#1
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Anyone use Martin Monel (Retro) wound strings w. regular trebles?
Does anyone know if the Retro unwound strings (the two highest B & E) are also Monel?
I tried my first Retro yesterday and changed them one by one to hear the tonal comparison. THe wound was as strong or stronger than the D'Addario Phosphor Bronzes of similar gauge. But the trebles are clearly more anemic in both volume and overtones. Anyone else find this about the treble? And anyone use just the treble of other brands to match the monel wounds? Curious. Thanks. |
#2
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You are not mistaken. I have noticed the same. It is much worse on my 714 than my 000 but very obvious on both. I think the monels are ok with a pick but not so good with bare flesh.
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#3
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I think the B and E are plain steel. Monel is the wrap wire. It’s no different than any other steel string set - the top two strings are plain, and the rest have wrap wire of whatever compound the string set is.
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#4
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Quote:
whm |
#5
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Hmm. Interesting! What then accounts for this phenomenon, described by the OP?
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#6
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Perception bias. We often hear what we want to hear or at least what we are hoping/expecting to hear.
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#7
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Funny, my takeaway was the exact opposite. The Retros had a nice intimate character when played fingerstyle, but sounded too soft when picked.
__________________
1955 Gibson ES-125 1956 Fender Champ lap steel 1964 Guild Starfire III 1984 Rickenbacker 330 1990s Mosrite (Kurokumo) Ventures 2002/2005 Fender Japan '60s Tele [TL-62-66US] 2008 Hallmark 60 Custom 2018 Martin Custom Shop 00-18 slot-head 1963 Fender Bandmaster (blonde blackface) 1965 Ampeg Gemini I 2020 Mojotone tweed Champ kit build |
#8
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In a couple of days I'll get my guitar back from the shop, where it's being set up. I asked them to put some Retros on it. Now I'm afraid they'll suck!
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#9
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Most plain steel strings sound about the same. It’s only the wrapped strings that vary.... |
#10
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“Wishful thinking” can only explain so much. |
#11
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Not so much "wishful thinking", but context. The context was new and different. That's my guess.... |
#12
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Back when I worked as a recording engineer there was a trick that was used when an artist asked for something like more reverb or compression when there was already too much. You would just turn a knob and say "how's that"? 99% of the time the answer was "great" despite nothing changing. I used to have a tube bass DI that was great for recording. I also liked to run the bass through it with it's 1/4 output in front an amp playing live. It sounded better to me and I did it for about a year. At a gig, a friend pointed out that what I was doing was just running it through the true bypass, not the actual tube DI circuit. In reality there was no difference in the sound doing what I was doing vs. plugging straight into the amp yet I had been hearing it as better. |
#13
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I have retros on one of my guitars, thats what was on it when I purchased it. I kinda like them. They are about 2 months old and still sound fresh.
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#14
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Word around the forum is that you have to wait forever before they sound good. Guess I'll find out.
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#15
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Don't listen to that hogwash. They sound great right out of the bag and settle in nicely after a few days.
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1990 Martin D16-M Gibson J45 Eastman E8D-TC Pono 0000-30DC Yamaha FSX5, LS16, FG830, FSX700SC Epiphone EF500-RAN 2001 Gibson '58 Reissue LP 2005, 2007 Gibson '60 Reissue LP Special (Red&TV Yel) 1972 Yamaha SG1500, 1978 LP500 Tele's and Strats 1969,1978 Princeton Reverb 1972 Deluxe Reverb Epiphone Sheraton, Riviera DeArmond T400 Ibanez AS73 Quilter Superblock US[/I] |