[Kitkatjoe]

Originally Posted by ruger9

Walden GA, lam. hog B&S, solid cedar top. I love the guitar, it's got a nice mellow sound.... but once the strings break in, too mellow. I now wish I had a spruce top for this guitar, I think that's really what my ears are looking for... more volume, punch, and clarity.... BUT since that's not happening, I wondered if some different strings might help a little...

Over the years, I have found that:

1) I really like the way Elixir Nano 12 PB sound, but the tension is a little high for me. Other strings' 12s I have no problems with. But the slightly higher tension on the Elixirs is quite noticeable to me. And 11's sound too thin.

2) I settled on 2 strings for this guitar: Sunbeams and Martin TEs. Both sound great when new, but a bit too mellow after break-in.


I've been down the string road many times, I'm just posting the question to narrow my search.... I actually HATE buying umpteen different strings and then trying them over many days. I saw a post from 2013 where someone said the EJ16 will "add punch and brightness to a quiet guitar", and that's what prompted me to ask the question... alot of new strings have come out since then...

Any recc's?

[I have already tried: (all 12s):
Monels- great on some guitars, but not this one- too mellow esp. after break-in
GHS Bright Bronze- ok
Martin FX XP TEs - they were pretty good, better than Elixirs, tension-wise... actually found them very similar to Sunbeams.
D'Addario EXPs - too long ago, can't remember
Aluminum Bronze- YUCK]

A bass singer isn’t gonna sound like a tenor. A spruce top does sound very different from a hog or cedar top guitar. They are all different but grand in tone.