Strings for J-45 (I miss the Masterbuilt Premium 80/20 Bronze Lights so bad!!!)

[MaxLaMenace]

Hi guys!

I bought a J-45 a few years ago (after trying a dozen, I fell in love with that one) and it cames with Gibson's Masterbuilt Premium 80/20 Bronze Lights. I kept using them over the years and as you may know, they are now unavailable everywhere.

I tried Daddario coated and non coated 8020 bronze strings, but they don't have the warmth and mids of the gibson ones...

Any recommandation of which one would be the closest to the sound I first fell in love with??

Thanks for the help

[llew]

Maybe some John Pearse 80/20's?

[Perchman]

I think I’ve found a keeper on my J35 with Monels. Martin so far but I might try Pearse or Mangan next.

[nitram]

I have a '14 Std. and right now I am trying Martin Clapton's choice and they sound really nice after about a month. Usually I use D'Ad PB lights and like them a lot but I feel compelled to try alternatives from time to time. Another succesful venture was John Pearse PB Bluegrass with the heavier bottom E and they are very good, also.

[Lillis]

From previous posts i believe GHS bright bronze are the same string. They made them for Gibson.

[FingahPickah]

I recommend Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 Medium Lights .012 - .054

[Lillis]

Originally Posted by FingahPickah

I recommend Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 Medium Lights .012 - .054

I have these on my Larrivee slope right now and they sound great. Nice deep but clear tone. Will at least keep them in the rotation.

[EZYPIKINS]

Get used to it. Everything I have learned to like in the past. Seems to be discontinued once I'm hooked.
That's how I ended up at Rotosound.

[Brucebubs]

I'm new to the world of 80/20's - hated them for years - my new SJ-200 changed that!

I'm still on my 1st set of John Pearse lights and I've ordered more as well as,

- Ernie Ball Earthwoods (after reading recommendations here on the AGF!)
- Curt Mangan round-cores
- DR Hi-Beam
- Rotosound Tru-Bronze ( a brand I haven't tried before)

I'm sorry I missed the Gibson 80/20's, I would have liked to try them.

[jaymarsch]

GHS made the Masterbuilt strings for Gibson so reach out to GHS and ask which string is the closest. It is probably, as already been mentioned, the bright bronze.
Best,
Jayne

[catfish]

On my Gibson J-45 Standard I tried D'Addario EJ11 (non coated), new Martin Authentic PB and 80/20 (non coated) and Elixir 80/20, all strings in 12 caliber. The best of these were EJ11, but after they 'mellowed', they lost volume.

Then I put Martin Retro Monels, and for the time being these are the strings I will use in the near future. But they are different in tone than Gibson Masterbuilt 80/20 and other 80/20 strings.

[Badgerbank]

I never had the chance to try the Masterbilt 80/20 lights on my J45 as they seem to be unavailable. Tried a lot of different string materials over the last year and a bit. Came to the conclusion that 80/20 light gauge were definitely good on this guitar (much better than PB). However 80/20s wear out relatively quickly. I will maybe try Elixir 80/20 in the future for this reason. Another one i liked was the Martin Retro(monels).

For the last few months though i am using Earthwood aluminium bronze light gauge. I really like the sound of these and they last a very long time.

[richard1]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

Get used to it. Everything I have learned to like in the past. Seems to be discontinued once I'm hooked.
That's how I ended up at Rotosound.

100% Agree. I tried all kinds of weird and wonderful strings. I completely overlooked the ones on my own doorstep. Then, once I tried Rotosound strings, (the Jumbo Kings) I never looked back.

[bobster7]

GHS Vintage bronze sound very similar from what I remember.

[rmp]

I was a fan of masterbuilts too.

I've got a set of Gibson coated PBs on my SJ200 at the moment, I kind of like those.

I'm a fan of Cleartone strings too, they really do stand up well to father time.

They do not feel nor sound like coated / treated strings