Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuba Mike
In a somewhat related topic: Do any of you put round strings on your archtop? I hate the feel of the flat strings but love the sound of the archtop acoustic guitars. If I were to get an archtop I would want round strings on it.
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Although I use flatwounds exclusively on all my electrics, I've never used anything
but roundwound strings on an acoustic archtop - flats are great for electric but IME kill off a lot of the acoustic response. If you have a carved archtop with a suspended pickup (or a laminated single-pickup electric like the postwar 17" Gibson ES-150, that can function as a dual-purpose instrument) you might want to consider a set of Martin Retro Monels: a true acoustic string, they were the go-to for the first generation of electric players until LaBella developed flatwounds around 1940, and if you're looking for some authentic prewar acoustic tonal mojo along with electric capability (most modern players don't realize monel has magnetic properties) these would be a good choice...