NAMM 2017: Product Preview - Martin Titanium Core Acoustic Guitar Strings

Aloha!

I headed into the Martin booth at this Year’s Winter NAMM to try out their new Titanium Core strings that I saw on the media preview day, and it was utter chaos. They have a lot of new products this year, so they were very busy. But, I did manage to flag down someone to talk about these strings and enjoyed a few strums on a guitar that was loaded up a set of their latest and greatest.

I have been using Martin strings on my acoustics for years, so I am pretty familiar with their products. In fact, they are my preferred acoustic strings and I have never had any complaints about them. The company’s goal with the Titanium Core strings is increased corrosion resistance (extended life), better stability, and increased playability due to reduced player fatigue. Who could argue with this?

Sets of light gauge Titanium Core strings will be available this spring (March 31), with other gauges to follow later. From what I could tell, these strings felt to be about the same tension as the Martin light gauge phosphor bronze strings that I usually use.

Overall, the fingertip feel was very normal for nickel strings (the titanium core is wire wrapped with nickel, and the plain strings are cryogenically treated stainless steel). The volume seemed to be a bit more than what I am used to with their conventional strings, with the caveat than NAMM is the worst place on the planet to evaluate anything acoustic.

I am not sure how the Titanium Core strings will live up to the rest of Martins promises, such as long life and better stability. One thing I do know is that for the price, they better last a really long time. These strings run $39.99 a set, and if the president makes a tariff on Mexican goods come true, the price might go up even more. Stay tuned, and I will let you know what I think after I get a set to try in the real world!

For more details go to martinguitar.com for more details.

Mahalo!

NAMM 2017: Manufacturer Preview – Ernie Ball Paradigm Guitar Strings

Aloha!

I have been using Ernie Ball guitar and bass strings for decades, so it was cool for me to get to try out their new Paradigm strings at the 2017 NAMM show. In case you have not heard of Paradigm, it is a line of strings that are guaranteed to not break or rust. This is quite a sales tool, so I had to find out a little more about them.

Paradigm strings will be available in both acoustic and electric sets. There will be four acoustic sets (Extra Light, Light, Medium Light, and Medium) and eight sets of electrics that will maintain the usual Ernie Ball sizes and nomenclature (Slinkies, Super Slinkies, Etc.).

How they are made is kind of fuzzy for me as I am not a physicist, but I will give it a try. The strings use a high carbon hex core, and before wrapping this wire core is blasted with plasma to remove impurities, Then the wrapping is applied and the Everlast nano treatment is applied. This is not a dip or a coating, and the overall result is strings that feel like they have a little more bite to them, but it is a slight difference and the tone is identical.

Testing has been intense, with Beta sets going out to select customers and artists, and the results have been good. On the Ernie Ball website you can find videos of Kenny Wayne Shepherd and John Petrucci abusing these strings and not being able to break them. In fact, Petrucci’s whammy bar snapped before the strings did. Cool!

When these strings go on sale they will be priced at around $14.99 per pack, and though I am a little vague on how the warranty works, I think it goes a something like this: 1) Purchase strings 2) register the serial number inside the pack with Ernie Ball 3) If a string breaks or corrodes within 90 days, contact them and they will send out a replacement string (not the whole pack). This sounds pretty simple to me, and I am sure they would not make this offer unless they have a lot a confidence in their strings.

I am pretty excited about Ernie Ball’s Paradigm strings and I am eager to give them a try so you all can get a proper review . Unfortunately, I will to wait until they are released in March of 2017, but something this revolutionary should be worth the wait. For more details go to ernieball.com

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass Strings .045 to .105 Review

Hello!

I recently picked up an ESP Phoenix 4-string bass that was stone-cold gorgeous, but sounded deader than Sherriff Block despite its stout active EMG setup. I fussed with the control on the bass and the EQ on my amp, but nothing was making it sound like I knew it could. Though the strings on it looked shiny and good, they were an unknown factor and I hoped they might be the cause. So, I swapped on a new set of my go-to strings and voilá! It was as right as rain! These strings are the Ernie Ball Power Slinky bass string set, model number 2833.

