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Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | There was a little tag on my Elite 12 that said it was strung with D'Addario strings, but it didn't say what kind. Are they acoustic or electric? They appear to be phosphor bronze so I'm guessing acoustic? I measured the little E strings & they're 12's.
Since I started playing with the "group" over in Bend, my string requirements have changed somewhat. Before I started playing over there, I was primarily interested in easy to play, sound/volume was not needed (or desirable usually, small house). If I wanted more sound I could just plug in. Now I need acoustic volume. I'm getting plenty of sound out of it now with the original strings. (Which have held up really well, although they're about ready to be replaced now.)
I have on hand a set of light (.010's) D'Addario phosphor bronze acoustics & a set of Martin 80/20 bronze lights (.012's), also acoustic.
I'm not sure which I'm going to put on. I'm leaning towards trying to D'Addarios first, it seems to me that I tried some Martin strings some time ago & didn't care much for 'em. I know I put D'Addario '010's on my "high strung" Celebrity, it didn't seem to lose too much difference in the sound & it made it easier to play. The Elite is easy to play with the 12's, it might be *really* nice with 10's. I'm not sure where I got these Martins but I've had 'em a while.
Any thoughts about this stuff out there?
Nils |
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Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Nils:
Go buy some Elixir lights for your 12 string. They sound wonderful, last forever, and are easy on the fingers. |
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Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | OK Paul, I'll see if they have some at the O'Store. :) Acoustic I presume?
Nils |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | acoustic. |
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Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Get acoustic strings. Always acoustic strings for your Elite. Light gauge Elixirs. Probably cost about $20-$25 but worth every penny. |
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August 2002
Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | I still prefer the Adamas 1616 (1818 for 6-string) strings. They don't last as long as the Elixir. Unless you sweat like Paul T. it should be fine. The last time I changed the strings on my various 12's are at least over 3 months ago, and they still ring just fine. Just my personal thoughts. |
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Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Interesting comment about Paul T. He left here yesterday morning and I spent last night wiping down the strings of the guitars he played trying to get rid of the corrision. Don't let him touch you man, you'll rust! |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | oil can what? |
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December 2002
Posts: 68
Location: Texas | I put Elixirs on my old Balladeer and they are great. A buddy of mine that plays a 1968 Balladeer that he bought in 1968 grabbed my guitar the other day and was like "wow! this sounds so good and plays so easy!" I've had a couple of non ovation guys say the same thing with my guitar. One guy played it, looked at his wife and said, "honey if I get a guitar like this with these strings...I'll be touching the guitar more than you."
I still prefer my wife over the guitar but the Elixirs did make me think.
-Shaft |
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Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Good discussion
I have strong opinions on strings, but they seem to be well represented here. I always reccommend medium or heavier on acoustic 6 strings, light is fine on 12 strings. I have never tried Elixers, but the idea sounds great, I prefer phosphor bronze on acoustics. brand name not too important, as they all appear to come from the same factory like our gasoline. I used to buy what was on sale or house singles if the store had them.
Bailey |
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Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | I went to the O'Store this evening. Steven had Elixer light acoustics (.012's) for a six string but not for a 12, so I bought a set & we put 'em on my ES-175, since it needed strings too. Steven let me use his guitar bench to change strings. (Very handy.) I LIKE 'EM! Good suggestion Mr. Moody! As soon as I played the 175 I had Steven order me some for the 12. They sound great & they feel smooth & kinda *soft* to the touch. They were a tad spendy, but if they last as long as claimed they might be cheaper in the long run. They were $15.75 after my 20% discount, but hey, he let me use his bench & equipment & then he tuned it for me.
I took a few minutes, (like I always do), & played a few guitars while I was at the store. That blue weave top Adamas is still there, but the Folklore has been sold. Not that I could buy either one right at the moment anyway. The Elite T is still there. That Adamas is becoming more & more "last years model" all the time I think. It's been there a long time. Steven knows how much I like it, I wouldn't be surprised if he lowers the price again. If it gets much cheaper I might have to have him set it in the back room & let me start slipping him spare C notes from time to time until it's paid for. Shouldn't take more than a year or two :)
I think he really screwed up by not setting that thing up before he hung it in there. I think most of the people that may have been interested tried it once, thought "yuck" & never picked it up again. I asked him what he did to it & he said he had to pull out a shim from under the saddle, replace the strings & adjust the neck. In other words, it really was crappy when I first tried it & needed a lot of adjusting. Nice now though.
I played two other guitars while I was there that I was quite impressed with. They were made by Breedlove & they are VERY nice guitars. He had 4 of them there, One was sold (for $3,600) so I couldn't play that one, but I did play two others. One was a used dreadnaught in excellent condition for $1,995. That one had a really booming bass that rivaled the mid bowl Adamas. The other was a slightly smaller guitar, I'm afraid I don't know what the style is called, but it sounded very good too. It's slightly smaller than the dreadnaught, is less "boxy" & more "curvy". Flat top, round hole. It has a very nice sound, a superb neck (for my hand at least) & a price tag of $2,600. There was a third one there, the only one with a cutaway. I'll see if I can take that one for a spin next time I go over there. Interestingly enough, the Breedloves are made in Tumalo, about 15 miles from Bend, 30 miles from here. I'm going to take a factory tour at my first opportunity. They certainly are gorgeous instruments. The one that was sold had Bloodwood binding around nearly everything. Beautiful thing. The smaller one was all walnut except for the spruce top & the ebony & whatever parts. Mostly it was walnut. Great guitars, but I'druther have the Adamas, I'd be afraid to take a Breedlove anywhere. If he comes down another few hundred bucks on that blue job.....
