Opinions on Silk & Steel?

[Falcon15]

What is your experience/opinions of Silk & Steel strings?
I have recently put them on a couple of my guitars, and like them so far.
Can I expect them to last as long as other strings, except coated?
One problem I ran into - Daddario’s have a 47 for the bass string, which did not work for me(too light). LaBella’s set has a better bass gauge.

[Swamp Yankee]

very limited experience, Martins on a Waterloo WL-S. I loved them at first. Two weeks later they were dead. Interested enough to try another brand at some point, but the local GCs don't carry anything but Martins so I'll keep my eyes peeled.

[Brucebubs]

GHS strings put out this interesting chart.



I have used La Bella Silk & Steel 12-56 and Thomastik-Infeld Plectrums 12-59 on this smallish 13-fret rosewood guitar.
Both were very good, well made with soft feel and warm tone.
The TI's are expensive.
I looked at that tone chart and decided to try GHS Silk & Bronze 12-54 strings and have been very impressed.
Also well made and packaged, not as soft feel but louder than Silk & Steels and very nicely balanced.
These 3 sets are all larger gauge than the Martin strings you're using.

String life will depend on how much you play of course plus opinions differ widely - best you try them yourself.

[jpd]

I use GHS 11's on my 0-15 and find them responsive to my soft touch. They don't last more than a month or so, and I don't play them hard. But when first installed, the tone is mellow and full of sustain.

[TokyoNeko]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

I looked at that tone chart and decided to try GHS Silk & Bronze 12-54 strings and have been very impressed.
Also well made and packaged, not as soft feel but louder than Silk & Steels and very nicely balanced.

I just ordered some GHS S&B 11-49 sets, and will try them on my Hex, which is similar in size to a Taylor GA.

[island texan]

Originally Posted by jpd

I use GHS 11's on my 0-15 and find them responsive to my soft touch. They don't last more than a month or so, and I don't play them hard. But when first installed, the tone is mellow and full of sustain.

I use GHS on a parlor. They work great but do have a shorter lifespan than others.

[DRS]

I love silk and steels too. I have used the Martin Marquis silks, but like the original post...would like a gage higher than 47. John Pearse and LaBella and GHS all have a higher gate low E. So, I'll try those other brands on my next string change. Too bad the Martin don't have a heavier low E because I love the sound!

[Clydetower]

+1 for Thomastik-Infeld Plectrums 11-50 on my 812ce

[tbeltrans]

On most steel string guitars that I have tried them with, they just didn't seem to drive the top enough - too quiet, felt like there just wasn't enough oomph going on. But on my 1917 Martin 0-18, they are great. But then the guitar was built light for gut strings, rather than heavier for steel strings.

Silk and steel strings are, to my fingers, more comfortable than regular steel strings, sort of a compromise between nylon strings and steel strings. I wish all my guitars built for steel strings worked well with them.

Tony

[mercy]

I like a bright string to they dont work for me. But I must have low tension strings and have settled on Newtone Heritage strings the 11-47 pack. I have put a 53 on in the past but they dont seem to need it. The longer they are on the more mellow they get but thats any string.

[Tiga1]

Have silk and steels on my Seagull and I like them quite a bit. The strings have aged and deadened quite a bit and I actually like that sound better.

[Brent Hahn]

I use magnetic pickups, and silk & steel won't won't work with them. For that matter, some conventional steel strings don't work well with magnetic pickups, but that's a topic for another thread.

[Kerbie]

I've used S&S a lot over the years. They're very comfortable and easy to play, but they aren't the loudest string on the market. It's a very mellow, folky sound... instead of the brighter, punchiness of bronze.

I think they're great to learn on and also excellent if you're recovering from any kind of hand injury or maybe just an extended absence from playing.

[Gcunplugged]

I have used the Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 Bronze Silk & Steel strings on an Alvarez AD-60CK I used to have. I found that they really warmed up the sound, and were easy on the fingers.

I am not using them on any guitars currently, but they do come in various gauges.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...guitar-strings

hope that helps,
Gary

[Dondoh]

I use Silk & Steel on a Martin 0-16NY as recommended by Martin.
I love them.

I just finished a "trial" of 6 different Silk & X strings.
Thomastiks were among my favorites, but were prohibitively expensive. I didn't find them appreciably more durable than my other favorites.
I'd play any of the top three, Martin S&S, Pearse S&P, or Thomastic.
I didn't like the Martin S&P.
La Bellas sounded nice but in no time at all the G string was dead and difficult to keep in tune. Likewise the B string. Might have been a bad set, but for the sake of the trial they didn't last long.
THe Martin S&S and the Pearse both lasted for months. In fact, I think I could play them much longer as they just started to slightly lose balance at 2 or 3 months in. So I'll be buying lots of Martin S&S with packs of Pearse thrown in for a change once in a while.

Silk and Whatever strings work really well on lightly built guitars.

I've read a number of posts over the years about how S&S go dead very fast. They do break in over a few weeks. I think folks like the clangy early sound rather than the mellowed broken in sound in those cases. I like the broken in sound in all strings not just S&S.