If you have not been living in a cave for the past 50 years, you have heard of Ernie Ball strings. Mr. Ball was an innovator that came up with the idea of mass-marketing custom gauge strings and he built the business into one of the biggest string manufacturers in the word. That is what happens when you listen to your customers and give them what they need. His son and grandsons now run the company, and the strings are made right here in the US by people that earn a living wage. A few years ago I had the opportunity to tour the factory (near Palm Springs) and it is an impressive organization.

These long-scale Hybrid Slinky strings are right about the same as their regular Slinky set with the top two string just a bee’s dick smaller, measuring 0.045, 0.065, 0.085 and 0.105. Woot! They are roundwound with nickel-plated steel wrap around a tin-plated hex profile steel core. There is no coating or cobalt going on here, just straight-up strings. Ernie Ball strings still come in individual paper envelopes, but now they are sealed in airtight foil packets. I much prefer this packaging so I know I am going to get fresh strings. You never know how long strings have been sitting around at the store...

Anyway, for the ESP bass I eagerly tore open my new foil pack of Hybrid Slinkys, trimmed them to length and used my Ernie Ball Powerpeg string winder to cinch them up. They filled the nut slots perfectly, and after a bit of fussing with the truss rod I got the action to a reasonable height. After a bit of playing it was apparent that this was a good move as it played just fine with plenty of bite, and the lighter top strings gave me a bit more mobility while the larger bottom strings gave me all the thump I could ever need.

Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky bass strings are very good, and they have always held up just fine for me – at least a month or two and sometimes more. It will not break the bank to see if you like them, as they are pretty reasonably priced. They have a list price of $35 and an Amazon price of $16.99, and if you catch a lucky break with a sale or coupon you can get them even cheaper at Guitar Center. How can you go wrong?

Ernie Ball 2221 Regular Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar String Set Review

Hello!

Ernie Ball has to be one of the biggest guitar and bass string manufacturers in the world (and they still make their strings in California), and their hefty market share is due to products like today’s blog subject – the Slinky electric guitar string set. This is the top-selling set in their line-up, and they are used by pros, including giants like Clapton, Page, Slash, and Vai.

I sometime try other brands, and even try new Ernie Ball products when they are introduced (the M-Steel guitar are really a winner), but I always come back to the Slinkies. You will find fresh sets of these on my Telecaster, Strat and Les Paul. They are indeed the workhorse of the electric guitar string world!

Slinkies were born in 1962, and almost immediately became the pre-eminent rock & roll string for musicians worldwide. The company is now in its third generation of family management, and their strings are still made in Coachella, California by workers who earn a living wage. Having toured their facility I was impressed with the care that goes into making their products, as well as with the amount of testing that is done to ensure that their strings are always of the highest quality.

The Regular Slinky set has normal gauges (.010 .013 .017 .026 .036 .046), and wound with nickel plated steel wire around a hex shaped steel core wire. The plain strings are specially-tempered tin-plated high-carbon steel. That is a boatload of hyphens, isn’t it?

This set is fairly neutral sounding, and perhaps a bit on the brighter side of things. They have figured out what they are doing over the past 52 years, and they are very evenly matched, both tonally and volume-wide), so that nothing is out of place when playing chords or finger picking.

Regular Slinkies hold up well for me, and they usually go almost a month before they start to dull. They stay in tune well, and I have only broken a few of them over the years, mostly when doing stupid stuff with a whammy bar. But the best thing for me is that I always know what I am going to get when I open up one of their sealed packs of strings. They will always sound the same, fell the same and last as long sets I have bought previously. When dealing with old guitars, old tube amps and effect pedals, it is nice to have one thing that is going to work the same every time I use it. I hope they don’t change them anytime soon…

And they are a pretty good bargain, too. They have a list price of $8.50, but nobody pays that much as the street price is a tad under $4. If you catch a good sale, you can buy them in bulk and get them for fewer than 3 bucks per pack.

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball 2921 M-Steel Regular Slinky Electric Guitar Strings Review

Aloha!

