
    
    	I just noticed that the Musician's Friend (wontcha be, couldn'tcha
    be my neighbor.. hi boys and girls)  Is selling (special introductory
    offer) sets of SIT 9-42 strings for 3.88 a set with a second set free. 
    Sounds like 1.94 per set with 2.95 for shipping.  I don't use 9s cos I
    like the bleeding I get with 10s, but someone who does might be
    interested.  Their number is: 1-800-777-5173
    
    
    Steve

    
    
      This looks like a good place as any.
    
      Last night my girlfriend had an appointment in Boston.  With a
    couple of hours to waste I ran into Boston Music.  (Jus can't stay
    out of a music store.)   They have small quantities of everything
    in there.  
    
      I spent some time goofing around with some guitars. (Martin 
    Shanadoa<sp>, Gibson ES-175 and others.)  It was cold out so the
    place was empty.  He wouldn't let me play with the tenor sax. Rats.
    Then I found some squeze boxes.  Neat!  Concertina's, I think they
    are called.  So to get to the point;
    
      Where are there some music stores that have a    w i d e  variety
    of instuments?   From vibes to mandolins to squeze boxes and anything
    else.
    
      I know of the Vintage Fret Shop and Fiddlers Choice so far.
    
      Rick.
    
    
    
    
    

	Werlien's for Music
	Canal Blvd, 2 blocks south of Bourbon.

	they claim to be the oldest full-line music retailer in the
	country.

	Also - Ted Herbert in Manchester is pretty close to being an
	old-style community music store. He stocks band instruments.

	Charlie

    Well, after watching some of the concerts on PBS, I'm going to blow the
    dust off of my ol' Martin D18.  Now, I haven't bought strings is years!
    
    I used to buy D'Angelico wire wound, medium gage.  I would use their
    light gage once in a while, but they wouldn't hold their brightness for
    long.  I also tried the Martin strings, and I never did like them.
    
    Now....this was all 20 years ago!!!!  Some questions for you acoustic
    folkie types:  Do they still make D'Angelico strings?  What strings do
    you like for acoustic playing on Martin Dreadnought style guitars like
    the ol' Martin D18, D28, D12-20s, etc?
    
    I'd like to use a lighter gage than meduim, but I would like to have
    the crispness of the new strings to last longer.  Have they made any
    improvements in 20 years?
    
    Regards,
    Joe
    

    D12-35 Martin Silk and Steel Strings 20 +years at a-440 
    Silk and Steel are Folkie strings

    What does the -440 silk & steel mean?  I'll try them once I find
    them.  I've got the feeling that I'll try several brands and types
    before I settle-in on something.
    
    Joe
    

   re: .-1, .-2

   I think what he was trying to imply with the "a-440" notation was that
   he's had his 12 string tuned up to normal pitch using silk+steel strings
   for 20 years (hopefully not the _same_ strings for all those years :-))
   and he's had no neck problems.  The point of the "a-440" is that many
   12 string players tune down to "d" to reduce the tension on the neck from
   all those strings.  Especially on top-dollar guitars which you want to 
   last forever.

   Silk+steel strings tend to be lower in tension at a standard tuning than
   regular steel strings, as they have a silk core wound with steel, as 
   opposed to the traditional steel wound with nickel (or phosphor(/bronze)).
   They (s+s) also tend not to sound as bright, and to not last as long as
   regular strings due to the silk getting dirty from finger oil.

   Note that the more popular types of acoustic strings these days are not
   straight steel/nickel, either.  They're now usually a steel core wrapped
   with either bronze or phosphor-bronze, which gives you a real bright, bell-
   like tone.  The p-b strings do tend to lose this bell-like quality some-
   what quickly, but some feel it's worth it.  I use p-b strings on my
   mahogany Guild (when I play acoustic) and it sounds _wonderful_.

   -- Sam

    Thanks Sam.  I wasn't sure about the 440, so thanks for the info.
    I know some symphonies were tuning to a-450 for a while, until the
    singers revolted - so much for that kick.  I have also heard of tuning
    lower too.
    
    I'll look around for the p-b strings too.
    
    Joe
    

    For you folkies, I was just recommended GHS strings, as well as Martin
    something or other (their top of the line) and that the D'Angelico's
    that I play were good too.
    
    Anyone out there play using GHS strings, medium gage?
    
    

    �   ...Martin something or other...
           
    Mayhaps you refer to Martin Marquis?  I use the mediums.  One helluva
    nice set of strings.
    
    						Marc (Part-time folkie)

    I use GHS mediums phosphor-bronze strings on a late 60's D-18.  They
    are nice and crisp while new, but lose the crispness quickly...like
    within a week.  Then, they seem to be stable,  with a decent sound,
    for about a month or six weeks, before becoming dull sounding and harder
    to tune.
    
    I think my hands sweat slightly more than the average person, so this
    contributes to accelerated deterioration.  I can prolong the life of the
    strings maybe 2X if I remember to clean the strings after playing (using
    rubbing alcohol).
    
    I tried Martin Marquis' for three of four sets of strings: I agree they 
    have a nice tone, but to my ear they sounded a little more mellow than 
    the GHS's.  Since I was playing a lot of blugrass at the time, where the
    guitar player hangs out in the rhythm section a lot, I wanted strings 
    with as much edge and cut as possible to provide more definition to the
    rhythm.
    
    Another $0.02's worth...
    
    Regards,
    John K.
     
    
     

    I probably said this in a reply here somewhere way back when, but since
    you asked...
    
    I've been using Dean Markley medium-lite bronze wound strings on my
    HD-28 for the past few years. I've tried all kinds of other strings in
    the past, but these seem to have a nice tone, I like the weight, and
    they keep their tone for a long time. This is important to me because I
    don't gig with my acoustic and prefer not to change the strings on it
    unless I have to.
    
    I don't recall ever trying GHS acoustic strings. I use GHS strings on
    my electric.
    
    - Ram

    I put D'Addario XL .009's on my Fender last weekend.  I like them and I
    feel they made a big difference in sound.
    
    Mike

    I just tried my first set of those Dean Markley cryogenically frozen or
    whatever "blue" jobs.  WOW!  Great tone and they are lasting longer
    than any other string I've used.  By lasting, I mean they don't seem to
    accumulate the "black junk" as fast as Ernie Balls and the "new string"
    tone lasts longer.
    
    I recommend 'em!
    
    Steve D, "thirty-something mutant ninja bulldawg"
    

    What are those things going for Steve?
    
    I'd been thinking of trying them out, but for some reason thought they
    were very expensive.
    
    Greg

    Yeah, ditto!
    
    I'm in the process of checkin' out new strings.  Seems that my 
    Ernie Ball's are prematurely rusting and losing tone moreso than
    they used to.
    
    Mike

I tried these things on my BC Rich.

I think they are the same price as regular strings (give or take a buck or
two)...

IMHO, when you put them on, they already look all rusty so you *think*
they last longer...Jedi mind trick ya know.  But I could be wrong!

jc (Who thinks it's a marketing gimmick)

DAdarrio has anew set out XL-125's (essentially the same as hybrid slinky) ie: 
heavy top light bottom, I like 'em. They seem to stay in tune better than
the XL-120's I used to use..

dbii.

    
    RE: -.1 Wow, heavy top and light bottom?  I'm just opposite!  I have 
    GHS Boomers in order in specified gauges; .010 .013 .017 .024 .032 and
    .042...  Used to buy set of .009-.042 and .010-.038 and cross them to
    make a set of .010-.042  (call me weird...)
    
    J.

    Anyone got any comments on Valley Arts Strings... from what I have
    heard they are made by GHS (Boomers), but the set I got were only
    on the axe for approx 36 hrs.  I didn't dislike em, in fact they
    were great except the bass `E' was a �046... 
    
    Talk about Heavy Metal....
    
    Bob

    
    
    	Uh oh, me and DBII agree on something???  I like those light top
    heavy bottoms by d a whatever too.  I can be a real sissy soloing on
    the high strings, and play those boogie rhythms like I was using 10s!!
    
    Yeeee haaaw!

    Re:  Dean Markley Blue Steels......
    
    They go for about $10 a set.  I had to return a defective strap to the
    store and I swapped for 2 sets of DM strings as I had another strap. 
    The way they're lasting, it may be worht the money! 
    
    RE: Coop's comment....I didn't find them to look rusty when new,
    they're actually pretty clean and shiny and they seem to stay that way.
    I have pretty corrosive sweat, too.
    
    Steve D.

    
    Ah Steve, you just bought them freeze dried strings cuz you saw an 
    ad with your heroes endorsing them!  ;^)
    
    -pat

    RE -1
    
    OK, I ADMIT IT, OK!  THERE, ARE YA SATISFIED?  SHEESH!  IT'S NOT EASY
    BEING A TOM JOHNSTON JUNKIE YA KNOW?!
    
    |)

    Oh, I thought CC DeVomit used 'em too ....		8^)
    
    
    				Scary

Busted !   Agagagagagagagaaa...

Steve 'Bulldawg-DeVille' Dandrea !!!

(Next thing you know he'll be beaching his hair !)

Agagagagagagagaaaa...

    Coop,
    
    what, exactly, is "beaching" one's hair?    (spelling busted
    Aagagagagaga...)
    
    Steve

Grumble, grumble, grumble...
Rable et.el.

jc

                 <<< CVG::WORK3:[NOTES$LIBRARY]GUITAR.NOTE;2 >>>
                              -<  Guitar Notes  >-
================================================================================
Note 4.69                     Strings 'n' Things...                     69 of 78
CSC32::H_SO                                           7 lines   5-APR-1990 18:22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    RE: -.1 Wow, heavy top and light bottom?  I'm just opposite!  I have 
    GHS Boomers in order in specified gauges; .010 .013 .017 .024 .032 and
    .042...  Used to buy set of .009-.042 and .010-.038 and cross them to
    make a set of .010-.042  (call me weird...)
    
