Do you like Bronze 80/20 strings?

[AZLiberty]

Nope, really dislike them.

I ordered some on accident a while back. I use them on my wife's guitar when her strings get old.

We call this win-win. I win by not using them on my guitars, and she wins because someone else changed the strings on hers.

[VinceM]

I'm a fan of 80/20's for sure. I like the sound after they "go dead." I'm not a fan of bright sparkly strings. I used to use the Martin SP 80/20, but I found the Ernie Ball Earthwood type and they loose the sparkle really fast then stay nice and mellow sounding for a good long time.

Also, another big plus is 80/20's have less tension than PB. That helps me because I have my action set pretty high. PB's beat up my fingers.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by RRuskin

80/20's are all I use. Phosphor Bronze strings sound too harsh when new to my ear.

I think PB’s sound the best about a month in.

[RyanR]

Originally Posted by TBman

Elixir HD lights. The 1st and 2nd string are mediums 13 and 17. The 3rd is a 25, then its 32 42 and 53.

I'd not thought of trying HD's but that is quite a good idea.

I just went ahead and ordered a set; will see how it goes.

[gibpicker]

Originally Posted by Greenstar

I have been using d'addarrio 80/20 bluegrass gauge on my Gibson Hummingbird for years and always heard that classic Hummingbird / Stones kind of tone with that set up. We have a phenomenal guitar shop near Atlanta called Righteous Guitars. The have the only PLEK machine from here to Nashville I think and I needed some fret work. They took the guitar in during the lockdown, did an amazing set up and I picked it up a week later. They asked me my string preference and I blurted out EJ16 because that's what most of my other guitars wear. Long story short the EJ16's don't sound as sweet on this particular guitar so the 80/20s will be going back on once I can find a set.

Horses for courses I guess.

If you're still around, what year is your Bird? My 86 J-30 sounds just like my old 74 Bird, and not like the new ones at all.

[Rinaz]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Hi, I am very very old, and I believe that I was playing before phos bronze strings came out.

As far as I remember, they were introduced as an improvement to 80/20s (which,back in the day were often corroded when brand new!)

Whilst I mostly use D'addario EJ16s and EJ17s, I have a preference for Dunlops PBs on Dobro and mando and like them on my Collings 0002h, but they are not always easy to get in the UK.

I recently ordered three packs but they sent me bronze strings in error. They refunded me, but had no PBs, and I had thee sets of strings that weren't my choice.
I tried one set on my Waterloo and found them trather dull sounding, and removed them yesterday after a few days, replacing them with my normal EJ16s.

Of course, I recognise that I might be "conditioned" by my familiarity, but I fail to see the attraction of 80/20s, so rather than simply rejecting them, I really like to hear from those who do prefer them, and why,

Thanks in advance,

I've tried medium bronze 80/20 Elixir Polyweb and they're less squeaky than PB Nanoweb. It works better with light touch too but not significant.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

Andy, weren't you playing when catgut strings meant Saber tooth Tiger gut?

I have found that I often like 80/20s on Rosewood family-backed guitars, but PBs on anything else. I find that they help overcome any tendency toward a muddy low end and make the harmonic series more clear.

Yeah, that was when "man-cave" really meant Man cave!

[Silurian]

I tend to like 80/20's on smaller bodied Mahogany topped guitars.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by VinceM

I'm a fan of 80/20's for sure. I like the sound after they "go dead." I'm not a fan of bright sparkly strings. I used to use the Martin SP 80/20, but I found the Ernie Ball Earthwood type and they loose the sparkle really fast then stay nice and mellow sounding for a good long time.

I seem to have ended up with Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20s as my fav on my Seagull Spruce. I have found the same thing - the strings settle in very fast and then stay mellow (but not 'dead') for a good while. I like the sound and can really 'work' the strings with a pick. I think it may be that its a guitar sound I'm just used to hearing? I expect a lot of those older bluegrass and Americana recordings would have been on guitars with 80/20s that had been well played in before the red light went on. I know from my bluegrass band days that our guitarists would only change their strings when they were bad enough for someone else in the band to complain about them!!!!!!!

[personatech]

I had much the same experience the one time I tried 80/20s (keep in mind that I am new to playing acoustic guitar - only in my 3rd year now). I thought they were too bright for my Seagull S6 and quickly pulled them off.

However, my string carousel continues as I search for the One True String and I did recently pick up a set of Elixer 80/20s (thinking that with the coating they might be less bright) that I have yet to try.

[Dr Hackenabush]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Hi, I am very very old, and I believe that I was playing before phos bronze strings came out.

As far as I remember, they were introduced as an improvement to 80/20s (which,back in the day were often corroded when brand new!)

Whilst I mostly use D'addario EJ16s and EJ17s, I have a preference for Dunlops PBs on Dobro and mando and like them on my Collings 0002h, but they are not always easy to get in the UK.

I recently ordered three packs but they sent me bronze strings in error. They refunded me, but had no PBs, and I had thee sets of strings that weren't my choice.
I tried one set on my Waterloo and found them trather dull sounding, and removed them yesterday after a few days, replacing them with my normal EJ16s.

Of course, I recognise that I might be "conditioned" by my familiarity, but I fail to see the attraction of 80/20s, so rather than simply rejecting them, I really like to hear from those who do prefer them, and why,

Thanks in advance,

They're marketed as brighter than PB but the bright to dull drop-off curve is steep compared with PB. I started buying D'addario 85/15 because they were the cheapest (less than five quid) reliable set I could find. I like them for their comparative dullness and the fact that there is more parity in tone between a week old set and a day old set - I don't feel as guilty about leaving them on longer than I should. When I'm wearing PBs, I feel more inclined to change them when the zing goes.

To answer you question, I like them because of how they mellow out and because I'm drawn to the warm end of the spectrum but I couldn't tell the difference between a fresh set of either. In all honesty, I preferred it when the only choice of strings was between "some" and "none".

[nowgypsy]

I have found that 80/20 strings sound best on my J45. The extra brightness
helps keep the lower tones from sounding muddy. I have pretty much been using JP 80/20s.

[psr-740]

From my experience, 80/20 goes well with all mahogany, cedar top with mahogany also good possibility.

[justonwo]

I use them on guitars where I want just a little more brightness on the wound strings. They sound great to me. I use them on about half my guitars, I’d say. I often go back and forth.

[Glennwillow]

I use Martin SP 80/20 light strings on my Olson SJ and my Martin 000-28VS. Both of these guitars need a little boost in the trebles because they are both a little dark sounding, especially the Olson SJ. Martin makes the only 80/20 strings that I like. Every other manufacturer's 80/20 strings sound rather harsh to me.

On all my other acoustic guitars I use PB light strings, usually D'Addario EJ16, and on my old Martin D-35, which has gotten a little bright over it's 53-year life, I use John Pearse PB light.

- Glenn