Ernie Ball has to be one of the biggest guitar and bass string manufacturers in the world (and they still make their strings in California), but despite their hefty market share they do not rest on their laurels. They keep coming out with new products, and I am a big fan of their Cobalt and coated strings, as well as their adoption of sealed string packaging to keep them as fresh as possible.

When the company introduced their new M-Steel guitar strings earlier this year, It seemed to me that all of the huge leaps in string technology have already been done, so what different could this new construction make? But, as I looked into them a bit more and actually tried out a few sets I must say that I came away impressed.

The big difference in this set is that the wound strings are based on a hex core that is made from Maraging steel, an alloy that is used in high-stress aerospace and military applications. The plain wire strings are made from tempered steel for additional resistance to fatigue. This means that these strings are supposed to last longer and be more resistant to breakage.

Most recently I tied out the M-Steel Regular Slinky set, which consists of 0.010, 0.013, 0.017, 0.026, 0.036, and 0.046 gauge strings. I installed them on my ’62-reissue Fender Stratocaster and cranked it up through my Fender Twin Reverb. I was able to A/B them with a new set of regular Slinkies on a similar Strat, so I could get a better idea of what they are really doing.

And I did not really need the comparison guitar, as right away it was obvious that the M-Steel strings were much louder and brighter (even for new strings), and they had a bit more sustain. More impressively, they were also able to produce more bass and low-mids.

This performance kept up for the two weeks I tried them , with very little degradation in tone and volume, despite pretty heavy usage. By the time I would ordinarily be installing a new set of strings these things still sounded very good. This is a good thing, because they do cost a bit more than regular Slinkies, with a list price of $21.50 and a street price that is right around 12 bucks.

From this experience, I would recommend giving a set of the Ernie Ball M-Steel strings a try, as they will last a bit longer than their normal line of strings, and they certainly do sound good!

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball Power Slinky Bass Strings .055 to .110 Review

Aloha!

A while back I picked up a Musicman Stingray 4-string bass that some misguided soul decided to put enormous strings on in an effort to make it sound like the lower 4 strings of a 5-string bass. It was a stupid cheap deal, so I bought it to flip. Funny enough, his idea actually worked, but that was not what I was looking for and it would be harder to sell it this way so it was time to string it normally. Unfortunately the nut slots were opened up a bit to accommodate the bottom heavy (0.130 for the B!) strings, and it was a compensated nut which would have been a headache to buy. So, I started looking for the best compromise, which ended up being a set of Ernie Ball Power Slinky bass strings (model number P02831).

If you have not been living in a cave for the past 50 years, you have heard of Ernie Ball strings. Mr. Ball was an innovator that came up with the idea of mass-marketing custom gauge strings and he built the business into one of the biggest string manufacturers in the word. That is what happens when you listen to your customers and give them what they need. His son and grandsons now run the company, and the strings are made right here in the US by people that earn a living wage. A few years ago I had the opportunity to tour the factory (near Palm Springs) and it is an impressive organization.

These long-scale Power Slinky strings are indeed beefy, measuring 0.055, 0.075, 0.090 and 0.110. Woot! They are roundwound with nickel-plated steel wrap around a tin-plated hex profile steel core. There is no coating or cobalt going on here, just straight-up strings. Ernie Ball strings still come in individual paper envelopes, but now they are sealed in airtight foil packets. I much prefer this packaging so I know I am going to get fresh strings. You never know how long strings have been sitting around at the store...

Anyway, I eagerly tore open my new foil pack of Slinkys, trimmed them to length and used my Ernie Ball Powerpeg string winder to cinch them up. They seemed to fill the nut slots enough, and after a bit of fussing with the truss rod I got the action to a reasonable height. After a bit of playing it was apparent that this was a good plan as it played just fine.

In fact, it was kind of a big macho thrill. I could wail and pop and slap on this 'Ray and there was no untoward buzzing or clanking. There was a good balance between the strings, and there is nothing on the planet like the zing of a fresh set of roundwound.

Of course, these string were not made to salvage dumbo situations like the one I was in -- these strings are stout enough to maintain decent tension when de-tuned, so I had to try that out too. They are definitely able to meet this challenge, if that is your bag.