    J.
    
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    They have finally arrived.  $40 for a box of 12.  So far, I've put em
    on all but 1 electric and really happy with the feel.  Try'em sometime, 
    I really like'em, although I would have preferred Fenders.
    
    J-Dot

    you are !wierd!
    
    I still like 5150, Ernie Ball 9's or 10's,
    and Augustine Blue label  ( Extra thick ) nylon strings.
    
    I have been hoping somebody would come out with a nylon string that has
    magnetic properties so I can use them on guitars with pickups.
    Maybe a magnetic Delrin or Kevlar, some space-age stuff.
     
    I like nylon strings better.

re: -.1

When I was playing rock&roll back in the sixties, I heard a rumor that 
someone was making nylon strings with a steel core that could be used on 
electric guitars.  I never saw any hard evidence that they actually existed
and, if they were feasible, I'm sure we would all have heard of them.

Has anybody tried running an Ovation classical through an effects rack?

Bob

    I've used black nylon tape wound strings on my bass for years. I like
    'em a whole lot.
    
    Edd

    re:-2
    
    I run my Ovation classical through  Rockman units
    (SUSTAINOR+EQ+CHORUS+ECHO) and I like the sound (especially with the
    super clean setting on the Sustainor). Is this what you were asking
    about?
    
    John Z

    
>    I run my Ovation classical through  Rockman units
>    (SUSTAINOR+EQ+CHORUS+ECHO) and I like the sound (especially with the
>    super clean setting on the Sustainor). Is this what you were asking
>    about?
    
Yeah.  Sounds like fun.

    Saw the '[strings real cheap]' note which got me to wondering - if one
    goes and buys twenty sets of strings, and changhes strings once a week,
    you're going to eventually put on a set of strings that's close to a
    half a year (or even more, depending on shelf life in a warehouse) old...
    
    Now, do strings in fact 'get old'?  Perhaps losing tonality, strength,
    blahdeblahdeblah?   I've run into sets bought at different music stores
    that broke � hour into playing, or even worse, while I was stretching
    them (a true nightmare!), and had chalked that up to 'old strings'.
    
    Is this a reality?  Will alloys act this way?  Any way to retard the
    aging process? (refridgerator/icebox?)
    
    
    thanks in advance,
    
    /c
    

    I can't speak officially or anything, but I bought a box of strings
    well over a year ago and just used the last of them (I don't change
    real often) and I thought each set sounded just as fresh as the last. 
    I had one set that had a string that broke real quickly in it but that
    was the only one.  I always attributed this to flaws in string from the
    manufacturing process.  It seems to me that certain brands of strings
    seem to have more bad ones then others too.  Ernie Balls seemed to have
    the most of any of the ones I've used much. Both GHS and Dean Markley's
    seem relatively defect free.
    
    I always thought that the major thing that killed strings was getting
    dirt and oils in them from your hands and that won't happen in the
    package (unless you like to take them out every once in a while and run
    your hands over them  ;^)
    
    Greg
                                

    
    I think we're blessed here.  No humidity to worry about...
    
    J.

    phfffffffffft!
    

    
    ;^)
    
    J.

    Can someone post some info about "silk and steel" strings? 
    
    Brands? Worth the extra money? And so on...
    

re: .90

   See 4.57 in this topic.

   As for brands, I've seen 'em by most major manufs.  Martin, D'addario, etc.
   As for "worth it?", that's up to you.

   -- Sam

    Discovered some "new" strings recently. 
    
    I've been using Savarez strings on my classical for awhile and
    I recently discovered they sell a set with a wound g string.
    The g string on nylon sets is always the weakest sounding because
    they have to make the nylon so thick. This one is nylon wound
    with nylon. (The basses are silk and steel wound) It feels and
    sounds great. Much better tone and balance in chords.
    
    Also, I noticed when I got these that you can also get b and e
    strings wound too. Going to try a set with the ebg strings
    all wound next. 
    
    Only problem is that these things list for $14 - 17. I got
    some at Mr. C's in marlboro for $10. That's a good price
    for any Savarez strings. 
    
    I think the difference is worth the price though.
    
    Bob

   Bob,

   Are you sure you want to be using silk + steel strings on a classical
   guitar?  The tension on these is considerably higher than on standard
   nylon strings, and classicals being made as they are (no truss rod,
   very thin/light bracing, etc) I'd be _very_ careful about using them
   on a guitar I cared a lot about.  

   I've always thought S&S strings were to be used in place of steel 
   strings on a steel-strung acoustic, when the player wanted lighter action
   (tension) than can be obtained using standard steel strings.

   Just a thought,

   -- Sam

    
    
    Silk & steel are standard on Classical guitars unless as purist one
    insists on gut. 
    
    The silk core takes the stress, the steel windings are not under direct 
    tension.  The bass side are of this construction & the treble side are of 
    drawn nylon.
    
    I normally use pro-arte high tension strings & have been happy with
    them.  These Savarez sound quite revolutionary I'm about due a new set
    so I may try them if I can get them in the UK.
    
    Cheers
    		Pete.

    Hmmm...

    I thought that in a normal classical set the bass strings had nylon cores
    wrapped with steel and the treble strings were just nylon...

    In any case, I was thinking particularly of the "Silk and Steel" strings
    one can buy from say Martin, in which the treble strings are steel.
    (That's what I think of when someone says, "silk and steel strings".)
    I don't believe you'd want to use these on your standard classical guitar.
    Sorry for any confusion.

    -- Sam

    re: 94, 95. That's right, the top three are nylon. 
    
    The wound g is actually very light because it's wound with nylon.
    The guy I bought these from (mr. C) kept saying, you'll never go
    back after you've tried these. I have to admit he was right.
    I love em.

I think the standard "silk and steel" basses have a thin steel core, then
silk, then more steel.  Classical basses just have a silk core.

Bob, those Savarez wound trebles *are* pretty amazing.  I used a couple of 
sets about fifteen years ago and loved the intonation and clarity, but the
winding made just enough scratchy noise (against my nails) to drive me nuts.
I didn't want to change my attack just to accomodate the strings.  

Bob

    -1
    
    I didn't have that problem. I was more worried about nail wear, but
    that doesn't seem to be a problem either, maybe because they're
    wound with nylon.
    
    If I get around to trying the all wound set I'll post something
    about them.
    
    Bob

    
    Sorry to come back late on this (been out for a week).
    
    Could someone post some model names/numbers for the sets with wound 
    trebles please?  The Heathens at the local music store looked at me as 
    if I was crazy when I enquired about these things, they weren't about 
    to go opening packets to find out whether I was kidding or not!!!
    
    Cheers
    		pete.
    
    

    Has anyone tried both the Martin Marquis and Martin M150 strings?
    I have Marquis strings now, and they just sound muted.  I noticed in
    the ads that they are "hand silked".  Does this mean that they are
    wire-wound on gut-type cores?  I'd like to have a brighter sound than
    the Marquis give, so I was wondering if the M150s (bronze wirewound)
    are any brighter?
    
    Joe
    

    re: 99
    
    Finally got around to looking at a pack. What I have is:
    Savarez, 520 P3.  I guess the "P3" indicates the wound 3rd.
    
    Bob

    At Steve Jensen's insistance I got a set of DR strings awhile back  and
    just got around to sticking them on my Ibanez on Saturday.  I'm really
    quite impressed.  I usually don't notice a lot of difference between
    string brands (I typically use GHS, Dadderio, or Dean Markley) but the
    difference in sound and feel with these was fairly dramatic.  
    
    The sound was thicker, richer, like I'd moved up a gauge in size when I
    hadn't.  The feel was more pleasant to my fingers too.  They didn't
    feel heavy, and it seemed easier to bend accurately.
    
    If you like the sound of heavier gauged strings but can't deal with the
    feel of them (like me) then I highly recommend that you test drive a
    set of the DR strings!
    
    And before you ask; No...I don't own stock in the company.  8^)
    
    Greg

    
    	I've been using DR strings for the last 6 months and I think
    they're great. My gauge is alittle heavier than most since they
    range from .010"/.011" to ~.056". I like the tone, the feel and
    they seem to last alot longer than almost anything else I've tried.
    Although I did break my "g" string two weeks ago after leaving them
    on the guitar for over 2 months. Imagine that 2 months! The tone
    seemed alittle dull next to the new strings, but not enough that
    folks in a club would notice.
    
    
    					Rock on,
    						   Fred

	I wonder why nobody hasn't mentioned Dean Markley 'SLP' (Super
	Long Play) strings? I've used them for quite a while now, and
	have decided to stay with them. They have definite more sustain
	than all other strings I've tried, and a really warm, 'bluesy'
	tone as well. They cost a bit more than 'normal' strings, but I
	gladly pay it for that quality. The 'Lite' ones that I use are
	.009 - .011 - .016 - .024 - .032 - .042. You can get them in:

			Extra Lite      (.008 - .038)
			Lite            (.009 - .042)
			Custom Lite     (.009 - .046)
			Regular         (.010 - .046)
			Lt. top hv. bt. (.010 - .052)
			Medium          (.011 - .052)
			Jazz            (.012 - .054)

	Poul

     <<< Note 4.103 by SALEM::ABATELLI "I don't need no stinkin' Boogie" >>>

>    Although I did break my "g" string two weeks ago after leaving them
>    for 2 months.....    
    
     I change mine every January first - whether they need it or not, but
     only on my gigging guitar - I usually break 3 strings over the period
     of a year - Last year, that was over 120 gigs. You must be awful hard
     on your strings.

