#1
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Coated vs Uncoated strings for recording.
Does anyone here on the forum have experience with Elixir's Nanoweb and Polyweb strings. I'm particularly interested in impressions with regard to the claim that these coatings reduce the squeaks caused by portamentos on wound strings.
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#2
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They reduce squeaks. No question about that. Buy some and try them out.
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Derek Coombs Youtube -> Website -> Music -> Tabs Guitars by Mark Blanchard, Albert&Mueller, Paul Woolson, Collings, Composite Acoustics, and Derek Coombs "Reality is that which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Woods hands pick by eye and ear
Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#3
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I run them on some of my session guitars because I don't want to restring before each session. I play them until the coating starts fraying over the area where I pick. I keep one particular guitar in the studio with me (I'm also an engineer) and it wears nanowebs.
Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#4
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They definitely reduce squeaks, especially the polywebs. The nanowebs a little less so. I dont care for the sound of polywebs, but thats personal, some like them and get a good sound from them. I generally just use uncoated strings, but if a tune is especially sqeaky and i cant fix it with practice, I may try nanowebs - which sound fine to my ear - and in an extreme case, polys, for recording. For me, one issue is that the reduced sqeaking seems temporary - if i play with them very long, i get used to them, get sloppy, and am back to sqeaking. For me they work best if i am used to playing with uncoated and am doing my best to not sqeak, then switching to coated just for a recording may give me a little extra boost in the not-squeaking department.
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#5
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I use Nanowebs or D'Addario EXP coated nearly all the time. I'm not a fan of 'super bright' acoustic tones and these give me a 'just played in' sound which lasts well. I don't seem to have a problem with squeaks though, even with uncoated strings (I'm trying a set of Martin 80/20s on the Eastwood just now).
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Brian Eastwood Custom Acoustic (1981) Rob Aylward 'Petit Bouche' Selmer Style (2010) Emerald X7 OS Artisan (2014) Mountain D45 (mid '80s) Brian Eastwood ES175/L5 Gibson Les Paul Custom (1975) Brian Eastwood '61 Strat Bitsa Strat with P90s (my main electric) The Loar F5 Mandolin, Samick A4 Mandolin Epiphone Mandobird Brian Eastwood '51 P Bass NS Design Wav EUB Giordano EUB |
#6
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Cleartone strings under the Martin Lifespan banner came on my Martin Baritone. They claim to be less damping than the ones mentioned here but also protective. I have never made any string squeak tests, but they do seem to last longer.
http://www.cleartonestrings.com/cleartone-challenge/ Regards, Ty Ford |
#7
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Thanks for the responses. The advise to "Buy some and try them out" was already written into my "To Do" list for the this coming week.
Recently I've been using D'Addario EXP14 Coated 80/20 Bronze strings and find the basses bear a striking similarity to suspension bridge cables (personal thing, I know). I like the sound but hate the action and find the wound G string problematic as well. Most of my playing is done on nylon strings so 3rd string portamentos are used extensively. I'm prepared to make adjustments but if the Elixir Nanowebs or Polywebs can help reduce the squeaks without sacrificing tone so much the better. |
#8
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Depending on the guitar, you might want to try a set of Thomastik Plectrums (the AC111 light set). They are roundwound-flat-flat-flat-plain-plain. They won't tickle the soundboard of a dread but on smaller guitars they do a nice job and they are quiet.
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Martin BC, Canada |
#9
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Quote:
Thanks, Trevor |
#10
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Ahoy, there... I've actually bought most sets of mine from the main L&M in Vancouver... I've also bought some mail order.
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Martin BC, Canada |
#11
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Shipping is free if purchasing more than $99. Couple of sets of strings and you're set! |
#12
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I bet just switching to either a non-coated string or to Elixir will take care of a lot of the squeak on portamento playing. D'Addario EXP are the noisiest strings in the world for chirping, and slide hammers (portamento slides). Let us know what you discover, please… |
#13
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D'Addario makes Flat wounds in Medium and Light which are the quietest strings I have ever played. And I HATE string noise, to me all that squeaking and nail sound is a noise, not a note.
They aren't coated and are listed as "semi-Bright" tone, which is fine with me. They are used a lot for recording due to being so quiet. Some guitars like them, some don't. All depends on the guitar. I prefer them to Polyweb, which are to my ear noticeably quieter than the Nanoweb. That's three choices depending on the tone you get or want. |
#14
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Likewise. And something which makes things worse is when I post music, or put it on a CDr or thumb-drive and people play it on an old car system, their boom-box stereo in the living room (from the 1980s), or on their laptop speakers, the squeak is even more pronounced than through a decent high end system. Some string squeak is inevitable, even very natural and tolerable when I play live, but on recordings, it can really become edgy very quickly. |
#15
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Hello jammer, Larry and Racerbob,
Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. I put a set of D'Addario Phosphor Bronze EJ16-3D on my main steel string and have noticed less squeaking and nail noise than with the EXP 16s. I have a set of Elixir Polywebs that I'm going to give a trial run and will pick up a set of the Thomastik this week as well. I'll post an update shortly. |
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Tags |
coated strings, squeaks, steel strings |
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