Hi all,
I've used Martin Silk & Steel strings for a while now, 11.5-47 gauge. I don't like bright clangy acoustic sounds, I prefer a deader warmer tone in general. I like the acoustic guitar sounds of Simon & Garfunkel, Bert Jansch, Laura Marling, and this type of strings seems to do that for the most part. They are easier to play than other types, quieter, and this particular brand seems cheaper than others. I used to get D'Addario ones but I found they didn't last very long - the Martin ones tend to last me a good 6 months.
However I played an open mic recently and when I unpacked the guitar in what was a very warm cafe, it seemed to be quite a bit out of tune. I was playing with capo on 3rd 4th or 5th frets and was tuned to 432 hz which is my favoured pitch when accompanying myself, however was a bit cringey to explain to the host why I couldn't just use their Boss tuner. I wondered if the light gauge of strings might be to blame for being out of tune, I've used the same guitar and usually the same strings elsewhere without a problem but this place was particularly warm. Guitar is nothing special, in fact it's the exact opposite, it's a Taylor Big Baby.
I also find that the signal through my pickup is a bit weedy and sounds a bit flimsy when amplified, so thought...hey you know what, let's try some normal strings in a normal gauge and see if that's any better. I use fairly heavy strings on my Mustang (i forget which, I think 10-52 Skinny top Heavy bottom) so I thought I would handle it - I was wrong
it hurts and they are loud, clangy, and very loud scratchy noises when I move around. They are Ernie Ball Earthwood 13-56 Phosphor bronze.
I have some singing gigs later in the year where I shall be required to make an acoustic sound to accompany myself, so would like to get a good setup once I know my strings choice. I may yet just choose to use my Thinline Tele with an acoustic IR and some clean electric amp blended in, but that's another question
But my question here is - are other brands of Silk and Steel worth a punt, if so which brands? Seem to be amn Earthwood version which are 80/20 bronze, D'addario do some, a brand I've never heard of called Karuna. I can't seem to see heavier gauges of Silk & Steel on Amazon, so are there any others that do a similar job in being easier to play, sound quite dead etc?
I'm scared and I'm waiting for life
Comments
So sorry I can’t really help but I know silk n steel are not the answer for me - Have some Newtone low tension sets on order (again 12 gauge) and will give them a whirl
Some squeal more than others but coated strings seem to give less squeal, although they do have a 'soapy' feel. Marmite choice.
Personally I like Elixir 12s and their coating (partly 'cause I hate changing strings).....
Interestingly I've been playing it this morning with the clangy bronze ones and with a capo they are more tolerable. Capo on 3rd fret was a bit better, capo on 5th fret much better. The action seems significantly better with the capo on so maybe that's more where I need to look. It's not just the shorter scale I don't think, the strings are definitely lower with the capo on. Would a good set up be able to do that action level without a capo perhaps?
Yes it was a soundhole magnetic one, that's exactly what I thought might be the case with the wound ones, and probably why guitar always sounds a bit trebly through a pickup I suppose
Some thoughts......
Get a headstock tuner, which can calibrate at 432hz
Seems a slightly strange move, from light S&S, to guage 13 PB's, at least 12's would have made a bit more sense!
PB's don't stay quite as bright and clangy when they are played in
PB's wrap is not magnetic. Like the S&S, you are only picking up the core wuth your sound hole pickup.
You could try Silk and Bronze as a happy mid point between S&S and PB.
I've not tried any of these, but the nickel wound string options may be more subdued but offer good output. I will try D'addario NB's strings at some point.
This might be worth a read also.
What acoustic strings are best for a magnetic soundhole pickup? - Strings Direct
Yes it was possibly a bit of a jump but I think in my head I was thinking to go for the upper limit of the things I thought would solve it my query because if it worked I for the sound/tuning I could always compromise somewhere in the middle to make it easier to play.
I'll look into the nickel wound thing, as I guess that will feel more familiar from my (much more frequent) electric playing and could presumably enable me to switch between acoustic and my thinline Tele which is my other potential plan for this purpose, ie not use the acoustic at all other than as a backup
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Am i right in assuming the "squeal" is the string-scrape noise I was on about?
I like the Tim Henson one in concept, and the cheaper one that's quite similar but looks nicer, but again that out of tune sound bugs me a bit. I assume they are more akin to the fretboards I'm used to though.
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Anything with a silver coating seems to have a lot of squeal too. My surmise - both for silver-coated strings and for various other types - is that squeal is caused by the texture of the string surface - both the gross texture (fat winding wire (e.g. Ernie Ball phosphor bronze) squeals more than skinny winding wire (e.g. D'Addario Nickel Bronze) and the micro texture (some strings, including all the silver coated ones I know but also many others, have a slightly rough, grippy texture under the left hand, while others are more slick-textured).
There is nothing you can do about the gross texture, obviously (other than buy some different strings), but the micro texture changes as the strings wear in and your fingers polish them. The trouble with that is they tend to be worn out and dead before the texture wears off enough to stop the squeal.
What you CAN do is polish them yourself. Get one of those rubber nail buffer things people use to put a fine buff on their fingernails from the chemist. It will cost about a pound and seems to do the trick very nicely. You only need to buff the top of the strings (this is the only part your fingers touch, obviously) and it only takes a couple of minutes. It makes a substantial difference to micro-texture squeal and doesn't seem to impact tone much.
Or, of course, you can do it the proper way, which is to improve your sloppy left hand technique. (Do as I say, not as I do!)
Dadario flat tops might help. Or these:-
Silencer Golden Bronze 80/20 Acoustic Guitar Strings - S.I.T. Strings (sitstrings.com)
I've not tried either thought.
Also for live a preamp with a notch filter may help.
Fishman Platinum Pro EQ/DI Preamp at Gear4music
Fit Elixir nano coated strings!
I use these all the time, but recently fitted some Everlux coated phos-bronze strings from Headway (based in Oxford) as they were £12 (- a good saving against Elixirs).
Everlux blurb states they are UK voiced, USA materials, made in China. So covering all bets then
They are good strings, warm, well balanced & loud. On first fitting them I found the bottom E and A strings felt like a rasp under my fingers - very coarse. Also noticeably more squeal then Elixirs. So had to adjust technique a little to lift fingers off when moving up & down the board.
Used to them now, like them but will probably go back to Elixirs.
I do try to play nearer to the neck but i think my body positioning tends towards moving further towards the bridge when I'm playing with a capo
2: Use strings which squeak less than other strings. Flats do not squeak at all. Zero. None. Zippo. Double-wound strings don't squeak much; heavily coated strings (e.g., Elixirs) don't either, although they feel as though you are playing with condoms on your fingers. Normal, everyday strings (not flats or coated or anything) vary a lot. Some brands squeal far more than others.
3: see para 4 of my earlier post.