							     Jens

    	I don't think much of Dean Markley strings. My wexperience with
    their bass strings was bad, seems they're disolved by frets... Never
    with my rotos. My guitarist just put a set of DMs on two weeks ago and
    has broken more since than in the last six months using Ernie Ball
    super slinky's,this is not your common high e string. Noooo a D and a
    G. Usually he has to change cause the tone is gone. This time he's just
    gotta take out the TRASH!!!!
    
    FJE

    I use GHS Boomers and Super Slinkies...  I change 'em every other week 
    or so, depending on how often I play the particular axe.  I thought
    this was normal.  Whats the concensus ??
    
    My strat still has the factory strings...
    :)
    

    I change mine every week - but that's after playing 8 sets during a
    weekend, and practice twice a week.  Not to mention, my hand sweat
    could clean bugs off the windshield of the space shuttle.  
    
    Scary

	I use GHS Boomers, .009-.042 on my telecaster. 

	Bass Boomers (light guage) on my basses.

	I tried some of those DM "Blue Steel" strings on my bass and
	they went dead faster than any other set of bass strings 
	I've ever had.   

	XLs on my strat. Marginally better than Fender 250R.

	Epiphone Bass strings - they're cheap enough to replace twice
	as often and sound OK for a while.

    RE: 104
    
    The Savarez Nylon set 520 P3 is the one with a wound G string.
    P3 does not mean plain 3rd. I just bought 2 sets of these at
    Mr. C's in marlboro.
    
    

    re: 4.106
    
    I usually play my strings alittle harder than most, but I use thin/med
    picks (.58mm) so I normally don't break strings in that way. I do
    however use my "stock" Fender whammy and since the saddles have seen
    ALOT of use since 1969 they are grooved a bit and are more likely the
    cause of my string breakage. Well...  it's either that or too strong
    of a right hand right? I just choose to blame it on the saddles!  ;^)
    
    				Rock on,
    					Fred

    
    	I need some advice on finding a compromise for string gauges 
    	os electric vs acoustic.  My Tak came with Kaman "regulars"
    	which I believe are their heaviest.  I promptly put on lights 
    	which range from .012 to .053.   They're slightly better, but 
    	still feel like bridge cables.  Of course my strat now feels
    	like I have rubber bands on it.  I'm thinking about going up
    	to .010's on the strat, but am worried that if I go down again
    	on the Tak, it may affect the neck bow.  What should I do (after
    	I take a valium)?
    
    	signed,
    	-pondering in the piedmont

    re .-1
    
    keep the 12's on the acoustic. Anything lighter than that and it
    starts feeling like an electric :-). 
    
    I used to play mostly electric. I bought a used acoustic with 12's
    on it; I thought they felt like bridge cables too. But you get used
    to it. And then your hands can handle heavier strings on your
    electric. I play a lot of acoustic in the band I'm in now. You
    need heavier strings to play an acoustic the way it's supposed 
    to be played.
    
    - Dave

    
    Thanks Dave.  I was kinda leanin' in tht direction, it's just that 
    I need more patience.  The acoustic with heavy strings sure does bring 
    out more of my mistakes.  That's frustrating, but will pay off in
    the long run if I hang in there.

    
      I always got a personal satisfaction with playin' an acoustic song
    from beginning to end without errors...at least obvious errors to me.
    And it's even a better reward to hear someone say..."you play an
    awesome acoustic..."...It's the overcoming of mistakes that makes
    it great!
    
                           R.B.

    Personally I like the heavier strings on acoustics, I think they sound
    better. 
    
    Greg

   Heavier strings _do_ sound better.  Acoustic or electric.  On the
   acoustic you get more VOLUME out of the bigger string, which allows
   the tonal characteristics of the wood to shine thru.  On an electric
   you get more metal in the string, giving the magnetic field of the
   pickup more to work with.

   I use 12s on the acoustic and 11s on the electrics.  Yeah, 11s.  They
   can be hard to find but they make it easier to switch between the two
   guitars, and they _do_ make the electrics sound better.  Plus, the added
   benefit is that fewer people will want to play your electric guitar...
   (Right, db?  :-))

   -- Sam

	I use 12s on the acoustic and will probably go up to 13s when
	I get a better guitar. I'm at 10s on the electric and after
	playing 11s on Sam's strat, I'm a convert - I'll be switching
	up as soon as I deplete my current stockpile of strings and
	feel like spending a coupla hours doing a set-up.

	Anything below 10s and I overbend horribly and can't do any
	of that nice top-of-the-bend vibrato stuff.

    Oh yeah, I was gonna mention, _many_ hard-core acoustic players 
    "look down their nose" at people who use anything less than 13s
    on an acoustic guitar.  Especially bluegrassers, who don't bend
    that much anyway.  (Personnaly, I think this is why so many people
    have a hard time with Martin's "heavy action".)

    I also find I unintentionally bend notes within chords (especially 
    complex ones) when using lighter strings.

    -- Sam

    p.s.  Thanks, Chas.  :-)

    Seems to me that the heavy strings on your acoustic will make you
    build up your stamina and strength on your electric...making for
    outragious bends, hammers, pulls etc...And I agree that light strings
    on acoustics sound whimpy.
    
    jc

    RE: The last several replies on acoustic stringing... I'm a long-time
    acoustic player (25+ years). My primary guitar is a '79 Martin D-28.
    Anything less than .13 - .56 does get wimpy. This gauge range is
    usually what's sold as Medium gauge in sets. I prefer phospher bronze
    for that crisp ringing sound. D'addario 80/20 and straight phosphor
    bronze, I've found, give the best overall feel and tone. Martin Marquis
    tend to be a bit stiff and not as bright as other brands, but are very
    durable and hold their tone and tune well. 
    
    My Martin definitely has stiff action, but the strength and callouses
    you build allow you to do just about anything. I use heavy or extra
    heavy flat picks which can be manipulated from light brushing to heavy
    flat picking sounds. Novices tend towards light or medium picks as they
    are more forgiving, especially with the heavier string gauges. But,
    once you master a heavy pick, you never want to go back to the
    limitations and monotonous "slapping" sound of lighter picks.
    
    I've found that I like to experiment with string brands rather than
    endlessly pursue the ultimate string. Think of strings like fine wines,
    there are lots of good ones and they're all different/desirable
    depending on what food you eat them with, what mood you're in, how much
    money you have at any given time, etc... I find that different string
    types help me discover new techniques, tones, intonations, etc... I
    keep the outer wrap that has the brand name, gauges, materials, and
    track what I liked/didn't like about them for future reference.
    
    Another thought, anyone who uses alternative tunings, as I frequently
    do, should lean toward heavier gauge strings on an acoustic. These
    tunings (ie: drop-down D, open D, open C, etc...) tend to be lower, so
    string tension is reduced. With the lower 5th and especially 6th, you
    can really have difficulty tuning so that they work in open position as
    well as far up the neck. Also, I use a capo extensively, and again,
    heavier gauge strings maintain the volume, flexibility, and seem to
    vibrate in a closer range, avoiding fret buzz.
    
    One other thought... I ususally do about 40% flatpicking, 40% thumb
    pick with three fingers (nails) finger picking, and 10% raw thumb and
    nails stuff. I've recently begun experimenting with a thumb pick plus 2
    steel finger picks to get a powerful, bright, and easily variable
    strumming sound. It's tough to keep those dunlop steels on against
    medium strings, but I bet it would be much harder against lighter stuff
    that would tend to catch them.
    
    So, if you're an acoustic at heart, my experience says go with .13s!!

    
     Re:-.1  
    
     .056's!  You animal.  I'm gonna tape two grip masters together and
     flex on them in tandem.  Only way I'll make it above .053's!
    
     -pat

    Re: .124... Actually, I just noticed that the Dean Markley Phosphor
    Bronze mediums I have on now have a .058 6th string! Even to me that
    seems a bit heavy, but I'll keep 'em on until they lose their edge (a
    few more weeks). I'm trying to build back my callouses, hand and finger
    strength in anticipation of getting back into playing out. It's been a
    while! With my thick Martin neck, .013 - .058s, and outrageous chord
    positions (lots of thumb plus four-finger contortions), I should be
    ready in the next month or two for some real endurance playing!
    
    As an aside, can anyone point me to a note on how to maintain
    fingernails for steel-string finger picking. I've learned to keep them
    as short as bearable on the left (fingering) hand, and as short as
    workable on right (picking) hand. Longer nails on my picking hand
    invariably crack or break. I've heard of folks eating Knox gelatin (ie:
    Knox for Nails) but don't really want to do that. Is there something
    that the ladies use, like nail hardner, that would help? I want to
    stick with using nails vs. finger picks because the sound is infinitely
    better and more controllable, I believe. There's no other way to get
    that nice rythmic snapping.
    

	Is anybody using a wound G on electric anymore?

    re nail hardeners
    
    Take a tip from Danny Gatton, who claims to use a coating of Super
    Glue(!) to strengthen the nails on his picking hand.  Danny's all
    over the guitar mags lately, check out the new GW.  Don't know how
    well it works, but hey, it's more macho than Knox gelatin.

    re: Nail hardeners...
    
    There's a product out called "Hard As Nails" that will give them quite
    a bit more strength. You can probably find it in the cosmetics section
    at any drugstore.
    
    I once caught a nail under a string on my bass (my fault, nail too
    long) and ripped the nail all the way back to the base. Ouch. I used
    the HoN stuff religiously after that.
    
    Edd

re:  TomG

	Yes, the .11 sets I use on my electrics have wound Gs.  Both 
	D'Addario and Dean Markley brands.

	Speaking of which, I've always really liked D'Addario strings but
	find the .11 set by Markley to be a better "blend" of guages within
	the set.  F'instance, the D'A's use a .14 B string (yikes!) where
	the Markley's have a more reasonable .13.

re:  Nail Hardener

	Be careful with the Super Glue.  I think it was in this very notes
	file that I read that stuff has got cyanide in it!  That may be an
	older formula or something, but I do remember seeing the warning.
	(I find it hard to believe in this overly safety-cratic, litigation-
	rich, anal-retentive society that a product containing cyanide would
	stay on the shelves very long, but you never know...)

