Martin Retro Monel Acoustic Strings

[Hailwood123]

I put a set of 12's on my Mule resonator and I'm very pleased. I tried any number of strings and gauges and the Monels are just what I was seeking. Note: the guitar is set up for standard play.....

[Mr. Scott]

They sound like old strings straight oup of the packet. I kept them on my guitar overnight and took them off the next day.
Never tried any since.

[L20A]

Like any make of string, some people will like Retro strings on some guitars and others won't.

So far, I have tried them on a Martin D-35 and a Guild D-55.
I am impressed with the strings on both of these guitars.
They are giving me back the sound that I used to love on my Martin.
The sound that I lost when I started using coated strings.

My go to string set is D'Addario PB med.
The Retro strings sound better than even these strings do to me.

I'm a fan now.

[Grantgreen42]

Originally Posted by rrgguitarman

Anyone tried these yet?



"vintage tone that brings out the natural, woody sounds in your acoustic"

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/mareacgust.html

I have tried them and loved them. I have a couple of vids online. I also just tried the D'addario Nickel Bronze strings and these are slightly warmer right out the box:

Martin Retro Monels:
https://youtu.be/3d5ZpyczjnA


https://youtu.be/3d5ZpyczjnA

D'addario Nickel Bronze:

On Martin D18

https://youtu.be/pPlacN222Ao

On Webber ON

https://youtu.be/pPlacN222Ao

[reeve21]

I like the way those monels sound on your D-18, Grant!

I've just tried them on my cheap hog top, they are a great improvement over the coated PB's it came with.

I had not considered monels on my Martin MMV, but now you have me thinking about it.

Thanks for the tip!

[Grantgreen42]

Originally Posted by reeve21

I like the way those monels sound on your D-18, Grant!

I've just tried them on my cheap hog top, they are a great improvement over the coated PB's it came with.

I had not considered monels on my Martin MMV, but now you have me thinking about it.

Thanks for the tip!

I like the way they sound on the D18. I am not so sure if I like them on the Webber OM. That guitar has an Engleman spruce top that I am trying to tame and I thought darker sounding strings would do the trick. Yes it is warmer but on the OM I am missing the sparkle.

[Zissou Intern]

The Monels sound great on your D18. (You are very talented.) I prefered them to the J17's in your other video, which is what I have found with my D18. Though I am using the TR Monels. I have a set of DR Rare 13-56 to try next on the D18. They were the perfect set of strings for my old E20D. I really liked the thicker trebles. Not sure what they will do for the Martin.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Grantgreen42

I like the way they sound on the D18. I am not so sure if I like them on the Webber OM. That guitar has an Engleman spruce top that I am trying to tame and I thought darker sounding strings would do the trick. Yes it is warmer but on the OM I am missing the sparkle.

I liked them on my Eastman OM. They did take away some sparkle but gave it more punch.
I have "Staight Ups" on it now. Have you tried them? You will get some really
interesting overtones with the "balanced tension". After about two weeks they have finally settled in and lost some of that inherent over-brightness thing.
They are very good now to the point of making my guitar sound like a much more expensive instrument.

[ChrisE]

Originally Posted by Grantgreen42

I have tried them and loved them. I have a couple of vids online. I also just tried the D'addario Nickel Bronze strings and these are slightly warmer right out the box:

Martin Retro Monels:
https://youtu.be/3d5ZpyczjnA


https://youtu.be/3d5ZpyczjnA

D'addario Nickel Bronze:

On Martin D18

https://youtu.be/pPlacN222Ao

On Webber ON

https://youtu.be/pPlacN222Ao

Don't take this the wrong way, but I've seen your videos and I think the way you play you could take a broomstick, a coffee can, and some chicken wire and make it sound great.

Seriously though, I've been using the Retros LJs for about a week now I and I really like them. I tried the lights, and they were ok, then I tried the mediums and liked the tone but they hurt my fingers. The LJ so far seem to have hit the sweet spot.

I also have a Tony Rice set that I'm going to try out at some point, but I'm pretty sure the LJs are what I'll stick with for a while.