Ernie Ball Power Slinky bass strings are very good, and if you play de-tuned and/or are looking for more oomph, their heavier gauges could be just the ticket for you. It will not break the bank to find out either, as they are pretty reasonably priced. They have a list price of $36 and a street price of $17.49, and if you catch a lucky break with a sale or coupon you can get them even cheaper. How can you go wrong?

Mahalo!

Martin MSP3200 SP Medium Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings Review

Aloha!

On my trusty Martin D-18GE I sometimes experiment with different strings, but so far I have always gone back to my favorites, Martin MSP3200 SP Medium Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings. This set includes the following gauges: 0.013, 0.017, 0.026, 0.035, 0.045 and 0.056

The 1 and 2 strings are high-quality steel with a bronze coating, which is a great combination. The other four strings have steel cores with bronze windings. The steel helps keep the strings from breaking (I cannot remember the last time I broke a Martin string), and the bronze helps the strings sound brighter for a longer period of time. By the way, the bronze in these strings in an 80/20 alloy. I wonder that the other 20% is…

After installing a new set of these strings it takes an hour of two of playing to get them to over their initial overly bright and crisp tone. They do not stretch very much, and once they settle in they have a beautifully even and sweet tone across all of the strings. This tone translates well for both recording and live performances.

Volume and intonation are very consistent from string to string and set to set, so Martin must have a great quality control department. I get awesome volume from my dreadnoughts with these Martin strings and they hold up for a surprisingly long time. I play every day, and end up changing them out about once per month. As I said earlier, I never break these strings, even though I change to different tunings fairly often.

Some of my friends swear by the coated Elixir strings, and they do hold their tone around twice as long as the Martin strings, but they also cost twice as much. Plus I do not care for the feel of the Elixirs, and their tone does not fit in with my style of playing. Don’t get me wrong, Elixirs are very nice, but the Martins just work better for me.

Martin makes their strings in Mexico, and right out of the package I have never had a bad string from them. But I do not care for is their packaging. The strings come in paper envelopes inside a cardboard box. I would prefer that they were in an airtight package, as I never know how long these strings have been sitting around at the store, and I believe that exposure to air and moisture degrades string performance over time.

Though the Martin MSP3200 Medium Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings have a rather high list price of $15.29, you will find that the street price is about $5.00 per pack, which is not out of line with the competition. They sound great and hold up well, so if you do not currently use them you should give them a try.

Mahalo!

D’Addario Pro Arte EJ45 Classical Guitar String Review

Hi there!

I do not play my classical guitar very much, and over the years I have tried a few different brands of strings, but so far I have always gone back to my favorites, the D’Addario Pro Arte EJ45 normal tension classical set that can be found on the old Japanese Ariana that my dad bought back on the 1960s.

The normal tension set includes the following gauges: 0.0280, 0.0322, 0.0403, 0.029, 0.035 and 0.043. The wound strings are silver-plated copper over a multi-filament nylon core, and the treble strings are clear nylon. I have never broken one of the wound strings in any of these sets, but of course a few of the nylons ones have popped over the years. It must be all of the chemicals in the Los Angeles air…

By the way, the EJ45 normal tension set is the lightest set of strings in this series. The EJ46 are a bit beefier, and the EJ47 are the heaviest. If you want more volume, you will have to step up to one of these sets, but it seems that they have all of the bases covered.

D’Addario is probably the biggest guitar string manufacturer in the world, and if you look through their literature you will see that they make a big deal about how the Pro Arte strings have “Laser-selected treble strings and computer wound bass strings for perfect consistency and quality.” Well, I do not know how to prove that claim, but these strings are consistent and they are comfortable and hold up well.

After installing a set of Pro Arte strings it takes a while for them to settle in, but they do not seems to stretch any more or less than other classical strings I have tried. They first few hours they have an amazingly bright tone, but calm down to a normal level pretty quickly. Their normal level ends up being a predictably even and sweet tone across all of the strings that works well for both recording and live performances. As a bonus they also have good intonation and project very nicely…

As I said, my classical guitar does not get as much play time as its steel stringed cousins, so I usually only change strings a few times a year, and even then the strings are still in pretty good shape when I swap them out. It probably helps that they use corrosion-resistant packaging, as these things can sit on the shelf for a while in my studio before I install them. Oh yes. And these strings are made in the United States, in case that affects your purchase decision.