	-- Sam

    Well, I bought the "Hard as Nails" stuff today. Funny, they must know
    that guitar playing males use this stuff too. It came in two kinds of
    bottles. One, the typical tall, narrow, nail-polish looking bottle (you
    know, the kind that always fall down), and the other, which I got, that
    looks more like a bottle of model airplane dope.
    
    It was kind of fun watching the gals lookin' at me pick the stuff out.
    They didn't quite know what was going on, but I definitely don't look
    like the type that would use it for... appearances, shall we say!
    
    I'll report back on how well this stuff works.                   

   fyi, didn't see this mentioned anywhere and here looked like a 
   good place:

   Union Music in Worcester Mass is having a free guitar restringing
   and tune up day from 10:30 to 4:00 saturday the 27th. This is sponsered
   by Ovation and some string company affiliated with O. They had the
   same thing a few years ago and it's basically a free set of strings
   electric, acoustic, 6 or 12. don't think basses are included. They
   also do simple neck tweaking and minor adjustments if needed.

   bumwads is one per customer. i'm having my wife carry in my 
   washburn & i'm carrying in the strat. may i can get my mother
   to carry in my martin... :-)

   see you there.

    Strings? I've tried 'em all and never found better sound and longevity
    than D'Addario. I used Fender for a while and liked them but that was
    BEFORE I discovered D'Addario. I've since gone around the horn and I'm
    still surprised at the sound when I finally restring my Fenders with
    D'A.

    Is it me?  What say you?
    
    --rjb

     it's you. 
     you probably had some terrific sexual thing happen
     to you once when you were using these strings the
     first time and now acquaint these with some freudian
     satisfaction thing. it ain't the strings at all.

     humina humina.

     
     
     a little levity, ok?!?    ;-)

    .133

    Am I not levit enough?
    
    I take it you're not enamored with D'Addario. To me, they just sound
    LIVE for sooooo long. I've never had any other brand do that. I played
    with a guy that swore by GHS. So I tried 'em. I hated 'em. I tried
    several different flavors, too. I have to admit, though, that I haven't
    tried Dean Markley. And I probably won't as long as they keep using that
    *STUPID* advertising approach.

    So what do YOU like?

    BTW, I use the sets that either have a .010 or .011 high E.

    

    Butch,

    My string thing was not in reply to your .131. You just pulled me into
    this topic. Hey, I'd take free strings in a NY minute. It actually
    sounds like a pretty nice deal. Actually I've never tried Ovation's
    strings. But I'm sure they're better than old D'Addario. Tyhakns
    (pronounce that!) for posting it. If I was going to be near Worc. I'd be
    there with my Fender. (you think they'd do a Tele carried in by a 6 year
    old?)

    rjb

I got a flyer from Union Music this week. The strings they are promoting 
are Kamans. Kaman is the parent company for Ovations, Takamine, and I 
believe they also own KMD. BTW, the offer does include basses. Kaman is 
trying to promote these new strings and I'm sure they want bass string 
business just as much as they do 6&12 string guitar business. They also 
figure once they get you in the door, you're liable to buy more merchandise. 
I'm thinking of bringing my Jazz Bass in since a set of bass strings 
typically costs upwards of $20.00. They will also check intonation and do 
minor truss rod adjustments at no charge if needed.

Personally, I'm not too fussy about strings, and I believe that most strings 
are made by a handful of companies. For example, I'm pretty sure that Darco 
makes strings that are sold under dozens of differant names. I do, however, 
notice a big differance between bronze-wound strings for acoustic guitars. 

I'm sure there will be a long line of people waiting to have their strings
changed.

    
       The last time I sent a guitar to Ovation for a dustin' and cleanin'
    they loaded it up with their strings. The first snap of the pick tells
    all...their bronze wound are fine strings and resonate well. Their
    strings don't die as fast as others I have bought. For an Ovation to
    sound great you need the freshness of new strings.
    
                                R.B.

    I plan on going, along with my daighter's boyfriend.  I guess it's 
    about time the old LP got new strings.
    
    Question:  Do you have to have been sent a flyer to be able to go?
    Question:  How do I get there from 495?
    Question:  Who else is going?
    Question:  What time is everyone going?  (I'd like to meet a few people
               if possible.)
    
    Chris D.

Well, if you went (like I did) you probably waited (like I did)
for a couple hours unless you were lucky and hit it right. I went
at 3:00 and was outta there by 5:30 (or something like that!!!).
Slooo... got new strings on the Washburn which only took 10 minutes
cause the acoustic line was pretty quick, but to get the strat strung
and the neck slightly tilted and the trem trimmed took the longest.
There were "only" 4 guitars ahead of me, too in the line I was in.
Gave me some time to stand there and jam to a great Wilbur and the Dukes
tape that Cliff brought in of their second set.

I thought, "well this is stupid, I'm outta here" about 5 times. but...

Now the action is so low I spent the rest of the weekend deciding if
I liked it (and I do).

    Well, if you got there at 3:00, then you saw me 'cause I got there at
    11:00 and didn't get outta there 'til 4:30.  Which line were you in?
    I was in the first line on the left, where the register was.  The first
    guy in the accoustic line did my Gibson folk, and the guy working next
    to him did my LP.  Wait a minute, did you say Strat?  The only Strat I
    noticed was on the shoulder of a guy that was there with his wife (I
    assume) and baby (I also assume).  Was that you???
    

>>I thought, "well this is stupid, I'm outta here" about 5 times. but...

    I said the same thing a dozen times, but after driving almost an hour
    to get there, I was determined to stay until my guitars were done.
    
    Chris D.

   Bingo...the gold LP musta been yours! I was looking more at the guitar
   than the faces (not that I know you from a hole in the wall anyway, and
   we work almost in the same building...sheesh, small world..)

    Yup, that was mine.  To bad I didn't know you were going, we could have
    met up.
    
    Chris D.

    BTW Butch, it looked like your Strat has been well taken care of.
    
    Did you see the violin bass while you were there?
    
    Chris D.

    Does anybody know if "heavy" gauge strings can harm an accoustic
    guitar? I play a Martin D-35 (I bought it new ca. 1977) and I prefer(red) to
    use quite heavy Bronze wound strings 014-058, sometimes even used 060 for
    the bass E. I like the full, fat sound produced by these strings (I
    usually play flat-picking bluegrassy/jazzy style - I like Tony Rice, 
    Clarence White stuff...).
    
    But now I've seen a note on a new Martin D-?? in a guitar store that you
    should "use light and medium gauge strings only". Now I wonder if I
    should stop using my strings. So far I haven't noticed any damage on
    the guitar neck or anywhere else.
    
    Does anybody know anything about this?
    
    Thanks,
    Felix from Zurich, Switzerland.
    
    

    
    Hi Felix,
    
    I'm far from an expert but I believe using a guitar with a heavier
    gauge of strings than it was originally designed for is not a good
    idea. The heavier guage strings will put more tension on the guitar
    and I have heard horror stories about the tension starting to lift 
    the bridge away from the body.......personally I wouldn't do it.
    
    J

The guages of strings that Martin guitars could accept have changed over the 
years (and with different models).  The best bet is to ask Martin directly.
Call them at 800-345-3103 or 215-759-2837.  Ask for Les Wagner 

Jim

    I just called them to find out what's best for my D-18 - it seems a
    medium (starting on a 13) or light (12) set is ideal, anything above
    that may put too much tension on the neck.
    
    By the way, Les Wagner has retired.
    
    Bob

    The "use medium or lights" message, I believe, is only on the inside of
    the Herringbone models, i.e., the ones with shaved bracing.  To my
    recollection, the standard D-18, D-18, D-35, etc. should be OK with
    heavies; at least they don't have that disclaimer.  
    
    Charlie

    re:  .148
    
    The same message came with my 1990 D-60 (scalloped bracing), i.e., use
    light or medium only.  I'd be wary of using heavy gauge.
    \Gary 

Tony Rice says he often uses heavy gauge.  Don't know which instrument he uses 
them on.

Bob

    I bought a set of strings for my electric and acoustic guitars on the
    weekend.  Dean Markley custom lights (elec) and Diaddario J16(Acous).
    
    They cost me AUS$21.00 for both.  Approx AMER$16.00.
    
    How much do you guys pay for your strings and is it cheaper to buy them
    buy the box????
    
    P.K.

>    How much do you guys pay for your strings and is it cheaper to buy them
>    buy the box????
    
    Depends on the brand, but I generally pay about $4.00-$4.50 (US) for a
    pack of D'Adderios, GHS, or Dean Markley strings if I buy in a quantity
    of 1.  I can get this down to around $3.00 a set by buying a box at a
    time, so I usually try and do that.  I have a lot of guitars, but don't
    change strings too much (once every 2-3 months usually) and a box can
    often last me close to a year.
    
    Of course that box of .009s may last infinately if I decide to move up
    to .010s...  I played Steve's Ibanez with the .010s on it a few days
    ago and liked it a lot.  Great tone and I think I could learn to live
    with the difference in string weight.  I guess I only have about 3 sets
    from my last box left anyway.
    
    Greg

    $3.00 a set!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Do you guys have an address that I could order them from, even
    with the exchange rate I am going to save a fair bit.  As I 
    always use the same strings I might buy a couple of boxes of 
    each.
    
    thanks
    P.K.

    Check out the mail order topic, I imagine you could get somewhere close
    to that price from most of those places.  Don't know how much shipping
    them to you would cost though. 
    
