Martin Retro strings alternatives

[emuhunter]

Hi everyone,

I’m a huge fan of Martin Retro strings on both of my Martins (a 00-18 Authentic and 000-18 Golden Era) however haven’t loved them on my Hummingbird or Waterloo.

I really like what I would call the fundamental/dry/warm/mid focused sound these strings impart to my Martins and am curious what other options that provide something similar I should try for my other acoustics.

Thanks in advance!!

[Brucebubs]

Curt Mangan make a round-core Monel that I found a little louder than Martin Monels.

[Wade Hampton]

Two others you might try are John Pearse Pure Nickel and D’Addario Nickel-Bronze.

The John Pearse are the “drier” of the two while the D’Addario’s have more treble response.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by emuhunter

Hi everyone,

I’m a huge fan of Martin Retro strings on both of my Martins (a 00-18 Authentic and 000-18 Golden Era) however haven’t loved them on my Hummingbird or Waterloo.

I really like what I would call the fundamental/dry/warm/mid focused sound these strings impart to my Martins and am curious what other options that provide something similar I should try for my other acoustics.

Thanks in advance!!

Any string with any kind of nickel alloy or nickel-plated. John Pearse, D'Addario, DR, Curt Mangan an others make very good strings with nickel on them.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Two others you might try are John Pearse Pure Nickel and D’Addario Nickel-Bronze.

The John Pearse are the “drier” of the two while the D’Addario’s have more treble response.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Great suggestions too - I used the J Pearse Pure Nickels on my maple Huss & Dalton MJ Custom before I sold it recently and they were excellent - and my SJ-200 has been wearing D'Addario Nickel Bronze for a couple of months now and they sound great too.

Strangely I found PB's on my SJ-200 were lacking mids as they wore in so I tried JP 80/20's on the very first string change and they were superb and restored the balance perfectly.

[GKing34]

D’addario Nickel Bronze work well on my J-45.

[Kyle215]

I like the D’Addario Nickel Bronze on my Huss & Dalton DM (a “modern voiced” D-18 style guitar). They sound awful for the first few days, then perfect for the next couple months.

Edit… not sure who Nicole Bronze is (thanks, autocorrect, lol).

[hairpuller]

Originally Posted by Kyle215

Edit… not sure who Nicole Bronze is (thanks, autocorrect, lol).

Two words: bikini model

[Jim Owen]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Two others you might try are John Pearse Pure Nickel and D’Addario Nickel-Bronze.

The John Pearse are the “drier” of the two while the D’Addario’s have more treble response.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Yes. Try the Pure Nickels first.

[mikerofone]

I use to use Monels exclusively on my Martin dreads but I now prefer the D'Addario Nickel Bronze - they provide the same neutral tone as Monels but with slightly more tension provide a fuller sound.

[rmgjsps]

Originally Posted by hairpuller

Two words: bikini model

Lauging My -s- Off!

[Oldguy64]

You might also try D’addario EJ21’s.
Yes, they are meant for electric guitar.
But they are high nickel content.
I have a set on my Gibson and love the way it plays and sounds.
I also have a set on my Yairi, and occasionally, the D-strings gets “strident”.
I’ve worked it out with tuning.
But I’ve also had them on the guitar for 3 months.

[Gdjjr]

I had a set of Martin Retro's (10 47's I hadn't used because I graduated up to 11-52's before I could put them on something else [I had a set on my epiphone Pro Dove ltd, cheap one]) .

I had a set of Earl Ball slinky's, 9-46 for a Gretsch electric. I went to put them on and the low E broke - so, I used a set of Martin Retro's on it, because that's all I had! They work just fine. I also have them on my Martin 00015M- a poster in a different thread said it best, (IMO) they don't have a lot of over tones and resonance which is right up my alley.

[Shadowfox]

Originally Posted by emuhunter

Hi everyone,

I’m a huge fan of Martin Retro strings on both of my Martins (a 00-18 Authentic and 000-18 Golden Era) however haven’t loved them on my Hummingbird or Waterloo.

I really like what I would call the fundamental/dry/warm/mid focused sound these strings impart to my Martins and am curious what other options that provide something similar I should try for my other acoustics.

Thanks in advance!!

So if you don't like them, there are several other makers that do Monel.

However, I find D'Addario Nickel Bronze to be my preference for that sound on Hog guitars.

[generalliamsayn]

+1 on Curt Mangan Round Core Monel.

Love 'em.