Though the D’Addario Pro Arte EJ45 classical guitar string set has a list price of $15.70, you will find that the street price is about $6 or $7 per pack, which is quite a bargain when compared to a lot of the other strings out there. They sound great and hold up well, so if you do not currently use them you should give them a try.

Mahalo!

Martin MSP4100 SP Light Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings Review

Hi!

Every now and then I experiment with different acoustic guitar strings, but so far I have always gone back to my favorites, the Martin Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Strings. Depending upon the instrument I use either the light or medium gauge sets. Today we are going to take a look at the light gauges set (part number MSP4100) that I use on my old Takamine dreadnought.

The light set includes the following gauges: 0.012, 0.016, 0.025, 0.032, 0.042 and 0.054. They have a high-quality steel core with a bronze coating, which is a great combination. The steel helps keep the strings from breaking (I cannot remember the last time I broke a Martin string), and the bronze helps the strings sound brighter for a longer period of time. Plus the bronze color looks really snazzy!

After installing a set of these strings it takes an hour of two of playing to get them to over their initial overly bright and crisp tone. They do not stretch very much, and once they settle in they have a beautifully even and sweet tone across all of the strings. This tone translates well for both recording and live performances.

The tone of these Martin strings holds up for a surprisingly long time. I play every day, and end up changing them out about once per month. As I said earlier, I never break these strings, even though I change to different tunings fairly often.

Some of my friends swear by the coated Elixir strings, and they do hold their tone around twice as long as the Martin strings, but they also cost twice as much. Plus I do not care for the feel of the Elixirs, and their tone does not fit in with my style of playing. Don’t get me wrong, Elixirs are very nice, but the Martins just work better for me.

Martin makes their Phosphor Bronze strings in Mexico, and right out of the package I have never had a bad string from them. But I have to point out that the one thing I do not care for is their packaging. The strings come in paper envelopes inside a cardboard box. I would prefer that they were in an airtight package, as I never know how long these strings have been sitting around at the store, and I believe that exposure to air and moisture degrades string performance over time.

Though the Martin MSP4100 Phosphor Bronze Light Acoustic Strings have a rather high list price of $16.79, you will find that the street price is about $5.50 per pack, which is comparable to other makers’ wares. They sound great and hold up well, so if you do not currently use them you should give them a try.

Mahalo!

John Pearse Acoustic Guitar Strings Set 200L Review

Howdy!

I do not really experiment very much with my acoustic guitar strings, and mostly stick with the trusty Martin SP phosphor bronze stuff. But, every now and then I pick up a set here or there that makes me wonder what else is out there. Recently a store threw in a set of John Pearse 200L strings when I bought a used acoustic, so I figured I would give them a shot.

John Pearse was an English musician and author that you may remember from the PBS series, “Stringalong” and “Cooking with Wine.” He dabbled in the string industry in the mid sixties, and ended up moving to the US in 1978 to work for Martin Guitars in Pennsylvania. This did not last terribly long, as he started Breezy Ridge Instruments with his wife Mary Faith Rhoads in 1980. They made fabulous hammer dulcimers, and the string business came along shortly after. John passed away in 2008, but Mary Faith is still at the helm of the company.

The 200L is a light gauge set for six-string acoustics. They are 80/20 bronze wound, with the following gauges: 0.012, 0.016, 0.024, 0.032, 0.042, and 0.053. These strings are not cryogenically frozen or coated or doused with any other voodoo technology. They are just very good quality strings.

After stringing up my Takamine with these John Pearse strings, I was impressed with what I heard. I realize that the strings I took off were dead, but this set was noticeably louder than the Martins or D’Addarios I have used in the past. This extra volume does not make for a harsh sound, as they end up with a very sweet and pleasant tone. This set is nicely balanced across the range with good tension on the low strings and the high strings are not brittle at all. I have mostly been working on folk music, country and bluegrass, and these strings are perfect for these genres.

