Red Brand strings
 

Finally!!!! I found the perfect string (for me). I tried a set of Red brand copper bronze acoustic 12-53's and I absolutely LOVE them. I'll try to give an informed review.
I am a singer/songwriter, not a soloist. I want a clear warm sound to accompany my vocals. I fingerpick and strum with my fingers. I have a 00 Northwood 12 fret. Although my guitar is rosewood, I probably would prefer it was mahogany and so I have been trying to decrease the sparkly overtones and retain the volume.
The Reds are the most precise, clear, warm (and loud) string I have ever heard on this guitar. Also, when I strum the Reds I can hear every note and they don't overlap each other, that is, I can clearly hear each string.
I'll report back on how long they last, and I have tried to explain what I like so no one will have to spend the $ to try them.
I'm freakin' out...can you tell?

I for one remain curious. What strings are you comparing them to?
Thanks for the report.

RW

I bought two packs and plan to try them out soon. It seems they are getting mixed reviews. But alot of people chiming in have not tried them they are simply sceptical due to the price without being coated:confused::confused::confused:

Good question. I understand it's about personal taste. I'm not partial to coated strings although I kinda liked the Dean Markley Alchemy Gold's. I tried D'addario's, GHS. and DR Sunbeams. I had settled on the DR rares but they weren't killin' me like these do.

You're right, Russ, they're ridiculously expensive, but I'm about to order a dozen sets. I've been concerned about my live sound to the point where I was checking out different preamps and even wondering if I needed to order a mahogany guitar. I went downstairs and plugged straight into my soloamp and was amazed. There was no mush, no quack, just beautiful clear articulate tone. F.y.i. I have a fishman infinity usp. I'm demoing this weekend and we'll see what the engineer and the "real" guitar player think. I'll report back. Please take into account how hyped I am. I have, however, been playing professionaly for 40 years on stage and in the studio.

I am not afraid of paying a little more for strings if they work for me. I have payed for Newtones for awhile now. And, it sounds like these are working for you. That's GREAT. I will be anxious to hear how they work out in the studio. Keep me informed............

Now see...I've never tried the Newtones : ) I'm sure this is a guitar/string/taste thing. I'm anxious to hear about when you try them out. I'll keep you posted.

I posted my experience on another thread, but here goes:

They are, to me, what phosphor bronze should be. They are warmer than PB, without the same sparkle (which often sounds tinny to me) but with a more meaty, collected tone. They don't seem to do well on darker guitars -- I really didn't like them on an all mahogany 12 fretter. OTOH, they are the bees knees on my National Delphi & my Cargo. The latter may be surprising, considering my comment about darker guitars above, but I think the Reds really control & direct that big bass in a very pleasing fashion.

They lasted on my Delphi about 2-3 weeks before becoming too dull. The Cargo has had them on for a little over a week, maybe two, and it's still great.

They are, however, fairly stiff and seem to have a comparatively high tension.

As a comparison, my 'standard' string set is a 12 gauge Pearse 80/20. But I've tried lots of other strings, and have no trouble using expensive strings if they're worth it -- I use TI's on most of my electrics and Newtone nickels on my wood-bodied National. To my way of thinking, the string is what's amplified. Why would you pay thousands for a a pretty amplifier to make a mediocre sound louder? Strings & picks, baby...

Thanks Crazyquilt, I had read your post and decided to try one more time to find the perfect string for me, and I did. I'm sorry I was too lazy to scroll back and find the other post.
Your description was right on the money. I'm not even tempted to try them on my P-05 all mahogany. I agree with you and I don't think that would work. On my 00 rosewood, however, they seem to keep that wonderful complexity of tone and yet dry it out somehow.
I also agree they have fairly high tension. My action is so low on the Northwood that I could sometimes make my low E and G strings buzz if I played harder than normal. For that reason I was only buying lights with a 54 on the bottom. The Reds are 12-53's and I can't make them buzz one bit.
I am grateful to you for sharing your accurate opinion.

I put a set on my Rainsong and am very impressed by them. If I had to compare them I believe they are closest to Deam Markley Gold Phos. They are louder but are not "jangly" (if there is such a word). Just put them on my J-45 and wilol be playing them out this weekend, they sound great.

They're still on my Martin D-21 Special and overall I'd say they are ok but not worth the price. I don't get to use this guitar as much as I'd like but I've got about 6 hours on these strings and they are still fairly fresh. They are warmer and less brassy than pb's. Bottom line is I won't be buying them again.

Glad I could help!

If I had only tried them on my all-mahogany guitar, I would have said nearly the same thing, except I would have also said they were such a high tension as to be almost unplayable. (The guitar in question has a 25.5" scale length.)

I think the Reds have a really interesting and useful sound, but they're distinctive, which is a double-edged sword. And they certainly don't work in all guitars.

I'm not trying to poo poo your opinion -- at all -- just noting that because one doesn't like a particular string only means they aren't worth a given price to you.

Years ago D'Addario made strings called XL Reds that were copper coated and stated they had a piano like brilliance. They were excellant strings that had a snap to it. Then one time I went to buy them and found out D'Addario stopped making them. Could these possibly be the same string from another company?

Interesting...never heard of those, but a quick Google search shows an ad from '84:

http://www.prestoimages.net/graphics...pd429916_1.jpg

And here's a post on TalkBass: "Hex core, nickel plated steel 1st & 2nd windings, copper coated steel for the outer wrap. Final winding is 70% steel 30% copper. "The steel supplies the necessary magnetic qualities for amplification while the copper imparts a piano-like brilliance"."

That doesn't sound like the new Reds, and I'd guess the guitar strings would be made like the bass strings.

I've wondered about the reds, but am lurking around to see some opinions. I just put a set of Ernie Ball Slinky Coated Titanium's on my Larry and they seem very bright for coated strings. Since they cost twice the amount of typical strings, I'm going to see how these fair over the next few weeks.. or perhaps a month or two!!!