Quote:
Originally Posted by marco_gea
Hi,
I recently discovered Thomastik's Plectrums (AC111 light), and I'm in love. These are a variant of the Silk-and-Steel type, but the wound strings are Bronze (rather than silver-coated copper like the Martin's), and the G, D and A strings are FLATWOUND (rather than the ubiquitous roundwounds). This latter bit is what sold me on them (apart from their mellow, balanced and at the same time lushous sound, IMO): no more of that loathed squeak! Yes!
Marco
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Based on my three years as a player (so take this from a beginner-intermediate level player).
Plus one on the Plectrums for pretty much the reasons Marco describes above. I typically get at least 3-4 months of playing life out of the Plectrums so they are worth the extra cost to me. They also string up with less tension so are finger friendly.
But I also have gotten very good results with Silk and Steels and I think anyone who wants to move toward warm and mellower versus bright and louder on a specific guitar could like Silk and Steels. I've only used the Martin varieties of S&S. I currently have them on my Taylor 522 12 fret and my Rainsong Parlor P-12. I tried the Silk and Phosphor on an HD35 I had for awhile and they were a good fit for that guitar but I agree they are brighter and seem to have more string tension. I appear to be blessed with non-corrosive hands as I have gotten between 2-3 months of playing time with the S&S before I change them. On my Taylor GA3-12 12 string (my first 12 string), I started out with Martin Silk and Steels and after about 3-4 months with them, switched to D'Addario PB strings which are on it currently. I think the mellowness of the S&S works better for sure on this guitar but the next string set on it will be TI Plectrums and I'm looking forward to that string change.
String noise wise, the Plectrums are the quietest I have ever used. I think I am getting to the point where for my current style of playing, I'll probably use either Silk and Steels or Plectrums. After I try other brands, I keep coming back to these two. YMMW for sure!