These strings are holding up well, too. My daily hour of practice in the hot and sweaty studio has not noticeably degraded their tone over the past three weeks. I will keep an eye on them to see how well they last, but I think they might be a better alternative than the coated strings that I have never had any luck with…

With a list price of $12.45 and a street price of $8.00 these John Pearse strings are not the cheapest ones out there, but I think they are worth it. I am not going to throw away the stacks of new strings I have sitting around the studio, but I will certainly keep these in mind the next time I am shopping for strings.

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball PowerPeg String Winder Review

Aloha!

Well, here is something I thought I could live without until I actually used one – the Ernie Ball PowerPeg powered string winder.

If you have ever changed strings on a guitar or bass, you know that most of the time is spent getting the string ends wound around the tuner post. Often times you get a few turns on it and then it pops off, and the whole thing is kind of a hassle. I have used a Jim Dunlop manual string winder for years, and it does a pretty good job of speeding things up and saving my fingers, but it turns out that there really is a better way.

The Ernie Ball strong company introduced the PowerPeg a few years ago, and I did not think much of it at the time. I mean, how much better could this be than my old hand crank winder? Plenty, it turns out…

My PowerPeg winder was included in a promotional deal with a brick of new Slinkies, so I had to give it a try. After removing it from the plastic tray I was not super impressed, as it is lightweight, and the silkscreened logo is fuzzy and crooked. Part of its lightness was due to the fact that the 4 AA batteries it uses were not included. There is no good excuse for the silkscreen appearance, though.

The unit is the size of a small cordless drill/driver, and is an eye-catching combination of red and black, maybe so it will not get lost on the workbench. Controls consist of a rocker trigger switch for forward and backward operation and an ON/FF that locks out the trigger. That is it. The universal head attachment is cleverly designed so that it fits everything from ukulele tuner knobs to big Schaller-style bass cloverleaf tuners. I wish the head attachment would detach so that I could use it in my Dremel cordless driver if this thing ever poops out on me.

There is no drama to using the PowerPeg, as it fits neatly in the hand and the dual-direction trigger is intuitive. I have used it on all of my guitars and basses, and have not found one that will not fit. Despite its lack of heft, it is holding up fine, with no wobble to the head attachment. The original batteries that I put in it are still going strong after dozens of string changes. So, it does everything as advertised.

And in the real world I use this thing all the time. I change at least a few sets of strings per month, and it drastically cuts down the time of this maintenance chore. The true test was putting a new set of strings on my 12-string. I always procrastinate on this one because it is a major league pain to work on, but the PowerPeg made this job tolerable, which says a lot.

Anyway, the Ernie Ball PowerPeg is a good tool, and is reasonably priced. I see them at Guitar Center for about $20 (MSRP is $29.99), and it is worth every penny when you consider all of the time it will save and the aggravation that will be avoided. Check one out if you get the chance!

Mahalo!

Nashville Tuning with D’Addario EJ38H Strings

Hiya!

For years I have heard guitars that use Nashville Tuning (also known as “high strung” guitars), but have never really given one a try. You have heard this sound before, but maybe did not know what it was called – think of “Dust in the Wind” and Pink Floyd’s “Hey You” if you need examples.

The basic idea of Nashville Tuning is to make a six-string guitar sound like a 12-string. But I think it adds a little more, with elements of harpsichord, mandolin and autoharp. That sounds like the three levels of Hell, when I put it that way, doesn’t it?

This is not really an alternate tuning (like drop D), as the same notes are used, but the octaves are different. For Nashville tuning, the two high strings (B and E) are the same as normal tuning, but the lower four strings are tuned an octave higher than normal (two octaves on the low E if you are David Gilmour).

I have mostly heard acoustic guitars tuned this way, though I guess you could do the same thing with an electric guitar. And, it easy enough to convert your acoustic guitar if you want to give it a try.