    Or you can call up my favorite store, Rice Music in Colorado Springs at
    (719)634-3717 or (800)444-7423 and I'm sure they'd treat you well. 
    If you do, tell 'em I told you to call, they'll like that!
    
    Greg

    
    
    
    	I buy my "Gus" and "Boomer" strings from Stew Mac in Ohio
    1-800-848-2273 and pay 3.46 a set for the Nickel Rockers when I buy 12
    sets and 3.09 a set for the boomers.  Shipping is 5.75 on that order so
    my "rockers" wind up costing 3.94 a set.  As an aside, they don't carry 
    the medium guage that I've been using lately 11-15-18-26-36-50 but this
    dude does:
    
    Dean's Musical Services
    616-694-5751
    
    113 E. Allegan Street
    Otsego MI. 49078
    
    
    8.60 retail, 6.02 less than 12 sets, 4.30 12 or more sets... and he
    pays shipping.  I asked ole Dean if he'd take personal checks and he
    said YAYUS!  Sooooo.... I guess I'll be paying an extra 36 cents for my
    SRV clone strings.
    
    
    Gree Vee

    Thanks for the info guys I will try to contact those shops and see
    what they can do for me.  
    
    regards P.K.
    

    I've just changed the strings on my acoustic from a 10 set to a
    D'Addario 12 set (Bluegrass), which run down about a 56 at the bottom,
    so they are pretty stiff in comparison. But, the difference in
    response, tone and volume is astounding! I'd recommend these to anyone
    who doesn't need to bend more than half a tone.
    
    Now to get a heacier set on the electric....
    
    Bob

    
    Could someone tell me what the very best strings are for a classical
    acoustic? Who makes 'em/etc...

    I used Augustine's for years. They are readily available and sound
    ok.
    
    I have been using Savarez strings for the last few years. They are
    the best in my opinion. I get them either at Mr. C's in marlboro, or
    Union music in Worcester. They are around $11-14.

    I prefer the Savarez as well.  The treble strings are made without
    the gloss of other brands and feel nicer playing.  They are expensive!
    and as been said elsewhere the bass strings tend not to last as long
    as the treble strings.  This appears to be the case no matter what
    brand you use.   I prefer the unwound 'G' treble string as opposed to 
    the wound 'G'.  I've played Augustines mostly before the Savarez and
    go out of my way to purchase the Savarez.
    
    A tip I picked up from reading Dan Erlewine (sp?) in Guitar Player:
    Make sure to use the stiff part of the bass strings (just above 
    the loose winding at the end)  when tying them into
    the bridge and not the actual flexible end.  
    Explanation:  during the winding process the tail of the string 
    will have a 1"-2" section with loose windings around the nylon core.
    I always thought this was done to make tying the strings to the bridge 
    easier.  It's not meant for that at all. It's just a production
    by-product.
    You'll get less bass string stretching and more stable tuning
    if you tie in using the stiff section and cutting off the flexible "tail". 
                                            

    One more thought.  If you're just starting out, buy the Augustines.
    They're half the price of Savarez and very durable.
    

    I use the Augustines.  Maybe my philistine ears can't tell the
    difference between them and the (more expensive) Savarez, but my
    wallet sure can.
    
    	db

    Man - I gotta put a plug in here for "DR" strings.
    
    I've used GHS Boomer .009's for years...  And consistently gotten thru
    a four night gig with a fresh set...only to promptly pop one the next
    night at rehearsal...This means restringing before every gig...Bummer.
    
    I've tried a set of DR 009's a couple of weeks ago and have sing play
    7 (SEVEN!!!) 4 set nights with the same axe, AND a two night studio
    session ... never having to even tune the thang !!
    
    DR is my new brand.  Anyone else try 'em ??
    
    jc

    FWIW, just so it's clear, the DR strings JC described are electric
    strings.
    
    I've used them before too and thought they were excellent.  A little
    expensive though, but I don't really go through strings that much.
    
    Greg

    Yo Coop, the questions was about classical guitar strings.
    
    Classical guitar strings are the ones that aren't quite as LOUD!!!!
    
    ;-)

    Not *quite* as loud??  My pickups wouldn't give me anything from 'em!!!
    
    

re:
    
>    DR is my new brand.  Anyone else try 'em ??
    

	I've been using DR acoustic mediums on my Guild Acoustic.  They 
	are about the best string I've tried so far.  They have lots of
	sound and still take minimum pull.  Kinda like a light guage with
	the sound of a medium string.  Nice...

    
    I think I'm going to go for the Augustines. Thanks for the info!

      I used DR strings (Jeff Healey's) about a year ago and like them alot!
    Quite a few string changes later I noticed the B and G strings kept 
    breaking on me. Thus I went back to Ernie Ball .010's and GHS Nickel 
    Rockers. I haven't broken one of these yet. I liked the DR strings 
    (please don't get me wrong), but at the same time I need strings I can 
    depend on. FYI, I went through ~10 different sets of DR w/o a problem,
    but then I had problems with the following 3 sets. Maybe just a bad
    lot?
    
    Who knew?
    
    			Rock on,
    				Fred

Yo db - Pardon it man...  :)

I was just looking for the STRING topic, and wasn't really following
the "string" (sorry :).

    re: .-1
    
    No prob dude.  
    
    ------------------
    
    Interestingly enough, I've been having a hell of a time breaking
    classical strings.
    
    I bought a batch of Dean Markey ball end classical strings awhile ago,
    and I can't seem to bring the high E-string to pitch without it
    breaking within a day or so.  They all break RIGHT at the ball so
    I think from now on this boy is going to stick to the traditional
    method of bridge stringing for classical.
    
    I'm playing a gig where I'll be doing quite a few tunes on classical
    and with my classical guitar, I simply can not afford to break a string
    because when that happens, it takes FOREVER to get the thing to stay
    in tune.
    
    	db - who now has about 3 sets of Dean Markey's missing the hi E

    
      Maybe you should change brands Dave! I never had any luck with those
    Dean Markless strings. No tone, lifeless and they break on me as well
    if I look at them cross eyed. Why add any more horror to this story? 
    Change brands instead! My '57 Goya did like them either!     
    
    Rock on,
    	    Fred (who just says NO to Dean Markley classical, or any other 
                  type strings they make).

What type of strings are ideal for an archtop acoustic Jazz guitar (no 
pickup)? When my friend gave it to me it came with nickel roundwound 
steel strings (medium)? Is this a good choice ? Does it make sense to 
use bronze wound on this guitar (like I use on my Martin flat top 
acoustic)? Or even flat wound ? What is the characteristic difference in 
tone between nickel and bronze wound strings ? Any experience ? 

FeliX 

(who is new to those nice f-holed things and who soon gets an old 
Epiphone semi, too, and will have to ask string questions again...)

    Bronze strings will produce the best tone and volume from an
    acoustic archtop. Don't use steel or nickel (especially flatwounds)
    unless the guitar has a pickup.
    
    I use D'Addario J19 (.012"-.053") phosphor bronze generally. For a
    brasher sound, I like the J11 80/20 bronze.
    
    Danny W.

    
    
    I'm under the impression that there are only a few string manufacturers
    and that everyone else just packages them?  They can't *all* invest in
    the machinery to R+D new strings, right?
    
    If that's the case, who does manufacture them?
    
    
    Kevin
    

    A couple that *do* make strings are D'Addario and LaBella.  
    
    Not sure how many other brands are OEM or not, although I do know that
    Steinberger strings are made by LaBella.
    
    							Brian

    
    Has anyone ever ordered those strings from Musician's Friend - they
    sell them by the dozen?  I'm talking acoustic strings here.  I really
    like D'Addario Phosphor Bronze (medium for the bottom strings and light
    for the top - or Bluegrass guage).  I've thought about trying the MF
    strings, but I'd hate to end up with 11 sets of strings I hate.
    
    Justine

re: .177
    
>    Has anyone ever ordered those strings from Musician's Friend - they
>    sell them by the dozen?  I'm talking acoustic strings here.  I really
>    like D'Addario Phosphor Bronze (medium for the bottom strings and light
>    for the top - or Bluegrass guage).  I've thought about trying the MF
>    strings, but I'd hate to end up with 11 sets of strings I hate.

Maybe you should call them and see if they'll send you one set for
a trial.  Actually, I'd consider splitting a dozen with you except that
I kind of have a similar problem with the "bluegrass" gauge.  I'm very
curious about it, but I'm afraid that I'll hate it.  In particular, I'm
afraid that the low string will be too overpowering.

-Hal

    
    	Almost New Years - time to change my strings!

..and steel-wool the frets ?!?! (8^}  

I play once a week with a guy that does your normal run-of-the-mill
acoustic guitar bar material.  Up until a few weeks ago, I was playing
bass, but I'm now playing (mostly) lead acoustic guitar.  As  you might
imagine, the first couple of weeks were pretty brutal on my fingers, as
I wasn't used to playing 4 hours at a time.  I pretty much gotten used
to that (although I did have a bout of the "pain right next to the nail"
thing currently being discussed in another topic here).  

My current problem is that my strings are only lasting about two gigs.
My G string (and to a lesser extent the D string) is wearing through the
windings at several of the frets.  Now I'm sure that several of you are
all ready to say "play an electric guitar", and believe me, I've considered
(an am still considering) it.  The problem with that is that not all the
stuff we do would sound right with the electric, and I never know what
we're going to play 'till a few bars into the introduction (set lists?
what are set lists?).  This kind of precludes switching between electric
and acoustic on a per-song basis.

So my question is, do any of you have recommendations for strings that
are more durable?  I'm currently using Martin Marquis Light Guage 
(.012 - .052).  Do the phosphor bronze strings hold up better than
normal bronze wound strings?  (For that matter, how do the phosphor
bronze strings differ in tone?)  Are there any brands that seem to 
hold up better?

