String suggestions - Ibanez AF75TDG Hollow Body

[Kip Carter]

Now I'm wondering since I've acquired my first hollow body electric what strings I should be considering for replacements. The set that are on the guitar are the stock from the factory set. What came on the guitar are the following:

010/.013/.017/.030/.042/.052

I'm not looking to change gauge just want to change out the strings and put on a new set but more looking at what is the best make up and is there a over all preference for coated versus non-coated for hollow bodies. I'm thinking that maybe non-coated is a bit more the order given it is an electric and a thin acoustic at times as well so you may not want any dampening on the strings what so ever, but then that is me thinking way ahead of myself as usual. I'd much rather hear input from those that have or have had hollow bodies and know what has worked best for them.

[The Growler]

Hi Kip - I like Gibson Vintage Re-issues. VR-10 would be the gauge you are looking for and they are not coated. I use them on my Gibson ES 359 and think they're great. So much, I've got some in 11s for my Gretsch and will put them on next.

Pretty inexpensive too, so if for some reason you don't like them, not out much.

[Steve DeRosa]

IME anything less than a 12-52 set defeats the purpose of this type of instrument - what you want to do is get some "wood" into the tone and let's face it, you're not going to be doing thrash metal with a guitar like this so you don't need 10-gauge or lighter strings; I think you'll also find your tuning is more stable with that Bigsby knockoff. I'm partial to flatwounds for both the slick feel and the traditional '50s tone, but if you feel the need for something brighter-sounding consider a half-round/compound-wound set (I used the GHS 1810 compound-wounds for a while back in the '90s - I believe they're still in the line - and the D'A Half-Rounds before that)...

Play it well, often, and LOUD...

[ras1500]

I'll also recommend flat wound strings for that style of guitar. I've been using D'Addario ECG24, 11 to 50 gauge, for the tone and the feel (no finger squeak). For a lot more money, Thomastic-Infeld Jazz Swing lights are excellent strings.

[guitararmy]

These are in between round wound and flat wound...

http://www.juststrings.com/ghs-1800.html

https://www.stringsbymail.com/electr...nd-nickel-940/

[Kip Carter]

Okay i'm seeing three things pushing here and I can't seem to get to all three effectively with any brand

• Gauge 11/12 - 51/52
• Flat Winding
• Pure Nickle

I've just been looking at "Just Strings" So maybe I need to broaden my search a bit. I've found the gauge and flat without the nickle but was shooting for all three. Think I will string up a set of something similar to what is on there in the mean time just to put something fresh on it and make a slight bridge adjustment.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Kip Carter

Okay i'm seeing three things pushing here and I can't seem to get to all three effectively with any brand

• Gauge 11/12 - 51/52
• Flat Winding
• Pure Nickel

You won't - you're going to need to make some choices based on what sounds/feels best to you. I'd recommend going to the D'Addario website and clicking on "Electric Strings" - they've got a wealth of information that'll help point you in the right direction; here are some of my impressions based on my experience with the gauges you'll be using:

• Stainless Steel Roundwound: crisp, bright, very strong overtones; best with a dark-sounding guitar/amp or if you're doing exclusively fingerstyle
• Nickel-Plated Steel Roundwound: what most makers call "Nickel" strings, the tone customarily associated with roundwound electric strings
• Pure Nickel Roundwound: one of two types of "dual-purpose" strings during the '50s and early-60's, these have a stronger fundamental and mellower tone than the above with slightly less electric output
• Monel Roundwound: the other "dual-purpose" string, these were the go-to jazz string until LaBella developed flatwounds in the early-40's; never used them on an electric but had a set on my old Harmony when I was a kid - if you like roundwound feel and flatwound tone these might be a good bet, and I've heard good things about the new Martin Retros
• Compound-Wrap Roundwound: built up in multiple layers like a bass string, these have a roundwound feel but with a smoother texture and tone; I believe GHS is the only one still making them (1800/1810 sets)
• Half-Round/Ground Wound: start life as a roundwound string, then ground to gauge (the electric equivalent of D'A Flattops); very close in tone to Pure Nickel Roundwound, but can have a tendency to stick to your fingers if your hands get sweaty while playing
• Flatwound Stainless Steel: easy on the fingers/frets/pick, the standard string for jazz, roots, rockabilly, early electric blues, surf, and pre-1967 R&R/R&B; they sacrifice the uppermost harmonics for strong fundamentals and in-your-face percussive punch - a good match for single-coils and bright-sounding or mini-humbuckers; the newer-style stainless construction produces a longer-lasting and tonally better-balanced string, BTW - the nickel core-wrap versions from the '50s/60s could sound lifeless and dull even when new
• Nylon Tapewound: strictly for pre-1960 jazz styles these are similar to nickel flatwounds, few overtones and little sustain; great if you're playing mainstream jazz on a Strat/Tele (look unbelievably cool with a maple-board blonde, BTW) or you want your Rickenbacker to sound like a Gibson, but I'd never use them on a full-hollow with humbuckers