In the old days you either had to buy a 12-string set and cannibalize it for the strings you needed, or buy the strings separately from your friendly (and patient) local music store. These days you can just plunk down 4 bucks for a set of D’Addario EJ38H phosphor bronze strings, which includes these gauges: .010 (high E), .014 (B), .009 (G), .012 (D), .018 (A), and .027 (low E). This is, of curse a pretty light set of strings, and if you crave something beefier, you can build your own set from single strings – try .012, .016, .010, .014, .020, and .030 (make this one a wound string, please).

Install them as you would normally, and remember to tune the lower four strings an octave higher than normal. I usually involuntarily grimace as I do this and squint my eyes, as I wait for one of the strings to break. They never do.

Of course there are down sides to everything, so I need to toss a couple of caveats in. Your guitar might need a new set up as the string tensions will be different. And, more importantly, if you are playing by yourself, you will notice that most of the bottom end is gone, and the sound will be less full. Nashville Tuning is best used when it is being used on a guitar that is playing along with another guitar that is using conventional tuning.

That is all I have on this subject. Give it a try, and you will be pleasantly surprised. The worst that can happen is that you are out 4 bucks.

Mahalo!

D’Addario EJ45Pro Arte Normal Tension Classical Guitar String Review

Greetings!

I recently had to restring my Orpheus Valley classical guitar, and decided to go with a different set -- D’Addario EJ45 Pro Arte normal tension strings.

This set has clear nylon treble strings and silver-plated wound bass strings in the following gauges: 0.028, 0.032, 0.040, 0.029, 0.034 and 0.043. D’Addario is kind enough to provide tensions so I was able to easily match these up to what I had been using.

I have always liked D’Addario strings, so trying these was not too much of a stretch. These strings are made in the US and are very reasonably priced with a list price of $14.29 and a street price of $6.70. Then again it is hard to spend more than 15 bucks for a set of classical guitar strings.

When I opened the envelope I was impressed that the strings were sealed into an airtight foil package. This is a double bonus for me, so that I get fresh strings AND I can be sure that nobody at the guitar shop swiped the E string. It is no fun to get home and find out that one of the strings is missing.

Inside the foil envelope each of the strings is marked with a sticker so I would be less likely to screw up on the install. Remember the good old days, when you would get to the nylon E string and realize that you had already installed it? Crud…

When I installed these on my Rosa Morena they stretched up a bit but settled in better than the rubber band strings I had been using. Although the nylon strings are slicker than snot, I didn’t have any trouble with my wraps not holding. After a few tunings over the next day or so they were good to go.

When playing the guitar these Pro Arte strings have plenty of volume and have a good balance between the roundwound and the nylon strings. Perhaps the nylons strings are a bit louder, but it is not a deal-breaker for me. They have held there tone well for the past few weeks, and I think they are pretty cool for the money.

I have picked up a spare set to keep in my case, and maybe you should too.

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball 2733 Cobalt Hybrid Slinky Bass Strings

Como estas?

Ernie Ball has to be one of the biggest guitar and bass string manufacturers in the world, but despite their hefty market share they are not resting on their laurels. They keep coming out with new products, and I am a big fan of their coated strings they recently introduced, as well as their adoption of sealed string packaging.

At NAMM this year they introduced a new line of Cobalt-series strings that were supposed to do miraculous things, and I must confess it made my BS meter twitch a little. But I read through their info and was intrigued by the logic behind going to a cobalt alloy string wrapping.

The idea is that the cobalt alloy is more strongly attracted to magnets (as found in pickups) than any other material previously used. Also, this alloy is more resistant to corrosion caused by moisture and sweat. The results are improved output, sustain and clarity. As a bonus, the strings also last longer and are less susceptible to breakage, being stronger than nickel or steel.

These strings are available in the usual popular guitar and bass string set sizes, so I went down to my local Guitar Center and bought a set of the 2733 Cobalt Hybrid Slink Bass Strings for 30 bucks (MSRP of $59.99. This is about 10 buck more than I usually spend, but you have to take chances in life. I brought them home and stripped the standard Hybrid Slinky bass strings from my trusty MusicMan Classic Stingray bass and did not have to change a thing with the action.