Hal

    Most electric players I know change strings after every gig.  If you're
    getting two out of your's, sounds like you're ahead of the game...
    
    Seriously, are the strings wearing on the same frets every time?  Are
    there rough spots or corrosion on those frets?  Might be worth checking
    and hitting 'em with a little steel wool to polish 'em up a bit if
    there is.
    
    Greg

re: .182

>    Most electric players I know change strings after every gig.  If you're
>    getting two out of your's, sounds like you're ahead of the game...
    
You *are* kidding, aren't you?

>    Seriously, are the strings wearing on the same frets every time?  Are
>    there rough spots or corrosion on those frets?  Might be worth checking
>    and hitting 'em with a little steel wool to polish 'em up a bit if
>    there is.
    
There's no rough spots that I can see.  Would they be visible?  Interestingly
enough, there's some heavy fret wear, but not where the strings are
wearing through.  Should I steel-wool the frets even if I can't see anything
wrong?  If so, what gauge steel wool should I use?

-Hal

>>    Most electric players I know change strings after every gig.  If you're
>>    getting two out of your's, sounds like you're ahead of the game...
>    
>You *are* kidding, aren't you?
    
    Nope, he's probably totally serious.  Not me, though, I wait for the
    equinoxes  8^)  8^)
    
    That's why I see these deals all
    the time for electric strings at the big dealers, $2 or $3 a set, they
    sell *lots* of strings.  
    
    							Ernie Ball

re: .184

>    Nope, he's probably totally serious.  Not me, though, I wait for the
>    equinoxes  8^)  8^)
    
Well, Brian, today's the day (I think).  :-)

That probably *is* how often I change the strings on my bass. 

Of course, electic players use unwound G strings.  If I had unwound G's
on my acoustic, I'd probably get *3* gigs out of them. :-)

-Hal

    When I was living in the Tidewater area of VA (high humidity), and
    gigging every weekend, my strings were absolutely trashed after a
    month, and needed changing badly after 2 weekends.  This, of course
    doesn't mean I actually changed them....One thing's for sure, my
    Gibsons sure sounded brighter, fuller, and just plain better with new
    strings.
    
    Now my strings last months......sigh.
    
    

    Yeah, I was serious about a lot of people I know changing strings real
    often like that. 
    
    Greg

    Occasionally I act as Tom Rush's road manager.  He uses three acoustics
    for his act.  I change the strings before each set and before sound
    check if it's an  'important' gig.  So it's not uncommon to go through
    nine sets of strings in the course of a a performance.
    
    I change the strings on my two 'gigging' electics about once a month
    (my band plays about 10 dates a month and rehearses once a week).  For
    the pedal steel I ususally go about two months, but that's mostly due
    to laziness: 20 strings to change.

Maybe it's me, but that sounds outrageous. What about string stretching? The
ultimate little you'd get from brightness from 1-hour-old strings compared
to the potential tuning loss after a few notes due to stretching would hurt
more than help, no?  Nice bright out-of-tune sound, no?!

And yes, I pull the suckers after I wind them on the Paul and they stay
close but they could still stretch (esp. the wound strings). I like to put 
a couple hours on them before I get out there to help reduce the chance
of stretching.

Droid

    Doesn't anyone do the trick where you keep pulling up (away from the
    soundhole) as you tune new strings?  I think someone even sells a
    plastic device to do that, as if using your fingers wasn't good
    enough...
    \Gary

    I yank the piss outa my strings after I put 'em on. After about fifteen
    minutes of yankin'/tunin', the guitar stays in tune real good, no matter
    how hard I'm playing it. Whammy stuff and everything. And I ain't got
    nuthin' but old type Fender stuff. No locking nots or any of that other
    horse shit.

    --Ron

    I've owned a lot of guitars and now own one with locking machine heads
    and and I'll tell you thats the cats meow!!!  Simply put the string
    through the tuning peg hole, lock to the the thumb screw with your
    fingers, turn it till its in tune and forget it.  They came standard
    on my Strat Ulta and I didn't think much of them untill the first set
    of strings I replaced.  No more pulling tuning, stretching tuning etc
    etc.
    
    Bruce

I usually change mine before a gig, lately I've become real fond of DR strings.
I put some .0095's on my ESP and they tuned up in no time flat and have stayed
in tune very very well, they also have a much denser sound to my ears than the
d'addarrios I've been using.

Now if they only made double ball end .095's...

dbii

I second DR's.  They stay in tune, and last twice as long as the Boomers
I used to use.  Chalk one up to the Gipper!!
jc

Has anybody ever heard of "white bronze" strings?

A guitar dealer told me that these are supposed to be sort of "sweeter" in 
sound and also last longer than phosphor bronce strings (on acoustics).

Any experience/comments ?

FeliX

    HEEELP!
    
    I've had my RG570 now for about four months and I am haveing continual
    problems with breaking strings...(Always the "D" ...).
    
    I have not yet tried rotating thew saddles around to see if the problem
    lies with the saddle, or could there be a bad batch of Boomers ?( I use
    Boomer .009's)
    
    Anyone had a similar problem, anyone got a solution?  I have moved away
    from heavy picks and now use those horrible floppy ones, as I thought
    that maybe I am being heavy Handed, but to no avail... still breaking
    "d's".
    
    The problem is like this:
    
    
    			+-----------------------+
    			|			|
    			|_________		|
    -------------------------------------X-------
    			|---------		|
    			|			|
    			+-----------------------+
    
    
    	The string breaks right on top of the saddle every time, I thought
    maybe I was clamping the string too hard but the string never break at
    the clamp, it's always smack bang on top of the saddle...
    
    
    Bob

    Re: .196
    
    Take the string off and look at the saddle, better yet, touch
    it...chances are it's rough and cutting through the string.  File it
    smooth...
    
    						Brian

    I have tried that with the saddle... nothin... I am goin to have to
    change strings tonight anyway so I was gonna swap the saddles around (D
    for G) and see if the prob follows the saddle... if it does geat.. new
    saddles are only a couple of quid so no problemo!
    
    If however the problem stays with the "D" string then I HAVE A MAJOR
    PROBLEM...
    
    Bob

Bonzo dood - the trouble here is not with your guitar, per-se, it's a combination
of the strings and your guitar.  Ditch the strings.  I HIGHLY recommend using DR 
strings on your Ibanez.

I've had my share of Ibanez (a 550, a 570, and the "Reaper") and I used to use 
Boomers also.  Ya know what ??  I was ALWAYS breaking D strings, right in the 
saddle.  

In fact, when HardBall was active, if I put new strings (Boomers) on when the gig 
started (Wednesday night),  I'd pop my D string on Saturday night, third set, 
forth song.  I could set my friggin'  watch !!

Anyway, I was bitchin' about it at the music store, and the guy sez: "Try these 
DR strings - they work great!!".  Haven't had the problem since, and my watch is 
always wrong now.  :-)  FWIW - After I switched over, I'd get at LEAST a months
play out of a set of strings.  That meant rehearsals four times a week, plus 
gigs.  cool eh??

The bottom line is:  "If you play an Ibanez with 'the edge' trem system, DON'T 
use BOOMERS !"

    There is some truth to what Coop sez -- I thought the Vai/Satch
    endorsements were BS at first, until I tried D'Addario string
    on my Ibanez guitars ... while thry don't have the world's greatest
    tone (imho), they do seem to last a very long time in the face of
    whammy use/abuse.

    My old strat occasionally (like every 10 or 15 years) develops a rough
    spot on the high E saddle. The trouble spot doesn't even feel rough to
    the touch but this last time it was so bad that one night I couldn't get
    through 1 tune without bustin the hi E on a solo. It was pissin me right
    off! So after that horrid experience I went home and used some 400 grit
    3M wet-or-dry on the crown. Bingo. Problem gone. (7 or 8 strings
    later)

    BTW, I only use D'Addario strings.

    --Ron

    When I first started in this band, I moved to D'Addario strings, didn't
    like the tone, and bust the "d" in 6 hours... Moved back to boomers and
    managed 3-4 rehersals... bang!
    
    I only went to boomers when I got the LP (great tone, never bust a
    string), I was gonna try the Valley Art strings tonight, or go to
    Markleys....
    
    Bob

    Despite Buck's experience with D'adderios, they *do* break sometimes. 
    I broke four or five strings off my Les Paul when doing the basic
    tracks on my current recording project.  It's because I was playing
    really hard, but they definitely break...
    
    Those DR strings do seem to last longer, and have good tone too.  I
    like 'em!
    
    Here's a trick for you locking trem type dudes.  When you put on the
    strings that are more prone to breakage (D and up, for me), wrap a LOT
    of string around the tuner.  Then when the string breaks at the bridge
    saddle (which it does about 90% of the time with those trem systems),
    just release the lock at the saddle end, drop the piece of string out,
    release the neck end lock and wind some of the remaining string
    through, lock it into the saddle, retune and lock the nut end and
    you're ready to go.  It's a lot faster and less expensive then putting
    on a new string, and your guitar will stay in tune better 'cause the
    string on there is already stretched out.  
    
    Give it a shot, saved me thousands in new strings!
    
    Greg (former trem abuser extraordinaire)

    Sounds like a good idea Greg... Now all I gotta do is find a stockist
    for DR strings!
    
    Bob (Never been a Whammy abuser - except on Dokken songs!)

Gregs idea works !!  he was out to see HardBall on a Saturday night (3rd set, 
4th song...get the picture).  he was nice enough to do this for me, and I had 
a ready-guitar for the 4th set!!

Thanks dood!!
jc

    I never seem to break many strings at home but I break two (different)
    strings per three hour rehearsal, GUARANTEED !! Usually either a B, D
    E. 
    
