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June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | I really don't want to start a war here, but I just got the new 1778 and wanted to ask "the experts" what type of strings are the best when I restring it, type and guage. I have been using x lights, (10's or 11's) in Martin and Adamas, but I would like to get more sound out of my guitars, and the only way as far as I can tell, is to go to a heavier string, at the expense of my fingertips. I just started playing frequently again, so its going to be rough untill I build up the hands. |
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August 2006
Posts: 122
Location: Tucson, AZ | ...two ways to "toughen" your fingertips:
A) Fast but DANGEROUS - soak them in formaldehyde(sp?), but keep your fingers out of your mouth, it's poisonous.
B) Slower but SAFE - soak them in common hydrogen-peroxide solution, not poisonous. |
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May 2006
Posts: 97
Location: Chicago | I previously used D'addario 80/20 mediums on my 1778LX and it sounded great: full sound, long-lasting. I noticed some fret buzzing when capo-5 and capo-3, so I tried light strings, and it got rid of most of the buzz, but the strings are a bit weak sounding. I might make a truss rod adjustment and then kick it up to mediums again. |
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July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | 11s are fine for now while you build up your fingers. Later on, when you feel ready, you may upgrade to 12s. |
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June 2006
Posts: 29
Location: Reading, Pa. | I use D'addario ej16 lites and I think it has excellant sound. Only others to compare was GHS. |
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June 2006
Posts: 659
Location: Hiram, Georgia | I use elixer 12/53's, and slather it (neck,top,fretboard) with powercord , I think bobc settled on elixers also on his 2006 Collector. Mine sounds and plys great going on two mos. |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | I've got elixer's on my 12 string and like them. I think I'm going to try their light medium set (12-56) and just grin n bear it untill the pain stops. Thanks for all the replies!! |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 575
Location: Denmark | Congrats with the guitar. I use d'Aquisto #730 (12/52). Sound better than the Elixir I used before, but they were lighter. The best strings are ... new strings. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | I'm going thru a quest for the right strings right now. For a long time, I used Elixirs. Then tried the Elixir phospher bronze. Then went to Adamas 1818's. Right now, on a long term loan of a 1627 reissue, it's got either EXP's or D'Addario's on it and sounds wonderful. Suddenly, the 87 Collectors, with Elixir P/B's sounded harsh. So I tried a set of 1818's on it. They sounded dead. Then some EXP's. They sounded dead. Today, I put on some D'Adarrio's. They sound almost dead. By the way, all were light gauge.
This is started to irritate me...... |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Paul,
Why the move to light? |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Old Tele man:
...two ways to "toughen" your fingertips:
A) Fast but DANGEROUS - soak them in formaldehyde(sp?), but keep your fingers out of your mouth, it's poisonous.
B) Slower but SAFE - soak them in common hydrogen-peroxide solution, not poisonous. ...or just keep playing... It's amazing how quickly you'll build up calluses. And then keep playing to keep them, otherwise they go away... |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | Jeff, I was looking for a brighter sound. |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I've heard brass strings are very bright... without going down in guage, so no tonal loss, but they are also short lived.
.... you could also try Bronze instead of PhosBronze. Bronze are brighter than PB but not as bright as Brass. |
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Joined:
June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | From what I've seen in my short time of even knowing there were different guages, all the x light and light (10 or 11) seem to sound fine for about the first 5 min but then seem to just go away. Thats why I am going to try 12's and see what happens with them. I had some 12's on my CC057 that were Martin's,either bronze or phos. br. (can't remember), but they sounded great and seemed to last. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Daddario light or the equivalent dean markley's: each has different varities like phospher bronze or other alloys, buy some and experiment, though these days I usually get whichever is cheaper. And if they are free I don't care what brand they are as long as they are less than mediums. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4072
Location: Utah | We've tried about 10 or so different brands/styles of strings on my daughter's 1778T this year.
The best have been the Martin Marquis Phos-Bronze, with the Martin SP 80/20 a close second. The Marquis just sounded great, especially the lows sounded fuller, not dull, and the highs sounded clear. No brassiness. The Marquis 80/20 were too brassy for my tastes. Strangely, the SP 80/20 sounded better than the phos-bronze SP. The SP have a clearer sound further up the fretboard, but are ever so slightly duller on the lower notes than the Marquis.
I found the D'Add EJ16 and EXP to be a bit dead sounding compared to the Martins, both in the phos-bronze and the 80/20.
Picks have an impact on the sound of the strings, so if you are using a softer or thicker pick, the string might sound less bright, and conversely a thin or hard pick will have a brighter sound.
The light gauge strings have been full bodied and loud enough for my tastes. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | i cant seem to get martin strings to last. i just recently started to play again and learned 2 songs last week so i was playing the hell out of them. i switched to elixer 13's nanowebs,bright sound and not so bad on the fingers either..just my 2 cents worth..jason |
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Strings....