[The Old Gaffer]

My advice is to get a set of Thomastik-Infeld Swing Series nickel flatwounds,

JS110: 10 - 44, or
JS111: 11 - 47

IMO, they sound best, feel best and last longer than other flatwounds. I use the 10 - 44 set exclusively on my 1963 Epiphone Granada, and I recommend them enthusiastically.

[Gypsyblue]

Are you playing jazz on it? Then light or medium gauge strings with a wound G string might be order. .012 - .053 is what I'd use. That's a light set. A medium set would start with a .013.

Are you playing blues and rock mostly, where you need to bend the G string and also the B and E? Then rock n roll gauge strings like the D'Addario XL's (.10 - .046) might be more appropriate.

If you want the best of both worlds then the set you have (skinny tops/heavy bottoms is what Ernie Ball calls that gauge) would be OK. I don't like a set that's that unbalanced top to bottom tho.

I use D'Addarios on all of my guitars. Nickel wound on the electrics: the XL .10 - .046 set with an unwound G.

Round wound. No coating.

[clintj]

I play towards the rock side of things (Beatles up through newer stuff like Foo Fighters) and some blues, and prefer D'addario round wounds, 11 gauge with wound G. That little extra bite over flatwounds gets me that classic twang similar to Lennon's Epiphone Casino, and a nice defined tone if I'm cranking the amp up for some harder stuff. The wound G tempers the brightness of the sound nicely to my ear. I used to run 12's, and got tired of chewing up my fingers doing string bends.

If you lean towards jazz and mellower stuff though, I'll strongly second the flatwounds mentioned above.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[DESERTRAT1]

I've experimented with various electric guitar strings and have always come back to the D' Addario 10-46's which is what I have always used. I don't know if they are the best available but frankly I've come to the conclusion that most of the recognizable brand names (depending on taste) are just fine new and that string life is the main priority. Given that, I spent a considerable amount of time and money trying to convince myself that coated strings were the way to go. My conclusion about them is that while the wound strings (E-A-D) certainly have a much longer life span than untreated strings, the coated unwound strings (G-B-E) don't hold their coating well which in the end requires string changes almost as often as regular strings. Additionally, in my mind, the primary cause of string death isn't so much corrosion as normal stress and the additional stress of constant string bending that eventually leads to loss of tinsel strength. Depending on your playing style that's going to happen sooner or later and coating does nothing to alleviate that. Given the price difference I've chosen to stay with strings that sound as good or better and can be changed three times for the price of a single set of coated strings. I don't mind changing strings when it's called for and doing it this way I'm getting more string life over all, as good or better tone and spending less money.

[maxtheaxe]

I think it depends upon what style of music this guitar is being used for. Flat-wounds are fine, maybe even preferable, for traditional jazz but if you're into blues, rock, fusion, rockabilly, country, et al, I would think you need something with a bit more chime and snap to them. One other thing is that, personally, while I used Elixirs on my acoustics, I tried an electric Elixir set long ago on a Strat and they sounded OK but just didn't have enough punch or volume for me...next!

Even within specific brands there are important differences; for example, I like GHS Boomers on my electrics because they have a lot of bite and they're a bit gritty, bluesy sounding, perfect for my electric style, which leans to blues-rock and louder jazz-rock and power-pop. Since I like those, I decided to try their GHS "Progressives" and they were just too clean sounding for me, but probably would be great for jazz or country. I probably would have liked them back when I was immersed in jazz in college; I used Gibson Sonomatics back then (no longer made), which may or may not be similar to the new Gibson "Vintage" strings.

As to gauge, do you bend notes a lot, or do faster runs with a hammer-on/pull-off technique? Or do you prefer to double pick...pick each note, or would you characterize your playing as more rhythm than lead? If the former I would tend toward 10s or 11s; if the latter I would go for a heavier set with a wound 3rd. Sounds like the ones that came on your new guitar were a hybrid set...light top/heavy bottom.

You're going to have to try a few. If you have a reputable music store nearby, with some guys there that have a clue, you might ask them which are better strings for your style of music/play.