Martin "Monel" Strings

Originally Posted by MikeD

I have found that the Monels work best on dry fundamental guitars.

Agreed. Hence my enjoyment of them on my Gibson and my mahogany-top.

[good_hillbilly]

Originally Posted by mdutr0

I was looking at these online the other day and, well, I am a little confused...

How are they different from PBs or 80/20s exactly? Is it like the Clapton's Choice strings which are basically just regular EJ16s with a fancy name? What am I missing here - what makes them different?

Anyone have any personal experience with them?

They are great for playing in a band because they take away much of the complexity and shimmer that you get in, say, a new set of uncoated 80/20 strings. It's kind of the opposite of the Pierre Bensusan sound, if you will. But really, that's what's called for a lot of times when playing with others.

[fatt-dad]

Monel is a naturally-forming nickel alloy. I'm sure it's a manufactured alloy also. It's been used for string windings for decades. Gibson has a, "Sam Bush" mandolin set, which I've used and enjoy.

I just tried the light-gauge Martin Retros on my 1930 Gibson L-1 and like them. I'll keep them on for a spell.

f-d

[michaeljohnr]

I'm in the minority I guess because I really like the Monel strings. I put them on my J45 and they sound great. Perhaps the people not liking the strings didn't know what they were getting when they purchased them? These are most definitely vintage toned strings and if you don't know that going in or if that tone is not your thing, you'll hate these strings.


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[sweiss]

I like the monel strings myself, but they're not for every guitar.

They sound great on two of my three Martins. They sound good on the 0-17 all mahogany, and also on the 000-18. The D18S sounds better with the old standby 80/20s.

As with all strings, they sound best after being played a short time. But the initial play in period for monel strings is about half the time of bronze/brass, and, they stay in the tonal 'sweet spot' for a very long time.