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Old 06-17-2019, 08:43 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Chugiak, Alaska
Posts: 31,166
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Karen, the problem with putting new strings on only when one breaks is that it will never blend well with the rest of the strings in the set. I've known a few old Hootenanny-era folkies for whom it was a point of pride that they only replaced a string when it broke, and they and their guitars always sounded terrible. There'd be shiny new strings mixed with dull grey ones mixed with some corroded completely black. There was always at least one string and usually more that were out of tune with the rest of the set.

Anyway, there are a number of music retailers that will sell strings in bulk, usually selling each gauge in packs of six. I don't know whether you can get Martin Retros that way, but before you go adding one new Retro nickel string to a mixture of old strings made from other alloys, you really ought to splurge and get an entire set to see whether you even like those strings at all.

I own three guitars that sound pretty good with nickel alloy strings, whether Martin Retros, John Pearse Pure Nickels or D'Addario Nickel-Bronze. But all my other guitars don't sound good at all with nickel strings.

So get a set, see whether you like them, then decide your course of action after that.

Hope that makes sense, even if I'm telling you something you don't want to hear.


Wade Hampton Miller
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