| Home recording and general music post from the archived Yabb Recording Website Message Board. Some of the info here may be outdated but many of the audio recording and home studio tips are still good. Note: The only tags I made and attempt to convert are italics, bold, center and underline. So if you see some gibberish surrounded by brackets, just ignore it.
Recording Website Archived Yabb board Post
Febuary 2001 Yabb Message Board Archive
Subject: Guitar players....Question
by Ally | 03/28/01 at 15:57:14
Just wanted to ask what kind of strings you recommend at what weight, etc. for certain types of music. (Classical, Country, Rock) This would be for Acoustic or Electric. Anyone have any experience on what lasts the longest...has the best feel, etc.?
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by JR#97 | 03/28/01 at 16:32:48
Acoustic Steel String:
Rock - 11's or 12's for strumming. If I'm doing acoustic soloing, I like to substitute the wound G string for a non-wound one.
Fingerstyle - 12's.. more volume, plus I use a lot of alternate tunings and these seem to last a bit longer with all the tension changes. Except for the wound G string... I buy those in bulk because they don't last regardless.
Classical - I rarely play Classical on my steel string. Seems kinda like wearing a tux to McD's....just outta place.
Brand: Diadarrio's usually. I like 80/20's for their brightness but they don't hold up to my alternate tunings. I gig with those, however. I use phosphor bronze 80% of the time because they seem to last longer and my bulk G's are that type. There's a store in Salt Lake called Local Music that sells strings bulk without all the packaging.
Electric Guitar: 9's. That's what it's set up for so I've never really deviated from that gauge. Maybe I'm missing out. I use Ernie Ball strings. My guitar is Ernie Ball, so why not.
Nylon String: I'm still hunting for the right setup/brand of nylon strings. Somebody throw me a tip!!! I play every style on my nylon and I rarely strum on it.
Hope that helps!!!
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by Jon_B | 03/28/01 at 17:56:45
On my 6 string acoustics I use D'addario phospher bronze .012-.052. Nice, bright sound, plenty of harmonics. I have a jazz guitar I don't use that often which I have GHS 10s on. On my solid body electrics I use Ernie Ball Super Slinkys which are .009 - .042. I am influenced by a lot of different styles, and these pretty much cover it. I don't have a classical guitar, and my 12 string acoustic is not a very good one, I don't use it much and can't remember what strings are on it. Maybe you could recommend some good 12 string sets.
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by old_dan | 03/29/01 at 02:32:55
Hey Ally, as I'm just barely a guitar player take this with a grain of salt, but on the acoustic I like to go with a light set of strings. I want a more airy open sound. A lot depends on the guitar. I had a Gibson that sounded great with lite strings and really really bad with medium.
Currently I'm using Martin Marquis. Years ago I used Darco New Yorkers but I don't think they make them anymore. One thing I like about the Martins is I seem to get less 'squeak'.
On electric I like the sound of the heavier strings but since I'm just a part time player it's much easier to use 9's. I'll leave tone to the guitar gods :)
Someone, I think Maury posted on the old board about some strings he used and he raved about them. Sure wish I could remember what they were.:-/
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by Jon_B | 03/30/01 at 09:22:24
A lot of guitarists got what I would call great sound out of 9's. Clapton, Santana, Hendrix, & hundreds of others in their wake. I think a lot has to do with playing technique, the guitar, settings on the guitar, the amp, settings on the amp, FX,etc.
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by Tedster | 04/02/01 at 23:17:38
>>Someone, I think Maury posted on the old board about some strings he used and he raved about them. Sure wish I could remember what they were.
I think they were John Pearse strings. I tried 'em, they're great. I, personally, like the Martins just as much, though.
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by Percy | 04/03/01 at 05:33:19
Acoustic...12's John Pierce
Electric...11's EarnieBall(purple pack)
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by old_dan | 04/03/01 at 12:30:26
[quote author=Tedster link=board=music1&num=985820234&start=0#5 date=04/02/01 at 23:17:38]
>>Someone, I think Maury posted on the old board about some strings he used and he raved about them. Sure wish I could remember what they were.
I think they were John Pearse strings. I tried 'em, they're great. I, personally, like the Martins just as much, though.
Thanks Tedster, Maury emailed me and told yes it was John Pearse, Phosphor Bronze. He also mentioned he had heard that John Pearse used to work at the Martin Factory. Go figure;)
Take care,
Dan
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by Jon_B | 04/03/01 at 19:17:31
On a very closely related subject: having the frets crowned, and the nut changed to a more 'accurate' one, I think, makes even more difference than the brand of strings you use. This is mainly done for intonation, but added benifits include the silky feel as you bend, trill & slide, and they look really cool when the light hits 'em! 8)
The reason I mention this knowing full well that there are mostly veteran players on this board is b/c Iv'e been playing quite a while myself, and I only started having this done to my guitars about 3 yrs ago.
Subject: Re: Guitar players....Question
by Jim | 04/04/01 at 19:53:16
I gotta plug my favorite, most unsung about string on the planet for acoustic guitar.....
[B]DR Rare 11s[/B] - These strings hardly ever go out of tune and have excellent tonal qualities, they sound like 12s and play like 10s. But these alas are the only DR strings I recommend. I didn't like the Rare 12s and not at all impressed with the electric string line. I have been using Rare 11's for about 7/8 years now and I have yet to find a better more consistent string period.
On my electric I change brands about every few years (because I find that I sware at them instead of sware by them!)and since I used to play primarily hard/blues rock to metal I tend to favor 9s and 10s. 9s on the metal for the brightness and 10s on the rest for a little more edge and tone.
Since I mostly play acoustic style music now-a-days and to that I am more in touch with equipment and gear on that end, it seems like there are many great options in electric strings as I have read in the previous posts.;D