Ernie Ball Aluminium Bronze Strings - Blown Away!

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by JBCROTTY

Tried these today after reading this thread. Put them on my Yamaha LL16R - didn’t care for them and removed them after 2 hours of playing. They were too twangy or jangley.

I did the same thing the first time I tried them. They need a minimum of three days for the brightness to fade.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Pura Vida

I did the same thing the first time I tried them. They need a minimum of three days for the brightness to fade.

That's about right. If I hadn't waited that long they would have probably come off.
They are sounding better now. Definitely an option in the future.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Pura Vida

I did the same thing the first time I tried them. They need a minimum of three days for the brightness to fade.

When I first put them on my 810, they were so bright sounding I thought I had screwed up by trying them on there. A week later they’d settled in and sounded perfect.

[RussL30]

You’ve gotta give strings time to settle. Two hours is not enough time. They were extremely bright when I put them on my Taylor last week, but by the next day I really loved them and they are really sounding great now that I had them on a week.

[wrench68]

....And after that first day or so, they not only sound great, they will do so for months, based on my experience.

[Ludere]

Originally Posted by JBCROTTY

Tried these today after reading this thread. Put them on my Yamaha LL16R - didn’t care for them and removed them after 2 hours of playing. They were too twangy or jangley.

Originally Posted by rokdog49

That's about right. If I hadn't waited that long they would have probably come off.
They are sounding better now. Definitely an option in the future.

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

When I first put them on my 810, they were so bright sounding I thought I had screwed up by trying them on there. A week later they’d settled in and sounded perfect.

Originally Posted by RussL30

You’ve gotta give strings time to settle. Two hours is not enough time. They were extremely bright when I put them on my Taylor last week, but by the next day I really loved them and they are really sounding great now that I had them on a week.

Originally Posted by wrench68

....And after that first day or so, they not only sound great, they will do so for months, based on my experience.

This is interesting to me ... I learn so much here.
My Takamine Dread is not a particularly "dark" guitar (Spruce over Nato LAM), but if pressed, I would say definitely closer to a Martin than a Taylor.
When I put these on, that guitar came alive - brightness and articulation up top out the wazoo ... and it wasn't "twangy" or too sizzly ... it was good.
Now, over a month later, they sound a bit more subdued, but still nice and responsive across the board.
Full disclosure: this guitar has seen MUCH less playing time since the 314 arrived, but I picked it up this morning and those strings still sound really good.
I'll continue the quest of course, but I may have found 'the' strings for this guitar ...

I have a few different sets in queue to try on the Taylor (JP PB, DR Rare), but I wouldn't think these AB's would be an ideal match for that one ... although after reading Tnfiddler's post, I may try them anyway ...

~ Paul

...

[JBCROTTY]

Originally Posted by RussL30

You’ve gotta give strings time to settle. Two hours is not enough time. They were extremely bright when I put them on my Taylor last week, but by the next day I really loved them and they are really sounding great now that I had them on a week.

Russ - you are right, of course, and typically I leave strings on for a while for this very reason. I bought two sets, so I have another set to try and will give them enough time when I put them on. Just got impatient, I suppose, since I had some Curt Mangan sets ready to go and those sound pretty good to me right out of the package.

Its funny, I actually like the Yamaha brand 80/20 bronze strings sets that can be had for about $3 bucks. People scoff at them, but after a period of twangy brightness at the beginning they actually settle and sound great to my ears. Maybe there is something to this patience thing......

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Ludere

This is interesting to me ... I learn so much here.
My Takamine Dread is not a particularly "dark" guitar (Spruce over Nato LAM), but if pressed, I would say definitely closer to a Martin than a Taylor.
When I put these on, that guitar came alive - brightness and articulation up top out the wazoo ... and it wasn't "twangy" or too sizzly ... it was good.
Now, over a month later, they sound a bit more subdued, but still nice and responsive across the board.
Full disclosure: this guitar has seen MUCH less playing time since the 314 arrived, but I picked it up this morning and those strings still sound really good.
I'll continue the quest of course, but I may have found 'the' strings for this guitar ...

I have a few different sets in queue to try on the Taylor (JP PB, DR Rare), but I wouldn't think these AB's would be an ideal match for that one ... although after reading Tnfiddler's post, I may try them anyway ...

~ Paul

...

What’s crazy is that on my ‘02 W10ce they were FANTASTIC from the first strum! It woke that Walnut up and I’ll never put any other strings on it. It’s crazy how different guitars react to different strings.

[ctvolfan]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

What’s crazy is that on my ‘02 W10ce they were FANTASTIC from the first strum! It woke that Walnut up and I’ll never put any other strings on it. It’s crazy how different guitars react to different strings.

My 2005 214 has been kind of an afterthought since I got my 714ce and my 224ce-k deluxe in the past year. I put a set on it a few days ago now and I can't put it down now. This 214 is solid wood and before they made them layered. It is basically what a 314 is now. It has had years to age and open up. It already had more volume than my other two but wow does it sound better than ever now! Loving these strings and I think those that put them on and took them off immediately really should give them a chance after a few days. But I do understand that they may not be right for some guitars.

[rokdog49]

It's been over a week on the J45...much, much better. Probably got about ten or twelve hours on them now.
I am growing fond of them and boy that is saying a lot because the first few hours were borderline misery. I am putting them on the short list for the J45.

[Tnfiddler]

So I broke down and put a set on my '08 Fall Ltd. Koa GS AND they sound great right from the start! I'm not gonna lie, I was a little scared to put them on there due to koa being bright anyway, but my fear was all in vain. I had John Pearse PB mediums on it and it didn't brighten up the tone, it just made every string much more articulate or defined. I can't wait to hear how they sound in a few days. I'll report back on Monday and let you know.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Great tone. . . BUT can't handle aggressive strumming at all. I broke them like nothing and even if I play really hard, none of the strings I've used break as easily as the AB. I returned to Phosphor Bronze, in particular, the Martin Authentic SP. They can handle anything.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

Great tone. . . BUT can't handle aggressive strumming at all. I broke them like nothing and even if I play really hard, none of the strings I've used break as easily as the AB. I returned to Phosphor Bronze, in particular, the Martin Authentic SP. They can handle anything.

You keep saying this, but I've yet to break one and I can play pretty hard! I started as a bluegrass rhythm guitar player and have a pretty heavy hand at times. I've put the hurt on mine several times and haven't had any problems at all.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

You keep saying this, but I've yet to break one and I can play pretty hard! I started as a bluegrass rhythm guitar player and have a pretty heavy hand at times. I've put the hurt on mine several times and haven't had any problems at all.

Well, I sincerely doubt you play as hard as me, hahah! I've never broken any PB strings, particularly Martin, D'Addario or Elixir. I tried the AB. FOUR broken strings in two weeks from two different guitars. Went back to PB. Problem solved.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayer_PR

Well, I sincerely doubt you play as hard as me, hahah! I've never broken any PB strings, particularly Martin, D'Addario or Elixir. I tried the AB. FOUR broken strings in two weeks from two different guitars. Went back to PB. Problem solved.

I hope you've found your strings. Until I experience breaking a string, I'm gonna stick with AB! I'm 3 for 3 on loving them on my guitars!