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Joined:
January 2021
Posts: 11
| Just bought an Ovation Matrix, what strings should I put on it when it comes?
Charlie |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | New Ones |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4025
Location: Utah | Light gauge Phosphor Bronze. Lots of choices within that arena. Adamas, Martin, Stringjoy, GHS, Dean Markley, D'Addario are all good brands. There will be some differences between them in tone, but they will all sound good. Avoid coated strings because they tend to sound a bit dead, though they do last a long time especially if you have acidic hands. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 1553
Location: Indiana | Extra-Light coated strings.
Yes, I've just contradicted my OFC brother, FlySig.
String preferences are exceedingly personal, varied, taste oriented, and will elicit many different responses.
Just make sure you get the good string tubes to go along with them.
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Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1769
Location: When?? | I'm with Jonmark on the coated strings. D'Addario EXP16 is my choice for those. I think that some brands, as FlySig said, can have some dead attributes, especially when played straight acoustic unplugged, but the D'Addario brand has never let me down for tone or longevity on coated strings. And yes.. string tubes are important.. though I heard just today that an executive order was signed in Washington to completely outlaw them. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4025
Location: Utah | Lol, I heard hemp based string tubes will be legal still, but not petrochemical teflon.
Back in the day, I liked Elixir coated strings on my 2007BCS when playing through a PA. It was a weekly gig, so the plugged in sound was more important than pure acoustic. The coating prevented finger squeak. That was a guitar I regret letting go.
I am a proponent of buying several different brands of strings and trying them all. |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | Other than the professional hack of string tubes ;-).....I use them all, and even though my response is facetious of saying new strings....it is that (IMHO) that matters most. Not necessarily the brand. Of course they all sound different and learn what you like. In the studio when the recording engineers are going after that fairy dust sound in a quiet environment with high end mics, squeaks can cause heartburn and time - either on the front end, or the engineer has to spend a lot of time in post tweaking them out. Better technique is one of the solutions too. Shhh, don't tell anyone, but a little WD-40 or Gold Bond Lotion on your left hand fingertips will amaze you with the resulting sound - for that one take to get it right. Just wipe it off, and let the excess add mojo to the fingerboard. Coated strings in this environment help - and I am with Jonmark on this one, get them as light as you can to get the jangle. Also depends on the guitar and the sound you are looking for....I bump up to mediums if more of a J-45 sound is desired. Get on a regular schedule of ordering new ones, and learn to change them quickly. I practiced with long cut old ones...just to learn to do it. I am also with Flysig on this point, I also like Phosphor Bronze uncoated....great projection and clarity - usually I use EJ 16s or 17s...but they are gonna bite the fingers and squeak if you are recording - gigging onstage with a band...it won't matter. The age old argument of what strings.....depends...the player matters most. Now, I gotta go practice...COVID ending is in sight....
Edited by elginacres 2021-01-30 12:52 PM
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4025
Location: Utah | Over the past week I changed strings on all the acoustics - O's, A's, and a wood box 12 string. Dang those slot-heads, they take me forever to install new strings!
Three of the guitars got the exact same strings, Martin SP Phosphor Bronze 12-54. The 1976 Bicentennial acoustic only, the 1997 Collector's edition parlor a/e, and 40th anniversary Adamas 1198 acoustic only. The difference in tone is dramatic between all of them.
On the other guitars I used whatever I had on hand, a variety of brands of phosphor bronze light gauge. I use mediums on an Adamas tuned down one full step.
My observation is the tonal differences between string brands is generally small, and certainly nobody in the audience ever hears it. Longevity does differ by brand, and some guitars hate a particular brand or construction (e.g. round core vs hex core).
Mostly though, new strings are plenty good enough.
Edited by FlySig 2021-01-30 5:11 PM
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | 12-52. Any set that has that or something close
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Joined:
January 2021
Posts: 11
| Tubes? Tell me more please. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3599
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Careful what you wish for. Strong suggestion to do a discussion search on string tubes. It will be highly entertaining, and illuminating. Akin to the phenomena of sea bats in The Navy. |
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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | String Tubes are to Guitars what self soldering XLR connectors are to audio engineers. |
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Matrix