These strings really do sound awesome, and certainly do have a bit more output than the regular Hybrid Slinky bass strings I have been using for years on my Stingrays. I didn’t notice much of a change in sustain, but maybe there is something to this cobalt thing.

I have been using these strings for a little over a month (this being my main player), and I have noticed no degradation in tone. I usually change roundwound strings every month or two, but these look like they are going to hold up for a bit longer. I will be sure to provide an update if anything changes.

I think you should try out a set of these for your guitar or bass. They are more expensive than ordinary Ernie Ball strings, but the increased life and performance is worth it.

Mahalo!

Ernie Ball 2806 Group III Flat Wound Bass String Review

Howdy!

I had never considered using flatwound bass strings on a fretted bass until a few years ago, but a number of my friends raved about them so I had to give them a go. Unfortunately I started with Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Bass strings that cost a fortune and had the tension of old rubber bands.

I was disappointed with the feel of the TI strings, and passed them on to a buddy of mine. Through some friends I was clued in to tin-plated Ernie Ball Group III Flats, which are a lot more comfortable for me. With string gauges of .045-.065-.080 and 0.100 they have tension that is similar to the Hybrid Slinky roundwounds or D’Addario XL nickels I usually use.

I have tried them on active Sadowskys and Musicmans, as well as passive Fenders and Arias. All of these were fretted basses, and I was impressed with the results. Like all flats, they are brighter when new, but have maintained a great midrange growl even as they have aged. And though they have a solid thump, they have not gotten muddy or dull.

Plus they are a good value, particularly when you factor in how long they last. The Ernie Ball Group III flats have a list price of $60, and a street price of $29.99. Plus you will not need to do a complete set-up when you switch over to these flats either, as they have a tension that will probably be similar to whatever you are using now.

This being said, I embrace diversity and Group IIIs are not the only flats that I use. D’Addario Chromes are virtually identical to the Ernie Ball strings, so I use them if they are around, and I have a P Bass set-up with the imposing LaBella Jamerson flats too. They are all great strings, and you will not go wrong with any of them. Just remember that flats are not just for fretless basses any more.

Mahalo!

La Bella Jamerson Flats

How’s it going?

I have heard about “Jamerson Flats” for years, and finally decided to try a set of these strings on one of my basses. I did not know much about them before trying them out and I am pretty surprised by the results.

You may not know much about them either, so here is the low down. James Jamerson was a legendary Motown bassist who played (mostly uncredited) on every Motown hit you have ever heard. He put a set of La Bella flats on his 1962 Precision bass, and NEVER CHANGED THEM AGAIN. Ha! By the way, Jamerson never endorsed these (he died in 1983) and his widow is now suing La Bella.

Anyway, these “Original 1954” stainless steel flatwound strings are still available today from La Bella as part number 0760M. They are beefy-assed strings, coming in at .110 for the E to .052 for the G. And, they are made in the U.S.A.

I decided to try them out on my 1982 JV Precision Bass which had pretty dead roundwounds on it. I have an almost identical 1983 JV P bass with D’Addario Chromes (or Ernie Ball flats, I can’t remember), so I thought it would be a nice comparison.

The slightly larger La Bellas just needed a little filing of the nut, and the truss rod was in good shape, so I was not too married about damaging anything. Plus, I think (with absolutely no data to support my assertion) that all-maple necks are a bit sturdier than necks with rosewood fretboards.

Right off, I noticed a difference just plucking open strings with the bass unplugged. They sounded deep and resonated strongly. Playing a bit (still unplugged) there was no buzz at all, even though the action was set really low. The feel of the strings is a bit different to me, just because they are so big. But different is not bad and they are very comfortable.

Plugged in, they are a bit brighter than I expected, but surely they will darken up as time goes on and provide the thumpy tone of the 1960s that I was looking for, I think they are a winner.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you decide to try these out. 1. You will not be able to use these on basses that string through the body. 2. Make sure that you neck is in good condition before installing them, as these strings will put your truss rod to the test.

The La Bella Jamerson Flats may seem a little spendy at first glance (about $54 online), but they are cheaper than TI flats, and they could be the last strings you ever buy. You should give them a try!

Mahalo!