I took a very old fiddle over to have his luthier look at it. My wife inherited it from an uncle. I know nothing about fiddles, but this one looked like a fairly nice one. Steven seemed to think it was worth putting some money into.
Btw, the kid is gone, Steven is using the guy that worked on my Celebrity that I liked. I should hear something about it Saturday.
I played with the folks in Bend again this evening, trading off between the 175 & the Elite. The 175 is definitely more comfy than it used to be & it sounds much better with the Elixers. Of course the strings I took off were really gone, so the difference was very noticable. Can't wait to get a set for my Elite.
Nils |
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Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | What's so special about these Elixirs? The guy in my musicstore said he found them mostly expensive, beside being good strings and not worth the price difference. I usually play Ernie Ball Earthwood Lights (.011-.052). Especially with my new SMT they have a BIG booming bass. Dang this guitar is LOUD! I ususally used to play my ibanez when watching TV, but it's impossible to hear a thing they say now :)
I must say I find € 21 for a set of strings is a lot of money. :)
Martin |
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Posts: 25
Location: UK | I put Elixirs on my Adamas - huge difference in sound, much fuller, worth every penny. I'll try them on my Viper next.
Funny thing was, I only bought them because I'd won an Elixir fleece in a raffle! |
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Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | What's so special about Elixirs?
Well, being coated (and there are several manufacturers that do that now), they last about 3 times as long as an uncoated string. They sound like a string that has been played for a couple of hours. The high ringing sound (crisp?) of a string just put on, isn't there, but the clear mellow sound of a string a day after new is there, and lasts a long long time. |
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Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | OK, i'm even more curious now. I'll try them. Fortunately i don't have very acidic sweat so i'm curious what the difference will be.
Martin |
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Posts: 11
Location: Portola Hills,CA | My preference for my 12 is D'ADDARIO EXP38 COATED PHOSPHOR BRONZE EX LIGHT ($19.99 @ MusiciansFriend,com) very sweet sounding strings that last. |
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Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | I've been using Martin SP+ Phosphor Bronze extra light (.010") and have been very happy....but you guys have got me interested in the Elixirs....next set!!!! |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Old fiddle follow-up:
Steven called today & said the old violin I left there is definitely worth fixing up. The "fiddle guy" looked at it today & said all it needs is a good cleaning, some new strings & the bow re-haired. I told him to go for it. Hopefully I'll get it back when I go to Bend again in two weeks for our next get together.
Steven keeps calling it a violin, but the old dude that owned it always said it was a fiddle. Some of the folks I've been playing bluegrass with have things that look just like it & theirs are fiddles too. Go figure. :)
If I can pick it up in two weeks I'll take it over & let a few people that can play the things (whatever they are) try it out & give me an opinion. I can't even tell the difference between a violin & a fiddle, let alone a good one from a POS.
I think I might try sawing away on the poor thing a bit myself. What the hell, I don't think I can hurt it & it can't sound much worse than some of my guitar playing.
Although I could be wrong about that part...
I seem to remember an old re-run episode of Gunsmoke (edit: oops, make that Bananazza, heheheh) that aired (cabled?) a while back, where Hoss got a fiddle (violin?) from the Gypsy Lady, Zsa Zsa Gabor, & nearly drove everybody crazy. Except Hop Sing, for some unknown reason he enjoyed it immensely. I think Hoss even made the horses run off.
Nils |
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Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | Nils,
Great "viddle" story but I think Hoss was on Bonanza!! :D
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Mike :cool: |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by Trboy:
Nils,
Great "viddle" story but I think Hoss was on Bonanza!! :D
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Mike :cool:
Well corn my pone! Of course it was Bananaaza! I edited the other post but I left the stupid mistake so your post would still make sense. Can't put one past you Trboy! Musta been a senior moment. :)
/\/\/ |
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Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | Glad I could help!
Mike :cool: |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Nils
My brother was a fiddle player who took lessons from a violin player to improve his style, and he credited it with helping a lot. He also bought fiddles all over the country as he travelled around, searching for that rare, overlooked Stradivarious. My opinion of his extensive collection was that fiddles are like family, from the same roots come exceptional talent and effort, and abysmal failure. Every fiddle is its own quality, and name and maker are not the best judge. That's why the top ones are so rare, every ordinary maker has turned out magnificance and junk, the only way to know is to put on strings, tune her up, and see if it plays well as judged by someone who can tell. There was a German make that bluegrass players liked for it's mellow sound and volume and I can't remember it's name, what was not played was true gut stringed violins, steel string only, also the bow is an important part of the equation. Check out a professional bow and visions of Martin D-45s will flash through your mind. Hang on to your fiddle/violin and saw on it if you have time, fiddle playing is like singing, you don't pluck, you flow through the notes and you try to keep a super solid rythym. Give it a try and you will have a hobby that will take care of the rest of your life.
Bailey |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 970
Location: Atlanta,Ga. | I found this intersting ad from Kaman about Adamas strings..
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/gallery/samova_ad.jpg |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | can't open it, Sam.
(Look Out!! Sam's pokin' through his closets again!!)
Bring it On!! |
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January 2002
Posts: 970
Location: Atlanta,Ga. | Ok ,Cliff here it is.Yes ive been pokin thru the closet again.Found some cool stuff...
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/gallery/samova_ad.jpg |
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strings acoustic or electric?