    -tony

    	Does this thing have the new "LOW PRO" whammy unit on it. My
    guitar player bought an Rx7xx during the summer to replace his Charvel
    which had worn out knife edges. He had never had a problem on the
    Charvel but the new Ibanez kept snapping strings, always diffent ones,
    always at the saddle. The store went as far as to swap the whammy unit
    but it still did it. He figured out that the shape of the new saddles
    causes the string to flex at almost a single point when using the
    whammy. The axe had tuning problems too.  Now this guy likes to do
    Satch/Vai type whammy exercises but he never had the problems with the
    Charvel, and now that a thief is dealing with a whammy that breaks
    strings.. A New Jackson!!.. Come on Down... oops sorry different show..
    shows no problems...think its the fusion model. 
    
    	He really liked the feel and action of the Ibanez, but when you're
    used to changing strings once a month, breaking them every second time
    you practice is simply not acceptable. They screwed up on the redesign
    because from what I've read here, there are a lot of happy Ibanez
    wielding whammy maniacs here...
    
    
    FJE

    re.181                                                        
    
    Acoustic lead strings...
    
    This is a bit late for you maybe but for acoustic lead 
    I use D'Adds phos bronze Med.  They kick the preverb. *^&%*
    
    They stay in tune and stay bright longer that the Martin Marq.
    The Marq. by the way are dogs compared to the John Pearse
    or D'Adds.
    
    The Pearse are very bright but they are 80/20 not Phos.
    
    For the money, I go with the D'Adds they sound great for 
    at least two nights or more of giggin'
    
    Mike (used to gig electric now make more money with my Martin) 

Every time I've had a string break (the same one consistantly) it was a
rough spot on the bridge. Of course, it could be the design of the bridge
(I don't have any whammy bars on any of my guitars, so I can't tell if there
is some design flaw or not). I use GHS .008's or .009's and I break about
3 strings per year (I change the strings only once a year or more). I only
use GHS strings anymore.

							Jens

    I started using D'Addario 0.0095's recently.  I bought a set as test
    and tried 'em on my Tele, which is fed an exclusive diet of country
    picking these days.  I had switched from 0.010's to 0.009's looking for
    a skosh more twang and ease of minor third bends, but the tone
    suffered.  The 9's were honkier and not as smooth as the 10's.
    
    Anyway, I tried the 9.5's and it'd pretty much what you'd expect: sorta
    midway between 9's and 10's for ease-of-use and tone.  They're not so
    common in the local stores; mail order's the ticket.

    Yesterday I was playing for someone on my acoustic, bending a string,
    and it broke.  That may not mean much to y'all, but for me it was a
    milestone.   ;7)
    FWIW it was a wound G silk-n-steel...

    Nothing's more embarassing than a broken G string...

    Anybody ever try Carvin strings? (electric) They have then on sale
    in their latest catalog for $28.00 for 10 sets.
    
    Wondering if it's worth trying out new strings to save $4.00-5.00.
    
    D'Addario's are $3.29 in the latest Musician's Friend catalog.

    
    
    Tell MF you only want to pay 2.80 for the strings, but you'll buy 10
    sets...  should be good for some kind of discount.  Don't forget, those
    catalog prices are just their "asking" prices.
    
    

    HELP!
    
    Does anyone know where I can find n buy the following:
    
    - D'Addario .0095's in boxed sets
    - Gross(es) of Dunlop Jazz III picks??
    
    I'm running low on picks, and would like to buy strings in lots.

    I got my local music store to order me a half gross of the Jazz III
    picks awhile back, no big deal, they were happy enough to do it.  I'm
    sure you could do that too.  They'll usually order a box or two of
    strings for you if you want 'em too.
    
    Greg

D'Addarrio .095's  Call Al, 207-622-6522...

Jazz III's??? No one I know has those dinosaurs :-)

dbii

    Buck,
    
    Musician's Friend has the D'Addario .095's. They're XL120+,
    they go from 095 to 44. Listed in the catalog for $3.29/set.
    
    They also sell Dunlop picks but don't list the Jazz III's.
    Last time I bought those I got them from Factory Music
    
    Bob

    Tanks everybody!

	
	I have this rather unusual, very tall, 8 stringed instrument. It 
	is quite old too. The strings needed replacement and since I 
	didn't have a clue how to do it, I waited for Alan Starr to make 
	a trip to Ottawa. We went to a store specialized in folklore
	instruments. We bought strings there. Alan changed the first two
	strings in 2 hours, next two strings in half an hour and the last 
	two strings in 5 minutes.
	
	We still need two more strings. The strings we bought were not 
	long enough to do the outermost slots.
	
	The question is, where can I get some plain steel, .009" diameter
	strings which are longer than usual?
	
	I can't deal with catalogs, since I wouldn't be able to ask 
	intelligently what I am looking for, over the phone. I mean, I 
	usually don't mind sounding ignorant (like right now) but there 
	is a limit to everything ;-)
	
	I am looking for a store in New England. I want to walk in with 
	my instrument in my hand and show them what I mean. After getting 
	the strings, I will stop at Alan Starr's to give him a chance to 
	complete the job he has started. I would do it myself, but I know 
	how much Alan hates to leave something incomplete ;-)
	
	I will be in Maynard end of this month and somehow I feel that I 
	can drive to anywhere in New England just to get these strings.
    	(but then again, I don't think Murphy was an optimist either ;-))
	
	Thanks a bunch
	
	Lale
    

    Hi, Lale.  Exactly what *is* this instrument, anyway?  You may find it
    easier to get strings for it if you go to some store that specializes
    in "them" (whatever "they" are).
    
    Dave

Re .220:

Piano string will suffice for a lot of "nonstandard" stringed instruments. Only
catch is, you usually have to buy a full roll of whatever gauge you need.

One store from which I've purchased in the past is Somerville Tuners (or maybe
it's name is Tuners' Supply *in* Somerville) in Somerville, Massachusetts. I
can't honestly say if they're still around, it's been years.

Another approach would be to simply buy a bit of the appropriate gauge from a
local piano tuner...

Bob

    
    Bob, what a neat idea. Very smart. Thanks. That might just work out.
    
    The piano store/studio/school I take my piano lessons (and I bought
    my piano from and I call up for tuning) might be able to help me
    here. Tomorrow night I'll be there and I'll ask.
    
    Dave, my instrument is called SAZ and it is one of the very early
    versions of .. uh ... mmm... errrr .. well .. ah.. guitar, really.
    It is just a primitive stringed instrument. It has a very tall body
    so it is hard to find strings. I don't think there are stores
    specialized in this only but there are stores that deal with
    most oriental/folklore/historic instruments. We have such a store
    here in Ottawa, they had everything but they didn't have SAZ.
    
    Saz is quite popular in Germany, even Volks Hoch Schule had saz classes
    but then I was too preoccupied with learning German, had no time to
    learn how to play saz.
    
    There is also electro-saz. Just recently I have been to a party, where
    the entertainer was playing one of those and he was just great.
    
    Lale

Y'know, I've done a lot of different types of music, and along the way picked up
a lot of background info on ethnic and "early" instruments, and I have never
heard of anything which remotely resembles the name "SAZ." Is this a modern-but-
not-very-standard instrument, or an old-and-ethnic-but-obscure instrument, or
what? Also, can you describe it physically?

I'm interested in absolutely everything, but the unusual I find almost
irresistible.

Bob_the_xenophile

    It doesn't matter what it is, Lale, just put a couple of PAFs (*) on it
    and you'll get all sorts of help in here.  %^)
    
    Dave
    
    (*)  A type of electric guitar pickup

Re -1:

Better yet, put a Roland MIDI pickup on it and come on over to COMMUSIC!

(MIDI Roolz!)

Bob

re: the Saz

I don't really know how to describe it, since I don't know the names of
other similar instruments. It had almost an oval-shaped body, with a long
thin neck. It has 8 strings, in three sets - two on the outside, three in
the middle, and two more on the outside. I believe the that the two pair 
on the outside are tuned the same. Then one outer set and and middle set 
are used as drones, while the melody is played on the other outer pair.
Maybe???

BTW, this saz was dated like 1908 or something, so it's definitely not new!

alan

I've seen a lot of zither-like instruments from around that time period, with
various odd names. This doesn't sound like one, though- it sounds more like a
sort of "bass cittern," I can't recall the name- "bandeon" or somesuch comes to
mind. Then again, maybe there was a lot of experimentation with new instruments
around then, and I've just never been aware of this end.

We'll just have to get Lale to tape a piece for the next COMMUSIC tape...

Bob

BTW, maybe "teardrop-shaped" would be a better adjective for the body.

alan

Geez, I hope you're talkin' 'bout the Saz, and not Lale...

duckin'_and_runnin'_Bob

re: .227

> It has 8 strings, in three sets - two on the outside, three in
> the middle, and two more on the outside. 

I'm confused...I thought 2 + 3 + 2 = 7 !

-Hal

    Hal,
    
    It has 8 strings, in three sets - three on the outside, two in
    the middle, and three more on the outside.
    
    3 + 2 + 3 = 8
    
    ;-) I noticed the "new math" when I was reading Alan's note too.
    
    Bob,
    
    Saz is a very common instrument in Turkey, almost every other house
    has one. And it goes a long way back. Hundreds of years ago, it was
    one of the few instruments (amongs lute, darbuka, tambourine etc)
    used to make music at the time. The book I ordered on saz has not
    arrived yet, so I can't give any dates. Saz is very Turkish too,
    unlike lute for example. Lute is common to all Middle Eastern
    countries. I go to one festival/week (because of this dancing thing
    we do) and in these festivals I have seen all sorts of lutes but not
    one saz. By the way, lute is another stringed instrument. If you have
    Sting's last album, there is a picture of it in the middle page of the
    insert.
    
    Also, if you are interested in unusual instruments or stringed
    instruments in particular, I suggest you come to Ottawa and visit
    the Opus Exhibition at Museum of Civilization. I was fascinated.
    
