I discovered these on a nice little Guild M120 yesterday. I’d picked up the guitar to try it out and loved how mellow and easy to play it felt, the tension seemed nice and low but I could still dig in - it almost felt like all the good elements of a classical/nylon strung, but on something I could actually play. Anyway, I had a chat with the salesman and he mentioned that it was fitted with silk and steel strings too, which vaguely registered in my mind but suddenly all the characteristics made sense.
Is anyone else a fan of these? They seem ideal for finger-picking & couch/home-strumming if you don’t like things too bright. I’m going to try some out on my Yamaha too, as it’s got a bellied top and I’ve been reluctant to string it with anything too heavy!
Comments
soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
Feedback
“Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay
Edit: Any love for John Pearse silk and steel strings? They seem to be the only brand doing the size I'm after (12-53).
In addition to the La Bella and John Pearse strings mentioned above, Ernie Ball Silk & Steel soft (80/20 bronze) have heavier gauge bass strings (e.g. .052 low E)
I may try a set on the little Yamaha parlour guitar to warm up the tone a little. I can see GHS in 12-54 or various in 11-47 as mentioned above.
(necro-bumping instead of starting the exact same thread)
Warmer, mellow tone
Lower tension
Less string noise
Have I got the wrong end of the stick?
They don't like to be it too hard but if you're reasonably gentle or a flat picker I think they're great.
If you like that mellow sound, they'll work for you. But I like strings to ring, so I'll go for D'Addario cos they work well with this Gibson Dove. Newtone also work for me in both PB and 80/20.
La Bella I've tried and like, too. But John Pearse alway sound dead to me.
JP silk & steel sound perfect on this guitar but sadly don't last 5 minutes, but then my skin chemistry ruins all JP strings in short order.
I've moved onto Martin MA130S 11.5 - 47 with an even lower set tension of 122.2 lbs. These are even more mellow than the JP's and edging into classical territory, but they sound good on this guitar and have lasted months without any sign of degradation.