Silk and Steel strings: Why don't they get any respect?

[RacerxRocks]

I use them on all my acoustic guitars. I started last year learning to play the guitar with my kids. We all started taking lessons at the same time. The S&S allowed us to play longer and enjoy playing the guitar instead of having to deal with finger pains. When you start learning guitar the tone is the last thing you worry about. I still use them today and I am glad Martin developed those strings!

[bitraker]

i have tested Martin and D'ddario silk and steels, and D'addario gypsy jazzes - all .11s

strung at concert pitch, they are fine for flat picking - tune down half a step and they flab out, more than any string i have tried...

also I found there is more surface friction thus they are quite squeaky - you can remedy that with Guitar Hands

of the three, i prefer the gypsy jazz (they have that gypsy-Django snap - sound great on my 28s) yet they die fast, they all do

in the end, I prefer Flex Core .11 and 12 PBs - flexible, easy on the old hands with that shimmering PB wash - best of all you can tune down and they won't go flabby - think brighter silk and steels but without the squeaks - the .12s are great - (look for Tommy E's pic onn the front) my D-35 loves them

the silk and steels are great for learners - very forgiving - wish they were around back in the day

[MikeL]

My memory of silk and steels goes way back to when I was at school, probably would have been 11 or 12. We had a wonderful, beautiful and slightly eccentric music teacher and she was the first to put a guitar in my hands. Whenever I could I would sneak up there to play it.

She was always apologising about not having the right strings and eventually they came - she said silk & steel will be easier to play. They were, but honestly the whole sound of the instrument and the weirdly rapid speed I was learning chords and finger style was so overwhelming I didn't take much notice of the strings.

I often think of her - I have a lot to thank her for.

[Brucebubs]

I used these La Bella Silk and Steels for the 1st time recently.
The slightly heavier gauge works beautifully.
Very nice strings.

[hotroad]

They are gutless! Get it. Not nylon. Not steel. Not bronze. Not much except to make it easier to play and make little noise when fretting.

[rodmeister]

Folk-rock legend Donovan used La Bella Silk and Steel strings on his J-45 in the sixties. According to the La Bella website he uses the 710L Silk and Steel Light. Joan Baez introduced him to the strings, so it definitely has a folkie connection.

I've used various silk and steel, and silk and bronze, and find them very mellow with a deep satisfying bass which goes very well with folk music and ballads. I prefer 80/20's these days but wouldn't mind having a second guitar set up with silk and steel.

To answer the original question about "Silk and Steel strings: why don't they get any respect?" Who cares if nobody respects the strings if you are getting the sound you like. In fact, it gives you an advantage of having an uncommon sound.

[zabdart]

The thing about silk and steel strings is that you get a softer sound because they don't drive the top as much as a normal set of light gauge strings will. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you don't want your sound to carry.
They're excellent for practicing or playing in your dorm room at college. They don't do so well in a situation that requires any kind of volume from your playing. You can get so used to them that it's hard to go back to regular steel strings after awhile.

[printer2]

Mark Hatcher, one of our great luthiers in the Custom Shop forum is thinking of developing a guitar specifically designed for S&S. Another builder chimed in that he built one for S&S also, I also came across a luthier of high end guitars that also built a S&S guitar for himself. The common consensus is the guitar has to be built lighter (at least the top) to get the most out of the strings. Something in between the build of a nylon and a steel string.

[SongwriterFan]

Wow, old thread!

Interestingly enough, a local musician that's very well-known in Texas Country (and had a Nashville artist make a respectable hit with one of the songs he wrote) recently came over to my house to see if he could borrow any of my guitars for his next album.

One of the guitars he chose had the Silk and Steel strings on them. And those were the strings he wanted on the guitar when he used it on his next album (due out next month).

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by rodmeister

Folk-rock legend Donovan used La Bella Silk and Steel strings on his J-45 in the sixties. According to the La Bella website he uses the 710L Silk and Steel Light. Joan Baez introduced him to the strings, so it definitely has a folkie connection.

Ian Anderson is also on record saying that he used them in the early days of Tull.

[5th Element]

I put a 12-56 set of La Bella S&S on my E10OM a couple of days ago and am really liking them. They sound well balanced and play like a significantly lighter set. Will have to see how they break in and how long they last, but after about five hours of play time, I like them at least as well as anything I've tried so far. This guitar can sound a bit thick with phosphor bronze, so I tend towards 80/20s on it.

[kirkmc]

I love silk and steels. I've been using them since I started playing guitar in the mid-70s. (Okay, I took a long hiatus...) I just bought a Washburn parlor guitar to play fingerpicking blues; it came with bronze phosphor strings that had sounded too aggressive; I put silk and steels on, and it's beautiful. I find that the lower strings sound a lot better for fingerpicking blues, since their volume is a bit lower, making more of a balance with the top two strings.