    You might see and get a chance to play my saz. We can do one of those
    much-vaunted� noters' dinners soon. Do you like artichoke and leek
    pizza?
    
    Lale
    
    �much-vaunted noters' dinner: A Bob Ashforth term, registered ;-)

>    much-vaunted noters' dinner
    
    Speaking of... Lale, next time you come to the Boston area, why dontcha
    bring that pretty little eight-string thang, and drop in on one of
    these blues jams and we'll mike it.  Bet that'll raise some eyebrows!  %^)
    
    Dave

Re .231:

Thanks, Lale. And yes, I am still looking forward to your eventual arrival in
these heah pahts again...

What a lot of folks don't realize is that a lot of Elizabethan thingies- the
lute included- were brought back as part of the "cultural sharing" which was the
Crusades. Shawms, f'rinstances, which became oboes, began with some of those
*wicked* raunchy Eastern double-reed doodads (various names). I wonder if the
Greek "Bouzouki" (think I got the spelling right) is kin to your "Saz?"

I have a catalog at home from a California outfit called "Lark in the Morning,"
which has a *lot* of unusual, ethnica, "early," and folk instruments in it; who
knows, they might even sell Saz strings!

Bob

    Well, I did get around to looking through the "Lark in the Morning"
    catalog, and they *do* sell the Saz! Here's their blurb on the
    instrument:
    
    "The Saz is the grandfather of the Grek Bouzouki. It originated in
    Central Asia where Turks lived before their westward migration. Like
    the guitar in Spain and the bouzouki in Greece the Saz is the most
    popular stringed instrument in Turkey. Although similar in shape the
    construction, size and sound of the Saz is different. The saz have
    traditional tied frets. You need a baglama saz to be able to play the
    microtones (Perde) of Arabic music. These instruments have movable
    frets, and three courses of strings. Tuned 1-5-1 (i.e. DAD)."
    
    One note of possible concern: when I suggested piano strings, I wasn't
    aware of *how* similar these were to lutes, specifically in regard to
    frets. Tied nylon frets (unless they're real old-fashioned gut)
    wouldn't seem capable of standing up to metal strings- is that what's
    on these critters? Better check into this if you don't feel like tying
    on some new frets "real soon now."
    
    Oh, if you're interested, the number for Lark in the Morning is
    (707)964-5569. They're in California.
    
    Bob
    

	Can anyone give me any info about Black Diamond strings?


	-kg

>	Can anyone give me any info about Black Diamond strings?

>	-kg

     Funny, Ron Burati and I were ragging the shite outta Black Diamond
     a few weeks ago. We were reminiscing about the bad-ole-days ('68-'69)
     when you couldn't get a decent e string in the right guage. A BD .010ga
     string would break in the pkg. I'd hafta buy four just to get one to
     stay on the guitar. Probably made outta old man hole covers.....and
     coated with something like used crankcase oil. Fingers got black just 
     putting those strings on. When Fender came out with 150's .038-.010
     I never looked back. I don't know if BD's are still made.

     Neal
     

>I'd hafta buy four just to get one to stay on the guitar.

    You got one to stay on the guitar?! You never told me that!

    It was the proverbial "a rock vs. a hard-place". On the one hand you
    could buy quality flat wounds with .011 'e' and wound 'g' or you could
    buy BD knowing the consequences (1.5 rehersals out of the high 'e'). And
    they didn't sell single strings in those days. I can remember the angst
    of going to the music store to buy strings.

    --Ron

Wow, I'd forgotten about Black Diamonds!  I learned to play guitar on
those puppies!  This was acoustic guitar, not electric.  I haven't seen
them in years.  I suspect they aren't made anymore.  No great loss if
memory serves.  They weren't really great strings, they were just cheap.

-Hal

    I used to buy Black Diamond strings in a bus station in NJ...seriously!
    
    							Ralph Kramden

    Wow, Black Diamond strings...sure does bring back a lot of memories:
    Norco, Louisiana - going down to the drug store to by a high E string, 
    for 15 cents, to put on my older brother's Gibson LG-0, back around '62. 
    
    Haven't seen 'em in a while.
    
    
    Rodney

    Yeah, they sucked, but you could get 'em anywhere!  I remember buying
    some in a little small town drug store too.
    
    gh

I saw a box full of somewhat aged looking black diamonds at a local music store
a few weeks ago... $0.50 a set

too much!!

I can remember the first set of lighter gage strings I bought, I think they
were gretch rhythm and blues, flat wound things...my fingers loved them, so 
easy to play. I began my gage downward spiral to where I am  today

dbii

    Another string blowout at Daddy's until the end of May:
    
    D'addario XLs in selected gauges (like .006s ha ha ha) $2.99 a set
    
    Daddy's store-brand bass strings (gauged .045-.105) $5.99 a set
    
    							Brian

    Sign me up for a dozen sets of the .006's.....I'm looking for that
    Indian_rubber_band_Sitar tone........and my fingers are getting old and
    feeble........
    
    ;*)

    I've been using D'Addario XLS 590 strings on my electric archtops for many
    years. Usually I change the strings on a new guitar as soon as I get
    it.
    
    The new Gibson archtops I've tried recently sounded good right out of
    the box. Gibson tells me these have Gibson Nickel Plus. Compared to the
    XLS, they gave better balance, seem a little smoother and aren't "doingy"
    on the G string. The last time I tried Gibson strings on a Super 400,
    the D & G strings were too short (!!!), but these seem to fit, so I
    think I'll switch. 
    
    I don't know what I'm going to do with the 10 sets or so of 590's I
    have.
    
    Danny W.

    I'm a D'Addario fan myself..... tried others....kept going back to
    the D'Addarios.
                               *** Kathy ***
    

    Ernie Balls RULE!
    
    -k

    Just my opinion, but Ernie Ball's and GHS nickel wound's in 10's & 11's 
    work best for me.  I break most of the others.
    
    
    Fred

    I just tried a set of GHS White Phosphor on my Washburn elec/acoustic
    and I was very pleased.  They have more brilliance when amplified
    without being too midrangey.  It lets my guitar cut through the mix
    like an Ovation, without losing the bottom.
    
    	Rick

    Is there a set of acoustic strings out there with an UN-wound G in the
    set???
    
    -kev

    Not that I know of, however, an unwound G would be a plain-steel
    string. You can buy plain-steel strings individually.
    
    It wouldn't hurt to try this, however, I think you'll find you
    lose some fullness in the tone from not using a bronze-wound G.
    You also may suffer an intonation problem on this string as well.
    
    Mark
    

Just an off the cuff entry here...

I've recently decided to go up from 9s to 10s on my
Sheraton, but I just couldn't get  so I put 9s 
back on..  I had sort of mixed emotions too, because 
there really is a significant difference in tone and
response between the lights, vs. the regulars.  of 
course they dont bend as well, and I bend alot so
I wasn't really happy with the feel..,,,,,

but when I had Dave restring the emporer I bought
this past tuesday, I decide to give the 10s another
try (like I'm gonna put 9s on a jazz box anyway right?)
and for some reason, (maybe it's the scale length
on this particular guitar) they feel fine to me, sort
of like 9s do...

Infact, I'd bet 11s on this guitar, would feel like
10s on the Shearton,, wierd or maybe just me being
anal,,  I do like the bite the 10s give....


/pelksta..

    Perhaps it's that you don't try to do the bends on the Emperor that you
    would on the Sheraton?
    

well, possibly, to some degree,, the guitar does lend
itself to a little different style of play but still
do a fair amount of bends...

would'nt you think it's the length of the strings from the 
nut, to the tailpiece Rick ?  it does eems longer..

either way, I wish I could get as used to the 10s on
other guitars as I feel I can get used to them on
the Emporer,,  more tone and bite..  I may try
them on the paul, just on a lark, that thing just 
about plays itself,, the 10s might be o.k. on that..

maybe I should just take the 2 or 3 weeks it'd take to
reacclimate myself, and just do it..

/pelksta

    Maybe the string length does have something to do with it.  In any
    event, give the 010's a try for awhile before you give up.  And you
    really ought to be running at least 012s on that Emperor
    
    :-)
    

    The Emperor and the Sheraton have the same scale length (at least
    according to Gibson's web pages-- 24.75" for both).  I don't see
    how any string above the nut or past the bridge should affect the
    tension on the strings (at least if I remember my physics correctly).
    
    Do you have the same brands on both guitars?  Different alloys have
    different physical properties that lead to different tensions for the
    same frequency.
    
    If the strings are the same, I'd suspect it's a setup issue.
    
    Jim

        I beg to differ. The overall length of the string does affect 
    tension. The longer the string, the more tension is required to tune 
    it to pitch. As a matter of fact, you can adjust the tension on any 
    Gibson-style guitar with a stop bar tailpiece by raising or lowering 
    the stop bar. Crank the stop bar all the way down close to the body, 
    the string length is max and the tension is max. Raise the stop bar 
    and decrease tension. The break angle going over the bridge also 
    factors into the equation. The sharper the angle, the greater the
    tension as well.
    
        Some archtops had adjustable tailpieces that allowed you to adjust 
    the tension for each string individually. Trapeze tailpieces come in 
    many differant lengths. Manufacturers select a specific length when 
    they design the guitar. 
    
	The old time Jazz guys generally use *medium* gauge strings on
    their archtop guitars (.012 to .056 or higher). Many used .013s. 
    A .010 is considered a light gauge string.
    
    	I currently have my Gibson ES175 strung with D'addario Chromes.
    These are *semi-flat-wound* strings. They have the silky smooth feel 
    of flats with the bright tone of round-wounds. They're available
    in a few differant gauges. Put these on the Emperor and play
    "Girl From Epanema" with feeling!  ;^{)=
    
    	Mark