Thomastik strings - boy do they last

[colins]

I agree with what you say Kip.
The honeymoon is always a great period with fresh strings on the guitar, when they seem to have so much extra zip and brightness, but unless we can afford to change them daily or weekly we really need to focus on that longer period before they go dull and die. From my perspective with using both Martin SPs and TI Plectrums I reckon the SPs have more brightness and "zing" when they are just out of the wrapper, but they tend to die more quickly too. The Plectrums have have a much longer middle period where they are really nice to have on the guitar.

Col

[markallen]

Originally Posted by Kip Carter

Your thoughts?

Thanks Kip for your well thought out points on our varied "perceptions" of strings. I find myself agreeing with all of it and have just one bit to add.

Over the years, there have been hundreds of string threads yet the TI threads seem to have a VERY wide range of differences in satisfaction between users. I'm wondering if one of the reasons is the fact the TI (at least the Spectrums and Plectrums which are the only ones I have personal experience with) strings are round core vs. hex core.

Being round core, it is important to avoid cutting the strings before the guitar is tuned to pitch. Cutting the strings before being locked onto the tuners can cause the windings to slip and the string go instantly dead. I've done this by mistake a few times and it is noticeable right away and sounds like the guitar has been strung up with dead strings.

I'm thinking this may be the reason for some of the accounts of the strings sounding bad right out of the package.

Thoughts?

Cheers,
Mark

[Petespix]

I have a couple of guitars I use TI Plectrums on. I find their lifespan varies more so than other strings depending upon use. When I have the TI strings on a guitar that is just played while alone, easy playing that is, the life span is very long before the tone degrades and they need to be changed, close to a year. If I bring a guitar with TI strings to our regular jams where the guitar is played with more force, I find the TIs don't last nearly as long as a standard string such as EJ16s. The g string fails much too soon with the wrappings breaking at the frets and the string goes almost dead in three to four weeks.

[colins]

Originally Posted by Petespix

I have a couple of guitars I use TI Plectrums on. I find their lifespan varies more so than other strings depending upon use. When I have the TI strings on a guitar that is just played while alone, easy playing that is, the life span is very long before the tone degrades and they need to be changed, close to a year. If I bring a guitar with TI strings to our regular jams where the guitar is played with more force, I find the TIs don't last nearly as long as a standard string such as EJ16s. The g string fails much too soon with the wrappings breaking at the frets and the string goes almost dead in three to four weeks.

I have a very light touch and the Plectrums last ages for me. Query for Brucebubs...Bruce I think you said earlier that they seem to let you down pretty quickly. Do you play lightly, or more strongly?

Kip, maybe you could repost your thoughts in a new thread. They are worth discussing and the heading (about TI strings specifically) on this thread may not do them justice.

Col

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by colins

I have a very light touch and the Plectrums last ages for me. Query for Brucebubs...Bruce I think you said earlier that they seem to let you down pretty quickly. Do you play lightly, or more strongly?

Kip, maybe you could repost your thoughts in a new thread. They are worth discussing and the heading (about TI strings specifically) on this thread may not do them justice.

Col

I don't think I'm hard on strings.
I play pretty much equal parts strumming, flat picking and I use bare fingers for finger-style.
Medium Dunlop plastic pick.
I had a set of EXP's on both my Martin and Guild 12-string guitars for close to 15 months - they just always seemed to sound good so I left them on.
The 1st guitar I used T.I. Plectrums on was a Martin DXM -the entry-level HPL dreadnought.
The strings were superb for pulling the maximum tone out of that guitar but ...... they died quickly.
Within a day or two they became quiet and rather dull.
I also used them on a 12-string Maton M425 and a custom Maton 12-string I had made.
Same thing.
Tried them on my Taylor 355 12-string - a local store charged me $58.00 for a 12-string set -same thing.
Can't really bond with my Taylor 422 so I tried T.I.'s again and nope, didn't work on that guitar so I took them off and put them on my JDP2 .... where they went dull again.
I love the way they sound on days 1 and 2 but they just drop off from then.
I started a new thread today on Martin Retro strings and they are totally opposite to T. I.'s so far, they seem to get better every day, weird!

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by markallen

Being round core, it is important to avoid cutting the strings before the guitar is tuned to pitch. Cutting the strings before being locked onto the tuners can cause the windings to slip and the string go instantly dead. I've done this by mistake a few times and it is noticeable right away and sounds like the guitar has been strung up with dead strings.

I'm thinking this may be the reason for some of the accounts of the strings sounding bad right out of the package.

I've always cut the string to length before tightening because I did not know better. The next set of TI's I install I will follow Mark's advice and see if my ears hear any difference. I was playing my 814 with Plectrum 10's last night and the sustain is amazing with these strings. You do have to have a light touch though.

[colins]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

I don't think I'm hard on strings.
I play pretty much equal parts strumming, flat picking and I use bare fingers for finger-style.
Medium Dunlop plastic pick.
I had a set of EXP's on both my Martin and Guild 12-string guitars for close to 15 months - they just always seemed to sound good so I left them on.
The 1st guitar I used T.I. Plectrums on was a Martin DXM -the entry-level HPL dreadnought.
The strings were superb for pulling the maximum tone out of that guitar but ...... they died quickly.
Within a day or two they became quiet and rather dull.
I also used them on a 12-string Maton M425 and a custom Maton 12-string I had made.
Same thing.
Tried them on my Taylor 355 12-string - a local store charged me $58.00 for a 12-string set -same thing.
Can't really bond with my Taylor 422 so I tried T.I.'s again and nope, didn't work on that guitar so I took them off and put them on my JDP2 .... where they went dull again.
I love the way they sound on days 1 and 2 but they just drop off from then.
I started a new thread today on Martin Retro strings and they are totally opposite to T. I.'s so far, they seem to get better every day, weird!

Well you certainly gave them a good tryout! You have me inetrested in Martin Retros now so I may go looking for a set to try.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by colins

Well you certainly gave them a good tryout! You have me inetrested in Martin Retros now so I may go looking for a set to try.

I remember another similar thread about T.I.'s and one of the responses said he put fresh T.I. Plectrums on his guitar when recording ..... every day!
He felt they dropped off after 8 hours of studio work.
I've probably had around 10 sets all together, love the way they feel, they're beautifully made with the coloured binding on the wound strings and they do sound glorious but .....