Silk and Steel Strings

[wudzie]

I own a Simon and Patrick trek Solid Spruce Dread. I found her very bright so decided to fit le bella 12 56 Silk and Steel. After some Google. Wow really mellowed Guitar big improvement. Would recommend to anyone trying to mellow a Guitar tone. Anyone else have similar experiences

[Martie]

I've considered using them on my new Taylor GS Mini but, as I've got acidic hands, coated strings won the toss in the end. I do have a Simon and Patrick Woodland Pro Parlor, which I'm 'supposed' to be selling, but would also be the perfect candidate to try some silk and steel on

[Brucebubs]

I've used those exact La Bella strings - they are very good and excellent value.
I'm trying some more expensive Thomastik-Infeld Plectrums on the guitar now - they are also very, very good.

I'm thinking of trying GHS Silk and Bronze 370ML - 12-54 next.

[Wade Hampton]

Since Bruce mentioned the Thomastik-Enfeld version of silk and steel strings, I'll mention the John Pearse .

My sister has used silk and silk strings on her guitars since she started playing guitar back during the Folk Music Revival of the early 1960's. About twenty years ago I gave a set of the John Pearse Phosphor Bronze and Silk strings to her for Christmas, and she became an immediate convert, telling me that they sounded the way she liked but lasted two to three times as long as the silk and steel.

John Pearse Phosphor Bronze and Silk strings

Something I didn't realize until I did an image search just now was that these strings are available in a 12 string set, as well:

˚

Anyway, hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Martie]

From what I've heard here and elsewhere if I was to try silk and steel it would be the ones by John Pearse.

@Brucebubs, with the Thomastiks how are you finding the jump from 0.44 to 0.59, which seems awful drastic to me? The odd thing I've noticed about them is that there's nowhere near that leap between the 5th and 6th strings in their 11s set.

[wudzie]

Thanks for the reply s. I May experiment with some different brands next string change. Ebay makes it easy these days. I suppose strings picks are often overlooked when we Gutarists discuss tone . Yet it's the only thing we can change.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by wudzie

Thanks for the reply s. I May experiment with some different brands next string change. Ebay makes it easy these days. I suppose strings picks are often overlooked when we Gutarists discuss tone . Yet it's the only thing we can change.

Not sure about 'only'; for me the choice of plectrum (size, shape, material, thickness), makes a huge tonal difference. If you're a plectrum player, of course.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Martie

From what I've heard here and elsewhere if I was to try silk and steel it would be the ones by John Pearse.

@Brucebubs, with the Thomastiks how are you finding the jump from 0.44 to 0.59, which seems awful drastic to me? The odd thing I've noticed about them is that there's nowhere near that leap between the 5th and 6th strings in their 11s set.

Not a problem, never really noticed that jump in gauge until you mentioned it.
They are a nice soft feel type of string and easy on the finger tips.
Tone wise the set is well balanced and definitely brings warmth to a bright sounding guitar.

Value wise I think those La Bella's are the better buy.

[DoryDavis]

I've tried silk and steel strings. Not sure I noticed too much difference in tone as much as added comfort in playing.

[Parlorman]

I use Martin S&S on some of my guitars. They don’t Last all that long but they sound great while they do and they’re half the price of other S&S’s at Just Strings. I’ve fallen in love with John Pearse Nuages and use them on the guitars that can handle the slightly higher tension.

[SprintBob]

My experience is similar to Brucebub’s (who turned me on to LaBella Silk and Steels). I’ve also tried Silk and Steels from Martin and D’Addario and all three were similar tone wise but the LaBellas seemed to have a bit more projection.

I’m a big TI Plectrum fan. The cost is balanced by the consistently long life I get from every set of Plectrum strings I have used. The tone is balanced, they have a bit more clarity than Silk and Steels, and the feel is the most supple of any strings I have used.

I do agree with AndrewG that you can really brighten or mellow the tonal response of a set of strings with choice of Pick. I get very different responses from any string set if I switch between my Blue Chip, Wegen, Dunlop nylon, or V picks for example. Last night after flatpicking and strumming a lot of songs with picks ranging from .73mm (Dunlop nylon) to 1.2mm (Wegen), I played along to a James Taylor live version of Sweet Baby James and to a David Gilmour acoustic live version of Fat Old Sun both with a Dunlop .60mm nylon. The lighter nylon pick offered a mellower, more homogenous/blended tone that worked well with these two songs. So in addition to trying different strings, keep a palette of picks around to really explore what those strings can bring to your ears.

There are a lot of JP fans here whose opinion and playing I respect a lot including Wade. I tried some JP PB’s a long time ago and they did not float my boat but I’ve never tried their Silk and Steels so I’d give them a test drive based on Wade’s recommendation. I do use JP Folk Nylon (made by TI) on my Cordoba and like them a lot.

[Martie]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Not a problem, never really noticed that jump in gauge until you mentioned it.
They are a nice soft feel type of string and easy on the finger tips.
Tone wise the set is well balanced and definitely brings warmth to a bright sounding guitar.

Value wise I think those La Bella's are the better buy.

Ok cheers. I put some TI Spectrums on my Cedar topped guitar a while ago and there just wasn't enough top end for me. They also seemed to last a fair bit longer than other non-coated strings.

I was going to put Elixir 80/20s on my spruce/rosewood Taylor GS mini but that decision would be mostly based on longevity if I'm honest and I can't help feeling I should try silk and steel.

Do LaBellas have the longevity of Thomastiks (and how are Pearse S&S for longevity?)

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Martie

Ok cheers. I put some TI Spectrums on my Cedar topped guitar a while ago and there just wasn't enough top end for me. They also seemed to last a fair bit longer than other non-coated strings.

I was going to put Elixir 80/20s on my spruce/rosewood Taylor GS mini but that decision would be mostly based on longevity if I'm honest and I can't help feeling I should try silk and steel.

Do LaBellas have the longevity of Thomastiks (and how are Pearse S&S for longevity?)

- Not a fan of 80/20's on anything.
- The TI 'Spectrum' are quite different to 'Plectrum' - Bronze wrap vs Silk.
- 'longevity' wise, look at it this way, AGF sponsor Strings By Mail has the TI 'Plectrums' at $22.99 a set - they have the La Bella's at $8.95 a set.

I don't find the TI's last 3 times longer than La Bella's.

[DukeX]

I've tried the John Pearse Silk & Phosphor Bronze on three guitars (Larrivee SD-40, Webber OM, Taylor 324 blackwood). I really wanted to like them, but Meh.

[TBman]

I like Silk and Steel on my Seagull Coastline folk. I just about detest them on anything else I have.