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Post subject: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:46 am
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Hello

I would like to try other strings than I'm used to. Now I'm playing with D'addario nickelwound 9-42 but I would like to try flat wound chromes 10-48 to have a warmer, mellow sound.

Now my questions are:
1) Is there a risk that these strings are too heavy for my guitar?
2) Does the kind of strings have a big effect on my tone?
3) Do you have other suggestions for strings with a warmer tone?

grtz

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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:05 am
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Fennycaster wrote:
Hello

I would like to try other strings than I'm used to. Now I'm playing with D'addario nickelwound 9-42 but I would like to try flat wound chromes 10-48 to have a warmer, mellow sound.

Now my questions are:
1) Is there a risk that these strings are too heavy for my guitar?
2) Does the kind of strings have a big effect on my tone?
3) Do you have other suggestions for strings with a warmer tone?


1: Unless there's something wrong with your guitar, this is highly unlikely to be a problem.
2: Yes, not only because of the string itself, but because different strings also change the way you play.
3: Ernie Ball Cobalt. (They're Iron/Cobalt, actually.) They don't come in flatwounds, so you have to watch the sliding, which sounds louder than most strings. They're very elastic, though, which makes for a nice warm sound.


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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 1:17 pm
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A set of .010-.046 or .048 flatwounds won't hurt your guitar unless it's defective. Flatwound strings are generally a good bit more mellow and have a softer tone than roundwounds. Pyramids are a good flatwound string as are Rotosound but they are kind of pricey,the thing is they have a much longer lifespan than roundwound strings,so it kind of evens things out over time.

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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:00 pm
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...... and I always thought all those tone knobs made it mellow.

Billy Gibbons - ZZTop Fame uses 8's. Think about it.


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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:10 pm
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Not to attempt a hijackin'...but if you feel the need for a warm tone, try some soabars..and a silverfaced Fender tube amp of some kind to go with those flats.


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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:44 pm
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Fennycaster wrote:
Hello

I would like to try other strings than I'm used to. Now I'm playing with D'addario nickelwound 9-42 but I would like to try flat wound chromes 10-48 to have a warmer, mellow sound.

Now my questions are:
1) Is there a risk that these strings are too heavy for my guitar?
2) Does the kind of strings have a big effect on my tone?
3) Do you have other suggestions for strings with a warmer tone?

grtz


Try a set of half wounds - might just be what you wanted:
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/dharo.html

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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:45 pm
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SNick wrote:
Billy Gibbons - ZZTop Fame uses 8's. Think about it.

And 7s. He plays with the lightest touch you can imagine, and use post processing to beef up the sound. From what I've been told, this is because of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and is why he also uses chambered guitars to reduce the weight.
Sure, you can get fat sounds with thin strings. But then you have to rely on fattening the signal afterwards. Nothing wrong with that, but it means you can't easily play both soft and hard.


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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:20 pm
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Re Billy Gibbons string gauge: Billy Gibbons hasn't used .008s for years,his string of choice is his own Rev.Willie's Texas Lottery .007-.038,he endorses these strings and I use them myself.Contrary to popular belief thin strings don't equate to thin tone as I can get a monster tone out of them and of course Billy Gibbons even moreso. Famous players who used super light gauge strings are Tommy Iommi,Brian May,John Lennon,George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix.All of these players got pretty full tones from their strings too .

BTW I have no problem playing soft and hard with the amp left on the same setting,it's all in the attack or lack thereof that you use with your picking hand.I've been using nothing heavier than .008s since the late 60s when Fender first came out with them so I have grown quite used to using the thinner gauges,they allow for real over the top bending and make pull-offs and hammer-ons much easier.

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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 10:01 pm
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Not a fan of flat wounds at all. They sound dead to me like a set of really old worn out strings that were soaked in melted lard and then cooled so the lard would congeal inside the windings. IMO, the only advantage is reduced squeak when sliding up and down the neck.

I think SNick has this one all sussed out just fine.

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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:19 am
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guitslinger wrote:
Re Billy Gibbons string gauge: Billy Gibbons hasn't used .008s for years,his string of choice is his own Rev.Willie's Texas Lottery .007-.038,he endorses these strings and I use them myself.Contrary to popular belief thin strings don't equate to thin tone as I can get a monster tone out of them and of course Billy Gibbons even moreso. Famous players who used super light gauge strings are Tommy Iommi,Brian May,John Lennon,George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix.All of these players got pretty full tones from their strings too .

BTW I have no problem playing soft and hard with the amp left on the same setting,it's all in the attack or lack thereof that you use with your picking hand.I've been using nothing heavier than .008s since the late 60s when Fender first came out with them so I have grown quite used to using the thinner gauges,they allow for real over the top bending and make pull-offs and hammer-ons much easier.


The problem with thin strings and playing soft and hard is that you can't possibly keep in tune. Hit a thin string hard and it rings much sharper than if you hit it soft. This is true for all strings, but the effect increases with the inverse of the string size.

The guitar right next to me have .008s on it. There's about a 20 cent(!) difference between striking a string hard and its sustain. On the best string. That means either always strike hard and mute before the tone drops, or always pick softly. But never both. To play it in tune, I have to sacrifice dynamics.
This is no problem for ZZ Top, where there is little dynamics to lose - it's compressed to max.


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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 5:15 pm
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Hi Arth1,I don't have any problems keeping my guitars in tune with the light gauges of strings.A lot of people do have tuning problems with them especially when it comes to using varying intensity of strumming.When putting on super light gauge strings most people don't use the proper method to avoid tuning problems and that is to vigorously stretch the strings while putting them on.This takes several good stretches until the strings stabilize enough to stay in tune.It also effects the super light gauges especially if there are too many winds around the string post,I never use more than two winds around the post at most.I also give the vibrato mechanism a good cranking while tuning to make sure that the nut,bridge and string Ts etc. have enough lubrication to prevent binding. A floating vibrato mechanism can also can contribute to tuning problems so it pays off to have the bridge decked.If you ever look closely at Jimi's vibrato setup you'll notice that he always had his vibratos decked,which certainly helped keep his guitars in tune given the extremes in vibrato use and bending he employed.

I've been using super thin strings for decades as well as doing Hendrix covers so needless to say excessive bends and vibrato use are necessary parts of my playing, hence tuning stability is a necessity,of course "I Don't Live Today" and ""The Star Spangled Banner"may create the need for a little tuning tweak...lol.

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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 3:55 am
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I'd say it also depends on your guitar. I settled for optimum choice with my Strat strung heavy (52-10) and Tele on light (42-9) - best of both worlds.


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Post subject: Re: The effect of strings?
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 6:47 am
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DonX14 wrote:
I'd say it also depends on your guitar. I settled for optimum choice with my Strat strung heavy (52-10) and Tele on light (42-9) - best of both worlds.

A typical Tele with through-body holes and two pickups will naturally have more sustain than a typical Strat with a tremolo bridge and three pickups.
So to my old ears you can get away with slightly thinner strings on a Tele while not losing sustain, at least.


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